A daily, pocket-sized history of America's working people, brought to you by The Rick Smith Show team.
Episodes
Thursday Feb 17, 2022
Thursday Feb 17, 2022
A current question is which workers are entitled to union representation? Who really gets counted as a worker? Who decides wages, hours, and conditions?
These were the questions that divided the campus of Yale University
On this day in labor history, the year was 1992.
Wednesday Feb 16, 2022
Wednesday Feb 16, 2022
On this day in labor history, the year was 1883 marking the deadliest day in Illinois mining history at the time. 74 men and boys lost their lives digging for coal in the Diamond Mine Disaster in Braidwood Illinois.
Tuesday Feb 15, 2022
Tuesday Feb 15, 2022
“We need to spend money on health care, schools, housing--not a war budget.” This was the statement of Fred Pecker, a member of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 6,
On this day in labor history, the year was 2003.
Fred, who was protesting in San Francisco, was just one of the estimated 10 million people in 800 cities across the globe that protested the U.S. War in Iraq that day.
Monday Feb 14, 2022
Monday Feb 14, 2022
On this day in labor history, the year was 1913, James Riddle Hoffa was born to a coal miner in Brazil, Indiana. Tragedy struck the Hoffa home in 1920 when at age 7 young Jimmy lost his father.
In 1924, like many families in Brazil the Hoffa family moved to Detroit, Michigan in search of work.
Sunday Feb 13, 2022
Sunday Feb 13, 2022
If you turned on your T.V. in the winter of 2007-2008, you probably couldn’t find new episodes of your favorite programs.
That winter some 12,000 writers represented by the Writers Guild of America took to the picket lines holding a 100 day strike.
Saturday Feb 12, 2022
Saturday Feb 12, 2022
On this day in labor history, the year was, 1880, labor leader John L. Lewis was born in a company mining camp outside of Lucas, Iowa.
His father was a Welsh coal miner, and young Lewis followed in his footsteps entering the Big Hill Mine in Lucas at the age of 17.
Friday Feb 11, 2022
Friday Feb 11, 2022
Did you work 40-hours this week? If you did, today is an important day for you! On this day in labor history, the year was 1926
On this day, labor leader Benjamin Gold began what became a general strike of all Furriers in New York City.
Thursday Feb 10, 2022
Thursday Feb 10, 2022
On this day in labor history, the year was 1979, Rufino Contreras gave his life to the labor movement.
In the Imperial Valley of California the United Farm Workers were engaged in a bitter labor strike against lettuce growers.
Shortly before noon, Contreres and six other strikers walked onto a lettuce field owned by Mario Saikhon in an attempt to try talk to a group of 75 scabs brought in to break the strike.
Before they could reach the scabs shots rang out.
Wednesday Feb 09, 2022
Wednesday Feb 09, 2022
On this day in labor history, the year was 2000, members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) went on strike against Boeing.
Tuesday Feb 08, 2022
Tuesday Feb 08, 2022
Each and every day Labor’s history continues to be written. Such is the case in North Carolina. On this day in labor history, the year was 2014 which saw a massive protest in Raleigh.
The protest was part of the “Moral Monday” movement.
“Moral Mondays” started off as and continue as a series of protests against new policies enacted by the Republican legislature and governor of North Carolina.