Labor Heritage Power Hour

Christopher Garlock

A weekly radio show celebrating the cultural heritage of the American worker. Hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant and produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation; broadcast on WPFW 89.3FM

  1. Oct 1

    Night Shifts, Mine Strikes and Workers on Stage

    On The Labor Heritage Power Hour: A mother sorts mail through the night. Miners occupy a coal plant. Baristas turn their organizing struggles into theater. This week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour explores how workers preserve their stories—and find power in telling them. Artist and writer Clifford Thompson takes us through Ma at the Post Office, his wordless, 25-panel tribute to the mother who supported him and his grandmother by working nights in Washington, DC. Small details reveal exhaustion, workplace camaraderie and the family life her labor made possible. Then producer Anthony Dominiczak takes us along Virginia’s Gravel Lick Road, connecting the Musick family’s devastating losses during the Harlan County Coal War with the 1989 occupation of Pittston’s Moss Number Three plant. Decades later, miners and neighbors joined forces again to oppose a landfill at the historic site. Finally, Bread & Roses Missouri’s Emily Kohring and worker-performers Alex Barge and Iana Rain discuss this year’s Workers’ Opera. Through music, sketches and poetry, workers bring organizing, bad bosses, racial injustice and hope to the stage. The production runs October 9–11 at Jefferson Avenue Mission in St. Louis. Find tickets at breadandrosesmo.org, and explore more worker culture at laborheritage.org. Broadcast on October 1, 2026; hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network and syndicated on Pacifica’s Audioport. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod

  2. Sep 10

    The Stories That Made Us

    On this week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour: Art, stories and songs don’t simply preserve labor history—they help working people recognize their power and imagine a different future. This week, we hear artists and historians at the Reuther-Pollack Labor History Symposium reflect on the creative legacy of organized labor. Erik Ruin and Tabitha Arnold explore art rooted in solidarity and working-class experience; Max Alvarez considers how stories shape who we are; and Shaun Slifer explains why he calls himself a “community-taught historian.” Then we travel to Tacoma, Washington, where union members gather each Labor Day at the grave of Ralph Chaplin, the Wobbly poet and artist who wrote “Solidarity Forever.” What began with one friend quietly honoring Chaplin has grown into a community tradition of remembrance and song. Finally, Tampa organizers Roger Butterfield and Manny Ramirez take us into Ybor City’s often-overlooked radical history—from cigar workers and Cuban independence to women-led antifascist organizing—and explain why workers must be remembered as makers of history, not passive figures in it. Plus, Harold Phillips has the latest Labor Arts News Briefs. Music: Solidarity Forever, Jester of No Court; Solidarity Forever, Leonard Cohen. Broadcast on September 10, 2026; hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network and syndicated on Pacifica’s Audioport. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

A weekly radio show celebrating the cultural heritage of the American worker. Hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant and produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation; broadcast on WPFW 89.3FM

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