Episodes

Saturday Mar 18, 2023
March 18 - Dancing in the Streets
Saturday Mar 18, 2023
Saturday Mar 18, 2023
On this day in Labor History the year was 1968. That was the day that the staff at radio station KMPX in San Francisco went on strike. The radio station had broken new ground with their “underground rock” format. In 1967, the station hired Tom “Big Daddy” Donahue as a DJ.

Friday Mar 17, 2023
March 17 - The Fight for the Eight Hour Day
Friday Mar 17, 2023
Friday Mar 17, 2023
On this day in Labor History the year was 1890. That was the day that the executive council of the American Federation of Labor decided that the Carpenters union should lead a national campaign for the eight-hour day. The cry “eight hours for work, eight hours for rest, eight hours for what we will!” had been on the lips of working people for more than twenty years.

Thursday Mar 16, 2023
March 16 - The Voice of Freedom
Thursday Mar 16, 2023
Thursday Mar 16, 2023
“Too long have others spoken for us." Those were the words published On this day in Labor History the year was 1827. This was the message of the co-editors of the Freeman’s Journal, the first black newspaper in the United States. Slavery had been outlawed in New York that same year.

Wednesday Mar 15, 2023
March 15 - Bruce!
Wednesday Mar 15, 2023
Wednesday Mar 15, 2023
On this day in Labor History the year was 1999. That was the day the Bruce Springsteen was inducted into the Rocking Roll Hall of Fame.
Two years later, an article in Rolling Stone magazine read, “For nearly four decades Bruce Springsteen has been a working-class hero: a plainspoken visionary and a sincere romantic whose insights into everyday lives — especially in America's small-town heartland — have earned comparisons to John Steinbeck and Woody Guthrie.”

Tuesday Mar 14, 2023
March 14 - Bread Yes, But Roses Too
Tuesday Mar 14, 2023
Tuesday Mar 14, 2023
On this day in Labor History the year was 1912. That was the day that participants in the famed Bread and Roses strike, gathered in Lawrence, Massachusetts to celebrate their victory. The strike had begun in January and was a hard-fought battle.

Monday Mar 13, 2023
March 13 - UAW Wins in the Post-War Strike Wave
Monday Mar 13, 2023
Monday Mar 13, 2023
On this day in Labor History the year was 1946. That was the day that United Autoworkers members won an 18.5-cent hourly raise after a four-month strike against General Motors. After World War II workers grew increasingly frustrated.

Sunday Mar 12, 2023
March 12 - Gandhi’s Salt March
Sunday Mar 12, 2023
Sunday Mar 12, 2023
On this day in Labor History the year was 1930. That was the day that Mahatma Gandhi began his famous Salt March. The March was to protest British colonial rule of India and the repressive salt tax waged on the Indian people. Under British rule, Indian people were prohibited from producing salt.

Saturday Mar 11, 2023
March 11 - Are You a Luddite?
Saturday Mar 11, 2023
Saturday Mar 11, 2023
At some point in your life you may have had someone call you a “luddite.’ Maybe you had a hard time programming your DVR, or working the latest app on your smart phone. But at some point technology gets the best of us all. But did you know the term luddite has its roots in labor history?

Friday Mar 10, 2023
March 10 - Sharing in the Pain of Struggle
Friday Mar 10, 2023
Friday Mar 10, 2023
On this day in Labor History the year was 1968. That was the day that farm labor activist Cesar Chavez broke a twenty-five day fast. He fasted as a sign of commitment to nonviolence during the struggle for farm workers in Delano, California to gain fair wages and safe working conditions. During the fast he only drank water.

Thursday Mar 09, 2023
March 9 - The Slovak Strike of 1910-11
Thursday Mar 09, 2023
Thursday Mar 09, 2023
On this day in Labor History the year was 1911. That was the day that coal miners in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania walked out of the mines. It became known as the “Slovak strike” because seventy percent of the strikers were Slovakian immigrants. Unrest was mounting among the workers in the non-unionized coal fields.