Labor History Today

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 [email protected]

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

This week on Labor History Today, we explore moments when workers didn’t just demand change—they forced it.
Detroit, 1937: sit-down strikers face a violent police raid—and resist, floor by floor, in a pivotal moment in the fight for union recognition.
Seattle, 1919: Conor Casey takes us inside the Labor Temple, as workers coordinate a general strike that briefly turns organized labor into the city’s governing force. See photos on LHF’s Labor Landmarks Map.
New York City, 1970: postal workers launch an illegal strike that spreads nationwide, defies federal troops, and wins real gains.
From America’s Workforce, historian Jesse Wilkerson takes us to the 1929 Elizabethton Rayon Strike, where young women led thousands in a bold challenge to low wages, toxic conditions, and repression.
In Michigan, from Madison Labor Radio, we hear the story of “Big Annie” Clements, who led copper miners in 1913—and the effort today to honor her legacy with a long-overdue monument.
And in Labor History in Two: Alice Henry, journalist and organizer, who helped amplify the voices of working women in the early 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 [email protected]

Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor.

@AWFUnionPodcast @ILLaborHistory #LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory

This week on Labor History Today: From the fiery tragedy that shocked the nation—the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire—to the powerful solidarity of the 1912 Bread and Roses strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts. We’ll also hear how a rebellious group of DJs turned a Bay Area radio station into a labor battleground in 1968, proving that the counterculture wasn’t just about rebellion—it was also about dignity, creativity, and fair pay on the job. And we visit Idaho’s Sunshine Mine Disaster Memorial, where a towering miner stands watch over 91 tombstones honoring workers lost in one of the deadliest hard-rock mining disasters in U.S. history. Reports from UUP’s The Voice podcast, Madison Labor Radio, and Labor History in 2:00.

Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at [email protected]

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

On this week’s Labor History Today, we continue our look at the legacy of A. Philip Randolph and the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first major Black-led union in the United States.

Recorded at Georgetown University’s Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor, SEIU International President April Verrett reflects on what Randolph’s legacy means for workers today.

Posting on International Women’s Day, this conversation highlights the role of women workers—especially in care and service jobs—in carrying forward the fight for dignity, organizing rights, and democracy. Verrett connects the porters’ struggle a century ago with today’s battles over worker power, immigration, and the changing nature of the working class.
PLUS: Remembering Lucy Parsons on Labor History in 2:00 and We Were There, from Bev Grant and the Brooklyn Women’s Chorus.

Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at [email protected]

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

On this week’s Labor History Today, historian Eric Arnesen marks the centennial of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, tracing how A. Philip Randolph and Black railway workers built the first major Black-led union in 1925, fought for what Randolph called “manhood rights”—dignity on the job—and helped lay the groundwork for the 1941 and 1963 Marches on Washington, reshaping both the labor movement and the modern civil rights struggle.
Plus, on Labor History in 2:00: The Price of Demanding Equal Pay, The 1937 Woolworth Sit-Down, and Remembering E.D. Nixon.

NOTE: Arnesen’s February 10 talk was part of a special Black History Month and Labor Spring event featuring April Verrett, the first Black woman president of SEIU, the Service Employees International Union, sponsored by the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor at Georgetown University. We’ll bring you highlights from Verrett’s talk in next week’s show.

Explore LHF’s new Labor Landmarks Map and suggest a site near you at laborheritage.org!

Questions, comments, or suggestions welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at [email protected]

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