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
Grit and Working-Class Solidarity [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:35
On Labor History Today: Grit and Working-Class Solidarity: B.C. Workers Respond to the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike. The On the Line: Stories of BC Workers podcast reports on “A time of unsurpassed working-class consciou…
The 1917 “Bath Riots” [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:11
On Labor History Today: The 1917 “Bath Riots”. The story of Carmelita Torres, the "Latina Rosa Parks," and the so-called “Bath Riots” on the U.S.-Mexico border in 1917. On Labor History in Two: auto workers sit down and…
MLK in Memphis [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:51
On this week's Labor Heritage Power Hour: MLK in Memphis; “We Will Not Be Turned Around”, Part 3 of AFSCME’s I AM STORY podcast about the 1968 sanitation workers’ strike. Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome,…
Remembering Ludlow but Forgetting Columbine [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:00
On this week’s Labor History Today: While historians have written prolifically about the 1914 Ludlow Massacre, there has been a lack of attention to the Columbine Massacre in which police shot and killed six striking coa…
Battle of the Eureka Stockade [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:49
On this week’s Labor History Today: Battle of the Eureka Stockade. Australia’s history closely tracks American history; the subjugation of indigenous people is the most obvious parallel, and the battles for basic worker…
At Sword’s Point [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:33
American labor unions have seen an incredible resurgence in recent years, which, suggests public historian Tom Goldscheider, “begs the question: why were they in decline in the first place?” In "At Sword’s Point", Tom re…
Christmas in Mansfield [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:27
Joe Jencks is a 25-year veteran of the international folk circuit, an award-winning songwriter, and a celebrated vocalist based in Chicago. Merging conservatory training with his Irish roots and working-class upbringing,…
The 1997 UPS Strike [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:29
“This fight isn't just for the teamsters. This is for all American workers.”This weekend, Teamsters struck Amazon in New York City, Atlanta, Skokie, Southern California, San Bernardino and San Francisco. The union repres…
Touring the American Labor Museum [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:09
On this week's Labor History Today: Touring the American Labor MuseumThe American Labor Museum in Haledon, New Jersey, is also known as The Botto House, and that’s because for generations that’s what it was: the home of…
Ybor City, Crucible of the Latina South [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:48
On this week's Labor History Today: Decades before Miami became Havana USA, a wave of leftist, radical, working-class women and men from prerevolutionary Cuba crossed the Florida Straits, made Ybor City the global capita…