Labor History Today

laborhistorytoday

Gripping stories of the historic battles for worker rights and how they fuel today’s struggles. Part of the Labor Radio/Podcast Network: #LaborRadioPod

  1. Oct 4

    Built by Workers, Remembered by Workers

    On Labor History Today: An automobile museum full of cars—but where are the workers who built them? Retired autoworker and union leader Mark Strolle helped answer that question with “Assembled in Lansing,” a new permanent exhibit at Michigan’s R.E. Olds Transportation Museum. In this conversation with Chris Garlock, a shorter version of which originally aired on the Labor Heritage Power Hour, Strolle traces Lansing’s labor history through sit-down strikes, the successful one-day Lansing Labor Holiday, and the union contracts that helped generations of workers buy homes, send their children to college and retire with dignity. He also shares his own experiences from 16 years on the assembly line: the physical toll, the unpredictable layoffs and the union community that helped workers weather both. And he connects that history to today’s challenges, from deindustrialization to AI and automation. Plus, on Labor History in 2:00, Rick Smith remembers Woody Guthrie, the Dust Bowl troubadour whose songs spoke to working people’s struggles. 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. Sep 13

    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

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Gripping stories of the historic battles for worker rights and how they fuel today’s struggles. Part of the Labor Radio/Podcast Network: #LaborRadioPod

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