Labor History Today

From the Necropolis Strike to Striketober

Today’s the last day of what’s come to be known as Striketober, as tens of thousands of American workers walked out – or threatened to walk out – across the country. Whether these strikes have been caused by the labor shortage, the pandemic, or people just fed up with working crappy jobs for low pay, no benefits and few if any job protections – or all of the above – it’s clear that workers have reached a historic breaking point.Back in May we featured an excerpt from the April 6 symposium celebrating the 50th anniversary of “Strike!”, Jeremy Brecher’s classic labor history. On today’s show we bring you the man himself, Jeremy Brecher, at that same symposium, talking not only about how his book came to be, but why labor history itself matters. It’s not only a delightful talk, but inspirational, too, as Jeremy shares his thoughts about the future of our history of worker struggle. Part Two of today’s show is on the Necropolis Strike, from the new podcast Strike! Podcasts like this are very much a part of carrying Jeremy’s work forward; Strike! host Sarah Gram does an impressive deep dive into the first recorded strike in human history and manages to not only explore it in fascinating detail but to connect it back to today’s struggles.
And, on Labor History in 2:00, ghosts and goblins are going door to door to gather up candy. But did you know that some of that candy is made by union workers?Produced by Chris Garlock. To contribute a labor history item, email laborhistorytoday@gmail.com
Labor History Today is produced by the Metro Washington Council’s Union City Radio and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor at Georgetown University.
#LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle #LaborHistory @PMPressOrg @labornotes @LN4S

Voices of Guinness

In 2005 the Guinness Brewery at Park Royal, West London closed after seven decades of production. Tim Strangleman spent the last six months of the Brewery’s life working with a photographer to record in words and picture the site before it closed. Subsequent research revealed an incredibly rich story of corporate cultural change and the transformation of work and the workplace. Drawing on material from his 2019 book, Voices of Guinness: An Oral History of the Park Royal Brewery, Strangleman, Professor of Sociology, in the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, University of Kent, Canterbury, reflects on what that story tells us about work meaning, identity and organizational life in the second decade of the twenty-first century. Our show is excerpted from Strangleman’s Zoom presentation at the October 5 edition of Our Daily Work/Our Daily Lives, the lecture series sponsored by the Michigan Traditional Arts Program and the Labor Education Program at Michigan State University. To get on the ODW/ODL email list email John Beck at mailto:beckj@msu.eduClick here for photos of the Park Royal Guinness Brewery.   And, on Labor History in 2:00, the year was 1940; that was the day that the federally mandated 40-hour work week went into effect for U.S. workers.Produced by Chris Garlock. To contribute a labor history item, email laborhistorytoday@gmail.com
Labor History Today is produced by the Metro Washington Council’s Union City Radio and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor at Georgetown University.
#LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @MichiganTradArts @MSUSHRLR @DIndustrialKent @SSPSSR @OxUniPress

“It Didn’t Start with Amazon: A Conversation About the History of Organized Labor in the South”

Last month the United Campus Workers of Georgia, the Atlanta-North Georgia Labor Council, The Labor and Working Class History Association and the Southern Labor Studies Association hosted a distinguished panel of labor historians on “It Didn’t Start with Amazon: A Conversation About the History of Organized Labor in the South.”Today’s show features excerpts from that conversation, which reveals that although unions are notoriously weak in the southern states, workers there actually have a rich history of fighting for their rights and organizing to win power.    And, on Labor History in 2:00, The year was 1877; that was the day that John D. Rockefeller, and his company Standard Oil struck a deal with the Pennsylvania Railroad that would cement his monopoly on the nation’s oil refineries.Music for today’s show by Hazel Dickens; special thanks to Eric Castater and Ryan Richardson for getting us the panel audio file.
Produced by Chris Garlock. To contribute a labor history item, email laborhistorytoday@gmail.com
Labor History Today is produced by the Metro Washington Council’s Union City Radio and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor at Georgetown University.
#LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @ucwgagt @ATL_Labor @lawcha_org @SouthernLaborSA

The Battle of Virden

John Alexander recounts the circumstances leading up to the gun battle between mine guards for the Chicago-Virden Coal Company and coal miners – members of the United Mine Workers of America -- who were locked out of their jobs.
And, on Labor History in 2:00, the year was 1933; that was the day that forty armed cotton growers shot at a group of striking workers in the small town of Pixley, California.Music for today’s show by Bucky Halker and The Complete Unknowns.Special thanks to James Goltz for the Battle of Virden report; check out his Jase Media Service Podcast for more labor history episodes.
Produced by Chris Garlock. To contribute a labor history item, email laborhistorytoday@gmail.com
Labor History Today is produced by the Metro Washington Council’s Union City Radio and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor at Georgetown University.
#LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @MineWorkers

Sharecroppers’ struggles for rights and power

(Originally released 10/7/2018) Patrick Dixon talks with James Benton about the emergence of sharecropping as a compromise between former slaves – freedmen – and landowners, and sharecroppers subsequent struggles for rights and power. For our Labor History Object of the week, Ben Blake at the Meany Labor Archives pulls out a collection of buttons from the Solidarnosc union movement in Poland.
Questions, comments or suggestions 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 Union City Radio and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. Engineered by Chris Garlock.
This week's music: Sharecropper's Blues, featuring Charlie Barnet with Kay Starr on vocals.
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Feathers and Pennies - the 1888 Matchgirls and us

In May of 1888, women and teenage girls working at the Bryant & May match factory in London went out on strike. Few Americans will have heard of the Matchgirls’ strike, but it was a landmark victory in working-class history. On today’s show, Union Dues podcast host Simon Sapper explores the legacy of the Matchgirls' strike on union organizing, safe working conditions, a collective voice and women's emancipation and Simon finds a "golden thread" linking then to now. 
And, on Labor History in 2:00, the year was 1786. Daniel Shays led a group of farmers and an armed uprising. They were angry about taxes levied by the state of Massachusetts.Audio on today’s show includes the trailer for The Matchgirls, book and lyrics by Bill Owen, music by Tony Russell, performed at the Bernie Grant Arts Centre, in London in July 2012.Produced by Chris Garlock. To contribute a labor history item, email laborhistorytoday@gmail.com
Labor History Today is produced by the Metro Washington Council’s Union City Radio and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor at Georgetown University.
#LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @duesunion

Trumka: “Art is why they remember our struggles”

Former AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka on the critical role labor arts play in “supporting our fights for economic and social justice.” He spoke at the 31st annual Great Labor Arts Exchange in 2013, organized by the Labor Heritage Foundation.
And, on Labor History in 2:00, the year was 1981; more than 400,000 union members marched in Labor Day's first Solidarity Day demonstration in Washington, D.C.Plus: an excerpt from "Solidarity Day, 1981”, an 11-minute film produced by the AFL-CIO. Music for today’s show by The ULiNERS and Joe Uehlein.Special thanks to Ellis Boal and Saul Schniderman for the recording of Trumka; subscribe to Saul’s Friday’s Labor Folklore newsletter here. Produced by Chris Garlock. To contribute a labor history item, email laborhistorytoday@gmail.com
Labor History Today is produced by the Metro Washington Council’s Union City Radio and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor at Georgetown University.
#LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @LaborHeritage1 @THEULINERS
This post has been updated: the 31st GLAE took place in 2013, not 2017. 

Live from The Battle of Blair Mountain!

On today’s show, Labor Day weekend marked the 100 year anniversary of the Battle of Blair Mountain. Empathy Media Lab’s Evan Papp traveled to West Virginia to march in those historic footsteps, to bear witness to battles that some would like us to forget, and he brings us the sounds of history past and present.
From the On The Line: Stories of BC Workers podcast, we bring you their story from September 1938, when the International Ladies Garment Workers Union  brought their theatrical musical hit “Pins and Needles” to Vancouver, British Columbia, where it played to glowing reviews.
And, on Labor History in 2:00, the year was 1934. That was the day Rhode Island governor Theodore Green demanded that federal troops be sent to crush a textile strike in his state.
Produced by Chris Garlock. To contribute a labor history item, email laborhistorytoday@gmail.com
Labor History Today is produced by the Metro Washington Council’s Union City Radio and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor at Georgetown University.
#LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @of_blair @MineWorkers @CecilRoberts @empathymedialab @BC_LHC