When Workers Made Their Own Magic

When Workers Made Their Own Magic

Author: laborhistorytoday March 29, 2026 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 demand a stronger voice in the labor movement. Then, from America’s Workforce Union Podcast, historian Carie Rael takes us inside the largest strike in Disneyland history, when workers across multiple unions joined forces in the Reagan era to challenge one of the most powerful corporations in the country.From the Labor Heritage Foundation’s Labor Landmarks project, producer Anthony Dominiczak travels to Victor, Colorado, where the bullet-scarred remains of a union hall tell the story of the violent 1903–04 Colorado labor wars — and the ongoing fight to preserve this historic site.We also remember the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, one of the deadliest workplace disasters in U.S. history, which galvanized the fight for workplace safety reforms.And we close with music: a new song written and performed by Mike Stout, “Women of Steel,” honoring the United Steelworkers women who fought discrimination, organized for equality, and helped reshape the labor movement.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
Made by Labour [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:30
This week on Labor History Today, Simon Sapper talks with historian Martin Wright, co-author of Made by Labour: A Material and Visual History of British Labor, 1780–1924. The book traces the rise of the world’s first mod…
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Duration: 29:32
This week on Labor History Today, we move from repression to resistance—and from history to possibility. We begin with Labor History in Two and the 1917 trial of labor leader Tom Mooney, a stark reminder of how the justi…
Cecil Roberts: “ You must continue to fight”(Encore) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:31
On this week’s Labor History Today: From Camp Solidarity in Matewan, West Virginia—the heart of the legendary Mine Wars—UMWA President Cecil Roberts reflects on the long struggle of coal miners to claim America’s promise…
Who’s Got the Power? Labor’s Post-Pandemic Upsurge [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:30
In this episode of Labor History Today, labor organizer and researcher Eric Dirnbach talks with Dave Kamper, author of Who’s Got the Power: Hope for Troubled Times, about the post-pandemic union upsurge. From graduate st…
Labor’s Philadelphia Story [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:32
This week on Labor History Today, we head to Philadelphia with an excerpt from the Labor Jawn podcast. Hosts Sam and Gabe talk with labor historian Dr. Francis Ryan about Philly’s central role in U.S. labor history, why…
The Country Song That Powered a General Strike [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:48
This week on Labor History Today, we revisit the 1946 Oakland General Strike through the eyes of labor educator and activist Stan Weir — and uncover the surprising role a chart-topping “country” hit played on the picket…
Talking History with Sara Nelson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:52
This week on Labor History Today, we’re marking the 50th anniversary of the Walter P. Reuther Library building at Wayne State University with a special episode from our friends at Tales from the Reuther Library. Hosts Da…
No Contract, No Coffee [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:19
On this week’s Labor History Today: We turn up the “today” in Labor History Today with a special edition focused on the historic, open-ended strike now underway at Starbucks. Nearly 2,000 union baristas at 95 stores in m…
Where’s our Forty Acres And A Mule? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:34
Historian and former UAW organizer Rudi Batzell joins America’s Workforce Union Podcast to explain how the failure of land reform after slavery — and employers’ use of racial division and strikebreaking — shaped the earl…
“We’re in a real fight” [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:00
On today’s Labor Radio Podcast Daily: Organising for a Change digs into the reform vote and the real fight ahead for labor. In labor history, on this date in 1919, a deadly clash between American Legionnaires and Wobblie…