Labor History Today

Labor History Today

Author: laborhistorytoday Language: English Episodes: 100
Behind every weekend, every safety regulation, and every paycheck that feels fair, there's a story-often a forgotten one. Labor History Today digs into those stories, moving beyond dry dates and names to recover the voices and confrontations that built the world we work in. Each episode connects a pivotal moment from the past, like the fight for an eight-hour day or the rise of a major union, directly to the conversations happening on picket lines and in break rooms right now. You'll hear about the strategies that succeeded, the personalities that led the charge, and the setbacks that reshaped movements. This isn't just a history podcast; it's a deep look at how understanding the battles for worker rights, from centuries ago to just decades past, provides essential context for today's struggles over wages, conditions, and dignity. Tune in for a grounded, narrative-driven exploration of how yesterday's strikes, protests, and organizing victories continue to fuel the demand for a more just tomorrow.
Episodes
When Workers Made Their Own Magic [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:30
On this week’s Labor History Today: As Women’s History Month draws to a close, we mark the founding of the Coalition of Labor Union Women in 1974, when more than 3,000 women from 58 unions came together in Chicago to dem…
Women Who Led the Fight [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:29
This week on Labor History Today, we explore moments when workers didn’t just demand change—they forced it.Detroit, 1937: sit-down strikers face a violent police raid—and resist, floor by floor, in a pivotal moment in th…
The Bread and Roses Strike and the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:30
This week on Labor History Today: From the fiery tragedy that shocked the nation—the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire—to the powerful solidarity of the 1912 Bread and Roses strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts. We’ll a…
Women Workers Carry Forward the Fight for Justice [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:30
On this week’s Labor History Today, we continue our look at the legacy of A. Philip Randolph and the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first major Black-led union in the United States. Recorded at Georgetown Unive…
“Manhood Rights”: The Brotherhood at 100 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:30
On this week’s Labor History Today, historian Eric Arnesen marks the centennial of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, tracing how A. Philip Randolph and Black railway workers built the first major Black-led union i…
Ghost Parks and Forgotten Graves: Labor’s Hidden Landmarks [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:30
On this week’s Labor History Today, host Chris Garlock explores how workers’ struggles leave lasting marks—not just on history, but on the physical landscape itself. In Hamilton, Ontario, the 1946 Stelco strike helped se…
Striking at Kings [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:31
On this week’s Labor History Today: Labor History in 2:00 on the Sons of Vulcan’s 1865 strike, a Labor Jawn conversation with songwriter Mindy Murray about her song “Striking at Kings,” and a return to 1937 Anderson, Ind…
The Greensboro Sit-Ins and the Power of Direct Action [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:22
This week on Labor History Today: The 66th anniversary of the Greensboro sit-ins — a turning point that helped ignite the modern Civil Rights Movement and reshaped American politics. We feature an in-depth conversation f…
A Banjo, a Brick, and a Bible [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:31
This week on Labor History Today, we remember Pete Seeger and how his songs helped build movements—from union halls to civil rights and environmental campaigns. Then we turn to the 1933 Funsten Nut Strike in St. Louis, l…
The Poet of the Lawrence Strike [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:30
This episode of Labor History Today features historian Marcella Bencivenni on Arturo Giovannitti—Italian immigrant, poet, socialist, and labor organizer—whose role in the 1912 Lawrence textile strike made him a target of…