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Labor History Today: Daily Summaries Delivered
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Gripping stories of the historic battles for worker rights and how they fuel today's struggles.
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- Yesterday29 min
Labor Day, Solidarity Day and a Fight for Justice
On this week’s Labor History Today: Delta pilots trace the 1894 Pullman Strike’s connections to Labor Day and today’s airline labor law; more than 400,000 unionists march on Washington for 1981’s Solidarity Day; and Latin American tunnel workers wage a five-year fight against wage discrimination in Vancouver. Plus, Youngstown remembers the devastating steel-mill shutdown known as Black Monday. Sources: Engage: The Podcast For Delta Pilots; On The Line: Stories of BC Workers; Labor History in 2:00 Music: Rails of Rage (Pullman Strike, 1894) - Bridget Roos Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. #LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory
- 1 weeks ago29 min
Ralph Chaplin’s Legacy, Ybor City’s Radical Past
On this week’s Labor History Today, we explore how working people preserve the history that official markers, museums and tours too often leave out. Every Labor Day, union members and community activists gather at Ralph Chaplin’s gravesite in Tacoma, Washington, to sing “Solidarity Forever” and honor the Wobbly poet, writer and artist who created labor’s enduring anthem. Vance Lelli and Nathe Lawver of the Pierce County Central Labor Council share the story of the annual commemoration—and explain why Chaplin’s words still resonate more than a century later. Then we travel to Ybor City, Tampa’s historic cigar-manufacturing district, where the familiar tourist story of “bread, cigars and chickens” obscures a radical legacy of immigrant workers, strikes, socialism and antifascist organizing. Labor Memory Project producer Anthony Dominiczak talks with Tampa organizers Roger Ezra Butterfield and Manny Ramirez about their working-class history tour—and their effort to secure recognition for Ybor City’s former Labor Temple. Plus, on Labor History in 2:00: New York City’s Union Square becomes a National Historic Landmark. Produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Labor Radio Podcast Network. Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. #LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory
- 2 weeks ago28 min
Trouble! at Coal Creek (Encore)
On this week’s Labor History Today: Activist and artist Austin Sauerbrei talks about his debut graphic novel Trouble! at Coal Creek, which brings to life the 1890s miners’ uprising in Tennessee, where striking workers and Black prisoners found common cause against exploitation. It’s a moving call for solidarity, told in powerful words and images. Austin talked with our colleague Robert Lindgren, who hosts and produces Labor Exchange, the excellent radio show that airs weekly on KGNU Community Radio in Boulder, Colorado. Originally released 9/7/25 Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. @aflbobby #LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory
- 3 weeks ago29 min
Detroit’s Ring of Labor
On this week’s Labor History Today: John Dick and Dave Elsila of the Michigan Labor History Society take Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant on a tour of Transcending, Detroit’s spectacular monument to working people and the achievements of organized labor. Plus, a musical tribute to Dolly Parton and her songs of work, family and working-class life. Labor History in 2:00 marks the Battle of Blair Mountain and FDR’s 1935 effort to make the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share. CLICK HERE to watch a video of our tour of Transcending. Music: Detroit City, 9 to 5, Coat of Many Colors, Daddy's Working Boots, In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad) & Working Girl Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. #LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory
- 4 weeks ago29 min
Fan the Flames of Discontent: The Little Red Songbook at 117
On this week’s Labor History Today: The IWW’s Little Red Songbook was created to “fan the flames of discontent”—and its songs have carried solidarity into workplaces, union halls, picket lines and jail cells ever since. To mark the 117th anniversary of its first publication, listeners share their favorite songs from the legendary collection: “We Have Fed You All for a Thousand Years,” “Mr. Block,” “The Red Flag,” “The Preacher and the Slave” and “Dump the Bosses Off Your Back.” We also hear “Ain’t Done Nothing If You Ain’t Been Called a Red,” now proposed for the forthcoming 39th edition. Plus, Labor History in Two explores the birth of the Little Red Songbook in Spokane in 1909 and the arrival of the first ship carrying captive Africans to colonial Virginia in 1619. Featuring Judy Ancel, Tom Hoffman, Michael Kyriakakis, Robert Lindgren and Saul Schniderman, with music by Utah Phillips, Faith Petric, Carsie Blanton, Billy Bragg, the Tyneside People’s Choir, Pete Seeger and more. Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. #LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory
- Aug 16, 202629 min
Richard Trumka on The Art of Solidarity
On this week’s Labor History Today: Richard Trumka traces the history of labor art from the coalfields of Harlan County and the Flint sit-down strike to the Pittston mineworkers’ strike. Speaking at the Labor Heritage Foundation’s Great Labor Arts Exchange in June 2009, the future AFL-CIO president explains how songs, murals, films and stories preserve workers’ struggles and carry solidarity from one generation to the next. Trumka was elected AFL-CIO president on September 16, 2009, and served until his death on August 5, 2021. Plus, Labor History in Two looks back at how anti-communist hysteria was used in 1938 to divide workers and undermine the growing CIO. Music: Which Side Are You On? by George Mann, Elise Bryant and Florence Reece. Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. #LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory
- Aug 9, 202629 min
The People’s Historian
On this week’s Labor History Today: Dave Zirin discusses his new book, The People's Historian: The Outsized Life of Howard Zinn, exploring the historian's influence on generations of activists—and even on Hollywood. Then, marking the August 7 birthday of labor organizer Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, producer Anthony Dominiczak looks back at the life of the legendary "Rebel Girl" and the fight over her historical legacy. Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. #LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory
- Aug 2, 202629 min
No Pasarán Then, No Pasarán Now
On this week’s Labor History Today: A hand-held fan donated to the Museum of Vancouver tells the story of Canadian workers who volunteered to fight fascism in the Spanish Civil War. Its wooden struts bear the signatures of loggers, miners, and trade unionists from British Columbia who traveled thousands of miles to defend Spain's democratically elected government. From the On the Line: Stories of BC Workers podcast, historian David York explores the lives behind those names and the labor movement's long tradition of international solidarity. At a time when authoritarian movements are once again on the rise, their story is a powerful reminder that the fight for democracy and workers' rights knows no borders. Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. #LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory
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