This final episode of Organize the Unorganized is devoted to key lessons of the CIO moment. All of the guests on this program were asked about this basic question, and we try to represent all of their answers on this episode. The negative lessons, points where guests were keen to note the differences between the 30s and the present moment, focused on the changed economic situation and the issue of labor law. The more positive lessons pertained to union democracy, overcoming divisions in the working class, mass organizing, raising expectations, and seizing the moment.

Guests in order of appearance: Dorothy Sue Cobble, Professor Emerita of History and Labor Studies at Rutgers University; David Brody, Professor Emeritus of History at UC-Davis; Ruth Milkman, Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the CUNY Graduate Center; Ahmed White, Nicholas Rosenbaum Professor of Law at the University of Colorado-Boulder; Lizabeth Cohen, Howard Mumford Jones Professor of American Studies at Harvard University; Robert Cherny, Professor Emeritus of History at San Francisco State University; Jeremy Brecher, Labor Historian; Nelson Lichtenstein, Professor of History at UC-Santa Barbara; Bryan Palmer, Professor Emeritus of History at Trent University; William P. Jones, Professor of History at the University of Minnesota; Rick Halpern, Professor of American Studies at the University of Toronto; Peter Cole, Professor of History at Western Illinois University; Erik Loomis, Professor of History at the University of Rhode Island; Steve Fraser, Labor Historian

Clips in order of appearance: “David Dubinsky speaks at the 25th anniversary celebration of his ILGWU presidency, Madison Square Garden, New York, 1957, Part 2,” David Dubinsky Audio-visual Recordings, Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library, https://rmc.library.cornell.edu/EAD/htmldocs/KCL05780-002av.html (37:32); “Walter Reuther and the UAW,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4n76yNizs8 (38:03); “A Conversation with Harry Bridges,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EFZOj7_1qI (39:31); John L. Lewis, “Industrial Democracy Speech, WEAF,” The John L. Lewis Papers, Wisconsin Historical Society (493A/39) (39:46)

Songs in order of appearance: The Union Boys, “Hold the Fort,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj4tNpjr9c4 (12:33); “On the Line,” “Tom Glazer Sings Favorite American Union Songs circa 1948,” United Packinghouse, Food, and Allied Workers Records, 1937-1968, Wisconsin Historical Society (Audio 375A/78), https://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=wiarchives;id=navbarbrowselink;cginame=findaid-idx;cc=wiarchives;view=reslist;subview=standard;didno=uw-whs-mss00118;focusrgn=C02;byte=412854728 (19:07); “We Shall Not Be Moved,” The Original Talking Union and Other Unions Songs with the Almanac Singers with Pete Seeger and Chorus, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3cJ7GVoOdA (27:56); Tracy Newman, “It Could Be a Wonderful World,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-yIs5GICs8 (42:33)

Theme music by Drake Tyler.

This penultimate episode of Organize the Unorganized concludes the story of the CIO. We cover first the communist purge in the late 1940s, as well as Operation Dixie, the failed campaign to organize the south. We then get to merger with the AFL in 1955, and the afterlife of the CIO in the Industrial Union Department and its contributions to the Civil Rights Movement.

Guests in order of appearance: Lizabeth Cohen, Howard Mumford Jones Professor of American Studies at Harvard University; James Young, Professor Emeritus of History at Edinboro University; Melvyn Dubofsky, Professor Emeritus of History and Sociology at Binghamton University; Erik Loomis, Professor of History at the University of Rhode Island; David Brody, Professor Emeritus of History at UC-Davis; Jeremy Brecher, Labor Historian; William P. Jones, Professor of History at the University of Minnesota; Nelson Lichtenstein, Professor of History at UC-Santa Barbara; Lisa Phillips, Associate Professor of History at Indiana State University; Steve Fraser, Labor Historian; Ruth Milkman, Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the CUNY Graduate Center; Dorothy Sue Cobble, Professor Emerita of History and Labor Studies at Rutgers University

Clips in order of appearance: “Bill Strength Congress of Industrial Organizations Program,” Part 11, “Congress of Industrial Organizations and Americanism” (1524A/28), in “Textile Workers Union of America Records, 1915-1994,” Wisconsin Historical Society, https://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=wiarchives;view=reslist;subview=standard;didno=uw-whs-us00129a (0:00); “James Matles - 1973, District 10 meeting, Lake Arrowhead, CA,” UE History, https://soundcloud.com/user-141302221/james-matles-1973-district-10-meeting-lake-arrowhead-ca (9:41); “Congress of Industrial Organizations convention debate on the expulsion of the communists, circa 4 November 1949” (1524A/91&92), in “Textile Workers Union of America Records, 1915-1994,” Wisconsin Historical Society, https://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=wiarchives;view=reslist;subview=standard;didno=uw-whs-us00129a (19:40, 20:14, 21:49, 22:33, 23:53); “Martin Luther King, AFL-CIO Convention 4 Dec 11, 1961,” AFL-CIO archive at the University of Maryland (35:30); “John F. Kennedy’s remarks to a labor group, 24 September, 1963” (375A/41), in “United Packinghouse, Food, and Allied Workers Records, 1937-1968,” Wisconsin Historical Society, https://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=wiarchives;id=navbarbrowselink;cginame=findaid-idx;cc=wiarchives;view=reslist;subview=standard;didno=uw-whs-mss00118;focusrgn=C02;byte=412854728 (39:50); “UAW Audiovisual Collection: 1955 Documentary on the CIO,” Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University (46:40)

Theme music by Drake Tyler.

The early period of the CIO could be said to have ended with the Little Steel strike in 1937, when the limits of the New Deal order were dramatically illustrated in the brutal repression and failure of the strike. But the CIO continued to grow through the 40s, and it was the war escalation that provided the context for it to do so. This episode will be devoted to the CIO's role in and relation to the war effort, and what it meant for this labor upsurge.

Guests in order of appearance: Melvyn Dubofsky, Professor Emeritus of History and Sociology at Binghamton University; Nelson Lichtenstein, Professor of History at UC-Santa Barbara; Rick Halpern, Professor of American Studies at the University of Toronto; Erik Loomis, Professor of History at the University of Rhode Island; Ruth Milkman, Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the CUNY Graduate Center; Dorothy Sue Cobble, Professor Emerita of History and Labor Studies at Rutgers University; Steve Fraser, Labor Historian; James Young, Professor Emeritus of History at Edinboro University; Daniel Nelson, Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Akron; Bryan Palmer, Professor Emeritus of History at Trent University

Clips in order of appearance: “Bill Strength Congress of Industrial Organizations Program,” Part 12 - “The People Speak” (1524A/28), in “Textile Workers Union of America Records, 1915-1994,” Wisconsin Historical Society, https://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=wiarchives;view=reslist;subview=standard;didno=uw-whs-us00129a (12:05); “US Steel Strike Ends,” British Movietone, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Rv4kGUc53c (29:08)

Quotes in order of appearance: Art Preis, Labor’s Giant Step (New York: Pathfinder, 2022), pp. 155-156 (16:35); Zieger, The CIO: 195-1955 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1995), pp. 212-213 (29:44)

Songs in order of appearance: The Union Boys, “UAW-CIO,” Songs for Victory: Music for Political Action, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X48V9OCUkU (15:42); The Almanac Singers, “Boomtown Bill,” Keep That Oil A Rollin’, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xLQjGUi_c8 (19:58); Josh White, “We’ve Got a Plan,” Power to the People!: Protest Songs, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zwh7y1l0L5g (26: 14)

Theme music by Drake Tyler. Quote music is Martin Tallstrom’s cover of “Freight Train,” used here with permission: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9LEUMgBkX8.

https://jacobin.com/2024/05/organize-the-unorganized-cio-episode-6

On this week's episode of Organize the Unorganized, we cover some of the key CIO unions not yet discussed in great detail, including the UE, ILWU, TWOC and PWOC. There were many other unions that formed the CIO - unions in oil, printing, transport, retail - but the four that we’re covering on this episode were four of the biggest and most influential that we haven't yet gotten into.

Guests in order of appearance: James Young, Professor Emeritus of History at Edinboro University; Robert Cherny, Professor Emeritus of History at San Francisco State University; Peter Cole, Professor of History at Western Illinois University; Erik Loomis, Professor of History at the University of Rhode Island; Steve Fraser, Labor Historian; Rick Halpern, Professor of American Studies at the University of Toronto; David Brody, Professor Emeritus of History at UC-Davis

Clips in order of appearance: “A View of the Future: James Matles UE Retirement Speech (Fitzie Introduction),” UE History, https://soundcloud.com/user-141302221/a-view-of-the-future-james-matles-ue-retirement-speech (0:00); Roll the Union On Intro, “Tom Glazer Sings Favorite American Union Songs circa 1948,” United Packinghouse, Food, and Allied Workers Records, 1937-1968, Wisconsin Historical Society (Audio 375A/78), https://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=wiarchives;id=navbarbrowselink;cginame=findaid-idx;cc=wiarchives;view=reslist;subview=standard;didno=uw-whs-mss00118;focusrgn=C02;byte=412854728 (6:47); “The 1934 West Coast waterfront strike | Oregon Experience | OPB,” Oregon Public Broadcasting, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbiI8age-y4 (12:53); “A Conversation with Harry Bridges,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EFZOj7_1qI (18:12, 27:50); Cleophas Williams, “Oral History interview with Harvey Schwartz in 1998,” ILWU Library (22:07); “WDVA, Boyd Patton on the history of the Textile Workers Union of America, 29 June 1952 (Audio 1524A/56),” Wisconsin Historical Society, https://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=wiarchives;cc=wiarchives;type=simple;rgn=Entire%20Finding%20Aid;q1=mine%20workers;view=reslist;sort=freq;didno=uw-whs-us00129a;idno=uw-whs-us00129a;focusrgn=C01;byte=761311434;start=1;size=25;subview=standard (32:34)

Quotes in order of appearance: Robert Zieger, The CIO: 1935-1955, p. 74 (28:24)

Songs in order of appearance: Pete Seeger, “Roll the Union On,” The Original Talking Union and Other Unions Songs with the Almanac Singers with Pete Seeger and Chorus, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1JWheVR028 (7:04); Arlo Guthrie, “The Ballad of Harry Bridges,” Step by Step: Music from the film, From Wharf Rats to Lords of the Docks, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJDIywPDlPs (17:20); Floyd Jones, “Stockyard Blues,” Chicago Blues, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBdm1vKmyac (37:50)

Theme music by Drake Tyler. Quote music is Martin Tallstrom’s cover of “Freight Train,” used here with permission: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9LEUMgBkX8.

https://jacobin.com/2024/05/organize-the-unorganized-cio-episode-5-little-steel

This episode is devoted to the Little Steel strike in the summer of 1937, a tragic failure for the Steel Workers Organizing Committee and the CIO, and one that illustrated the limits of the New Deal order. It might appear excessive to devote an entire episode of the podcast to one strike, but Little Steel was in many ways a turning point, a key hinge in our story. To capture it well we also need to delve into the more general history of steel organizing in America, a fantastically brutal affair that reveals the soul of American capitalism.

Guests in order of appearance: David Brody, Professor Emeritus of History at UC-Davis; Ahmed White, Nicholas Rosenbaum Professor of Law at the University of Colorado-Boulder; Nelson Lichtenstein, Professor of History at UC-Santa Barbara; Lizabeth Cohen, Howard Mumford Jones Professor of American Studies at Harvard University; Daniel Nelson, Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Akron; Melvyn Dubofsky, Professor Emeritus of History and Sociology at Binghamton University

Clips in order of appearance: Gus Hall, “U.S. Communist Party 75th Anniversary,” October 23, 1994, https://www.c-span.org/video/?61145-1/us-communist-party-75th-anniversary (0:00); “AFL vs. CIO split in 1935,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IsJZAknuIQ (7:47); John L. Lewis, “Industrial Democracy in Steel,” July 6, 1936, The John L. Lewis Papers 493A/39, Wisconsin Historical Society (9:26, 45:29); “UAW Audiovisual Collection: 1955 Documentary on the CIO,” Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University (19:10);

Quotes in order of appearance: Mary Heaton Vorse, Labor’s New Millions, p. 132, https://ia802602.us.archive.org/3/items/laborsnewmillion00vorsrich/laborsnewmillion00vorsrich.pdf (32:16)

Songs in order of appearance: Pete Seeger, “Homestead Strike Song,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xysm_JNnLqw (5:58); Joe Glazer, “Memorial Day Massacre,” Songs of Steel and Struggle, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6KsMlgCokI (20:12); Joe and Esther Zane Gelders, “The Ballad of John Catchings (Part 1),” The Lomax Kentucky Recordings, https://lomaxky.omeka.net/items/show/197 (38:36)

Theme music by Drake Tyler. Quote music is Martin Tallstrom’s cover of “Freight Train,” used here with permission: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9LEUMgBkX8.

https://jacobin.com/2024/04/cio-organize-podcast-left-unity

How was it that the CIO was finally able to make good on the decades-old dream of industrial unionism? In this episode, we outline four factors that were the keys to the CIO’s success. First, there was a political opportunity that the CIO took advantage of. Second, there were militant and disruptive tactics employed that were effective given that political opportunity. Third, there was the great energy and commitment of the Left as channeled toward the stable end of collective bargaining. And finally, there was what podcast guest Lizabeth Cohen has called the “culture of unity” bred by the CIO. The first factor was covered in Episode 2, and the second in Episode 3, and so we won’t rehash that material here. This episode is thus focused on the latter two: the influence of the Left and the culture of unity.

Guests in order of appearance: Dorothy Sue Cobble, Distinguished Professor Emerita of History and Labor Studies at Rutgers University; Steve Fraser, Labor Historian; David Brody, Professor Emeritus of History at UC-Davis; Jeremy Brecher, Labor Historian; Ahmed White, Nicholas Rosenbaum Professor of Law at the University of Colorado-Boulder; Lizabeth Cohen, Howard Mumford Jones Professor of American Studies at Harvard University; Nelson Lichtenstein, Professor of History at UC-Santa Barbara; Erik Loomis, Professor of History at the University of Rhode Island; William P. Jones, Professor of History at the University of Minnesota; Lisa Phillips, Associate Professor of History at Indiana State University; Rick Halpern, Professor of American Studies at the University of Toronto

Clips in order of appearance: “David Dubinsky speaks at the 25th anniversary celebration of his ILGWU presidency, Madison Square Garden, New York, 1957, Part 2,” David Dubinsky Audio-visual Recordings, Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library, https://rmc.library.cornell.edu/EAD/htmldocs/KCL05780-002av.html (48:15)

Songs in order of appearance: Paul Robeson, “Ballad for Americans,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHCQGQdeL68 (0:00); Joe Glazer, “I Ain’t No Stranger Now,” Textile Voices, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AePjBRgEuBI (32:40)

Theme music by Drake Tyler.

https://jacobin.com/2024/04/cio-organize-podcast-sit-down-strikes/

On the third episode of Organize the Unorganized, we examine the three initial major victories of the CIO in rubber, auto, and steel. We begin by recounting the story of the “first CIO strike” at the Goodyear complex in Akron, Ohio, a victorious strike that put the CIO on the map. We then turn to the great General Motors strike in the winter of 1937, perhaps the most iconic confrontation of the period and generally recognized as the CIO’s transformational victory. We end briefly on the steel organizing campaign, whose success was drawn in part from the threatening militancy of the CIO.

Guests in order of appearance: Ruth Milkman, Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the CUNY Graduate Center; Daniel Nelson, Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Akron; Nelson Lichtenstein, Professor of History at UC-Santa Barbara; Erik Loomis, Professor of History at the University of Rhode Island; Jeremy Brecher, Labor Historian; Steve Fraser, Labor Historian; Ahmed White, Nicholas Rosenbaum Professor of Law at the University of Colorado-Boulder; Melvyn Dubofsky, Professor Emeritus of History and Sociology at Binghamton University

Clips, in order of appearance: “UAW Presents… SITDOWN,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GdDupP8m6g (1:58, 10:32, 20:40, 21:57); John L. Lewis, “Industrial Democracy Speech, WEAF,” John L. Lewis Papers, 1879-1969, Wisconsin Historical Society, 493A/39 (8:29); Genora Johnson Dollinger, Audio Interview with Sherna Berger Gluck, https://csulb-dspace.calstate.edu/handle/10211.3/217512 (11:40, 14:16, 16:11)

Quotes, in order of appearance: Art Preis, Labor’s Giant Step: The First Twenty Years of the CIO, 1936-55 (New York: Pathfinder, 1964), pp. 101-102 (12:20)

Songs, in order of appearance: The Manhattan Chorus sings Maurice Sugar's "Sit Down." Recorded in April, 1937, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVrxruRTtDA (7:52); Mary McCaslin, “Join the CIO,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgKWT6r8-h0 (16:40)

Theme music by Drake Tyler. Quote music is Martin Tallstrom’s cover of “Freight Train,” used here with permission: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9LEUMgBkX8.

https://jacobin.com/2024/04/cio-organize-podcast-hillman-lewis

On the second episode of Organized the Unorganized, we kick things off with an account of the institutional formation of the CIO, and then get to the organization’s key personalities. John L. Lewis, the founding president of and driving force behind the CIO, unsurprisingly gets a fair amount of time, and we focus in particular on the reasons for his bold leadership at this decisive moment in history. We also introduce Sidney Hillman, the only other real center of power in the organization besides Lewis in the early CIO, as well as some of the key organizers of the CIO, most of whom hailed from the United Mine Workers of America.

Guests, in order of appearance: Melvyn Dubofsky, Professor Emeritus of History and Sociology at Binghamton University; Nelson Lichtenstein, Professor of History at UC-Santa Barbara; Jeremy Brecher, Labor Historian; Erik Loomis, Professor of History at the University of Rhode Island; Steve Fraser, Labor Historian; Lisabeth Cohen, Howard Mumford Jones Professor of American Studies at Harvard University; Ahmed White, Nicholas Rosenbaum Professor of Law at the University of Colorado-Boulder; Robert Cherny, Professor Emeritus of History at San Francisco State University; Dorothy Sue Cobble, Distinguished Professor Emerita of History and Labor Studies at Rutgers University

Clips, in order of appearance: John L Lewis, “The Future of Organized Labor” speech, November 28, 1935, in the “John L. Lewis papers, 1879-1969,” Wisconsin Historical Society, 493A/9 (0:00, 19:42); Mike Wallace, “John L. Lewis,” Biography, https://youtu.be/2fwAr3_oHKg?si=cJwo8qZpFAQ0WX0R (8:01); Sidney Hillman, "America's Town meeting -- WJZ & Network - June 14, 1935 -- Mr. Sidney Hillman," Box 1, Folder 2, Sidney and Bessie Hillman Recording Discs, 1935, Collection Number 6225 AV, https://rmc.library.cornell.edu/EAD/htmldocs/KCL06225av.html (26:58); “UAW Audiovisual Collection: 1955 Documentary on the CIO,” Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University

Quotes, in order of appearance: William Z. Foster, Misleaders of Labor, p. 133, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b5111691&seq=139; Robert Zieger, The CIO: 1935-1955, p. 25; Melvyn Dubofsky and Warren van Tine, John L. Lewis: A Biography, p. 163; Walter Reuther and James Carey, introduction to John Brophy, A Miner’s Life: An Autobiography, https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Miner_s_Life/LD_tAAAAMAAJ?hl=en

Songs, in order of appearance: George Jones, “This is what the union has done,” George Korson Bituminous Songs Collection, Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200197194/; Sarah Ogan Gunning, “I'm Goin' to Organize, Baby Mine (part 1),” The Lomax Kentucky Recordings, https://lomaxky.omeka.net/items/show/212; Pete Seeger, “Which Side Are You On?”, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XEnTxlBuGo

Theme music by Drake Tyler. Quote music is Martin Tallstrom’s cover of “Freight Train,” used here with permission: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9LEUMgBkX8.

https://jacobin.com/2024/04/organize-cio-podcast-bridges-trucker-strikes

The first episode of Organize the Unorganized sets the stage for the story of the Congress of Industrial Organizations, first getting into the history of the organization from which it broke off, the American Federation of Labor, and then describing three developments that raised workers’ expectations in the lead-up to the founding of the CIO: the broken promises of welfare capitalism, the National Industrial Recovery Act, and the mass strikes of 1934.

Interviewees, in order of appearance: Ruth Milkman, Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the CUNY Graduate Center; Robert Cherny, Professor Emeritus of History at San Francisco State University; Ahmed White, Nicholas Rosenbaum Professor of Law at the University of Colorado-Boulder; Dorothy Sue Cobble, Distinguished Professor Emerita of History and Labor Studies at Rutgers University; Nelson Lichtenstein, Professor of History at UC-Santa Barbara; Lizabeth Cohen, Howard Mumford Jones Professor of American Studies at Harvard University; Bryan Palmer, Professor Emeritus of History at Trent University; Steve Fraser, Labor Historian; David Brody, Professor Emeritus of History at UC-Davis; Erik Loomis, Professor of History at the University of Rhode Island; Jeremy Brecher, Labor Historian

Songs, in order of appearance: Aunt Molly Jackson, “CIO Union Song,” https://lomaxky.omeka.net/items/show/1352 (7:28); Joe and Esther Zane Gelders, “The Ballad of John Catchings,” https://lomaxky.omeka.net/items/show/197 (23:50); John Greenway, “The Ballad of Bloody Thursday,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWafvcwXCtc (32:08)

Clips, in order of appearance: John L. Lewis speech, from Mike Wallace’s Biography, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fwAr3_oHKg&t=384s (0:00); AFL vs. CIO split in 1935, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IsJZAknuIQ (11:51); David Dubinsky speech, from “ILGWU. David Dubinsky Audio-visual Recordings: Collection Number: 5780/002 AV,” Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Box 2, Folder 10, “David Dubinsky—United Auto Worker Convention, Atlantic City, New Jersey, regarding racketeering” (18:49); “1934 United States Labor Disputes and Strikes newsreel archival footage,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIaLk-LKlqI (25:33); “San Francisco General Strike, 1934 - Part 2,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaccCzN7WLc (29:45); “Farrell Dobbs Speaks! Teamster Battles of the 1930s: Part 1,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLr45LwsqGI&t=1462s (41:46)

Theme music by Drake Tyler.

There have been many moments of labor upsurge in America, including the influx of members into the Knights of Labor in 1886, the dramatic growth of unions during and in the immediate aftermath of World War I, and the great public sector unionism surge of the 1960s and 70s, but none matches the scale of the 1930s, when millions of workers were unionized under the aegis of the great labor federation, the Congress of Industrial Organizations, or CIO. If we’re looking to get millions of private-sector workers into the labor movement, there’s really one time to look to, and that is the ascendant period of the CIO.

In Organize the Unorganized, a forthcoming podcast from the Center for Work & Democracy at Arizona State University and Jacobin Magazine, we’ll be telling the story of the CIO through the voices of prominent labor historians, including Jeremy Brecher, Robert Cherny, Dorothy Sue Cobble, Lizabeth Cohen, David Brody, Melvyn Dubofsky, Steve Fraser, Rick Halpern, William P. Jones, Nelson Lichtenstein, Erik Loomis, Ruth Milkman, Daniel Nelson, Bryan Palmer, Lisa Phillips, Ahmed White, and Jim Young. These interviews have been spliced together into an account of the rise, importance, and legacy of the CIO. In addition to being released on soundcloud.com/organizetheunorganized, these episodes will also be released on Jacobin magazine’s podcast feed. Jacobin will also be publishing the individual interview transcriptions while the podcast is running.