Broadcast on April 6, 2023
Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith

Tuesday, April 4, was the 55th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee, where he had been supporting a strike by 1,300 Black sanitation workers. This week, AFSCME -- the union those sanitation workers belonged to -- released the first episode of I AM STORY, a podcast that retells the gripping story of a labor struggle that rocked a city and altered our history. We talk with Kris Stith, one of the members of the I AM STORY team, plus we share a trailer for the podcast.

Broadcast on March 30, 2022
Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith

Labor movement researcher and organizer Eric Dirnbach says that Bon Jovi’s 1986 hit “Livin’ on a Prayer” is an anthem about working class survival. We talk with Eric about the song’s deeper message about class struggle.

Produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Kahlia Chapman. 

Broadcast on March 30, 2022

If it seemed like there were more strikes last year, that’s because there were; Johnnie Kallas has the data to prove it with the Cornell ILR Labor Action Tracker's second annual report. We find out who struck, where, and why.

Broadcast on March 23, 2023
Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith

As Americans pay astronomical health care costs, the new film “American Hospitals: Healing A Broken System” takes a provocative look at hospitals accruing wealth and evading scrutiny. We talk with director, co-producer and co-writer Vincent Mondillo. The film is set to premiere at E Street Cinema in Washington, DC on March 29th, 2023 (CLICK HERE for your free ticket!) and will subsequently open nationwide in over twenty cities, via the theatrical distributor 8 Above, including New York City, Boston, Chicago, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, and Los Angeles, followed by community screenings starting May 1. View the trailer here.

Produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Michael Nassella and Kahlia Chapman.  

Broadcast on March 23, 2023

Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith

Award-winning RN Angelo Estrellas, fired Wednesday for purportedly supporting DCNA’s union organizing campaign at George Washington University Hospital, speaks out on why the nurses want a union. Demand his reinstatement here.

Why is Virginia trying to erase labor history from its schools? The Virginia Education Association’s Shane Riddle and Brian Peyton from Teamsters 322 explain.

Produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Michael Nassella and Kahlia Chapman.

@wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod @NursesHealDC @NationalNurses @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod @NursesHealDC @NationalNurses @riddle_shane of @VEA4Kids @IBTLocal322 @Virginia_AFLCIO @VirginiaUnified @Teamsters

Broadcast on March 16, 2023

Hosted by Chris Garlock

Tuesday, March 21, a group of older Americans, along with their intergenerational friends and supporters, will hold a day-long action here in Washington DC to demand that the country's biggest banks stop funding fossil fuels. They’re planning a Multi-Faith Prayer Circle, a Walk of Hope, a Rally, and a March of Action. In addition, small groups of elders in rocking chairs will take up a 24-hour vigil outside downtown offices of the four dirtiest banks. Some of these elders will block the entrances, risking arrest.

We talk with Jos Williams, former president of the metro Washington Labor Council AFL-CIO and David Mott, retired SEIU Organizing Coordinator, about the Banking on our Future Day of Action.

Produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Michael Nassella and Kahlia Chapman.

@wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod @ThirdActOrg #StopDirtyBanks

Broadcast on March 16, 2023
Hosted by Chris Garlock

SAKET SONI’s astonishing story of immigrants lured to the United States from India and trapped in forced labor--told by the visionary labor leader who engineered their escape and set them on a path to citizenship. His new book is THE GREAT ESCAPE: A True Story of Forced Labor and Immigrant Dreams in America.

Broadcast on March 9, 2023

Myrtle Witbooi started as a young domestic worker in apartheid South Africa, became General Secretary of the South African Domestic Service and Allied Workers Union and was the first president of the International Domestic Workers Federation. From the Labor History Today podcast, in honor of International Women’s Day, Myrtle Witbooi – who died earlier this year – in her own voice, honored by the late Richard Trumka, and remembered by the Solidarity Center’s Alexis De Simone.

Produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Michael Nassella and Kahlia Chapman.  

Broadcast on March 9, 2023

“We pay taxes. We fight in your wars. We do everything we are supposed to do as residents and citizens of this country, and we deserve our autonomy and we deserve our statehood. Hands off DC!”

Broadcast on March 2, 2023

In one of the largest series of labor-focused teach-ins in recent memory, academics have joined with workers, Gen Z activists, unions and others to launch “Labor Spring.” These events, held on college campuses and in communities nationwide from late February through early May, are clear outgrowths of the current moment’s surge in union organizing and pro-worker sentiment.  We talk with Dr. James Benton, director of the Race and Economic Empowerment Project at the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor at Georgetown University, which launched the effort. Click here for a full list of planned events.