They’ll Never Keep Us Down

They’ll Never Keep Us Down

Author: laborhistorytoday May 24, 2026 Duration: 29:30
This week on Labor History Today: Hazel Dickens remembered. The Mine Wars Forum talks with Hazel’s nephew Buddy Dickens about the legendary labor singer’s deep roots in the West Virginia coalfields, her fierce commitment to miners and working people, and why her music still resonates today. From picket lines and black lung fights to the new Fly Away Home festival honoring her legacy, Buddy shares personal stories about one of labor’s most beloved voices. Plus: Labor History in 2:00 on the 1946 coal strike and the first Chicago Teachers Union strike; new stories from the People’s 250 campaign about steelworkers, civil rights, and shop-floor struggles; and reflections on labor memory, justice, and organizing from Appalachia to Baltimore. 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  

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.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Labor History Today
Podcast Episodes
Patriotism, Paranoia, and Labor on Trial [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:28
On this week’s Labor History Today: Historian Dr. Jeffrey Johnson tells the story of the 1916 San Francisco Preparedness Day bombing and the infamous frame-up of labor leader Tom Mooney, who spent more than two decades b…
Resisting Trump’s Rewrite: Black Slave Labor’s Secret Strategies [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:16
This week on Labor History Today: the Solidarity Forever podcast explores how enslaved Black laborers resisted and strategized before the Civil War. At a time when the President attacks the Smithsonian for “focusing too…
How We Get Free: Worker Solidarity in Racine [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:40
On this week’s Labor History Today, scholar and creator Shana L. Redmond sits down with Naomi R Williams, Assistant Professor of Labor Studies and Employment Relations at Rutgers University, to discuss Williams' new book…
Hard Hats, Grapes, and Garbage [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:59
This week on Labor History Today: From Nixon’s “hard hat” protest to reform battles inside the Steelworkers, from Philly’s once-every-40-years sanitation strikes to the enduring call of the Delano grape boycott — we expl…
The Worthy Wages Movement for Childcare Workers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:55
On this week’s Labor History Today, we feature the Tales from the Ruther Library podcast, where Dan Golodner talks with historian Dr. Justine Modica about the history of childcare labor in the U.S. and the “Worthy Wage”…
If Wages Aren’t Increasing, How Do We Expect This to Work? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:00
On today’s Labor Radio Podcast Daily: The Worker Power Hour tackles the housing crisis and wage stagnation in Southern California.In labor history, on this date in 1970, Delano grape growers signed their first union cont…
The Raging Erie: Life, Labor, and the Canal That Changed America [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:53
This week on Labor History Today: author Mark S. Ferrara joins labor educator Linda Donahue to explore the hidden history of the workers who built and lived along the Erie Canal. Based on Ferrara’s book The Raging Erie,…
Life and Times of a Black Wobbly (Encore) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:52
Ben Fletcher was one of the most important black labor leaders in American history. Yet he’s almost entirely unknown. In today’s show, from the Working Class History podcast (originally aired here on 7/23/23), we learn a…
Houston, We Have a Labor Dispute (Encore) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:12
For decades, rumors have circulated about a strike in space. The story goes that in 1973, the three astronauts on the Skylab 4 mission took an unplanned day off to protest ground controls management style, and the job ac…
A Weekend With Pete Seeger [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:12
This week on Labor History Today, we bring you a special episode celebrating folk legend Pete Seeger. In the first episode of A Weekend With Pete Seeger, recorded in 1999, Seeger sings, plays banjo, and shares stories of…