On today’s show, we remember actor Ed Asner, best known for his role as a tough newspaperman on the Lou Grant show during the 1970s and early 1980s. He was also an ardent unionist, serving two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild. Ed once said “You’re either a union or you’re not; you either go on strike for issues and know what you’re striking for or you don’t.” Ed talked with Judy Ancel on the Heartland Labor Forum radio show back in 2013.

This Labor Day weekend marks the 100-year anniversary of the Battle of Blair Mountain, which was part of the West Virginia Mine Wars, in which miners and their families laid down a foundation to fight for every worker’s labor rights. From Empathy Media Lab, we bring you David Rovics’ audio essay about the battle that was the largest armed insurrection in the U.S. since the Civil War.

And, on Labor History in 2:00, the year was 1882. That was the day that the first labor day celebration and parade took place in New York City.PLUS: Bakery strikes in Cool Things from the Meany Archives.  

Produced by Chris Garlock. To contribute a labor history item, email [email protected]

Labor History Today is produced by the Metro Washington Council’s Union City Radio and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor at Georgetown University.

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