On this week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour: We dig into how culture fuels courage on the shop floor and the strike line. First, legendary organizer–songwriter Si Kahn breaks down the organizer’s “secret weapon”: parody. From Joe Hill’s “new words to old tunes” to the brand-new “Solidarity at Starbucks,” we explore why familiar melodies can turn a crowd into a chorus—fast. Then we head to Camp Solidarity in Matewan, West Virginia for “Lessons from the Massey Strike.” UMWA veterans Charles “Hawkeye” Dixon, Howard Phillips, and Eddie Burke take us inside the 1984–85 fight with Massey: the tactics, the unity, the losses, and what it took to stop production and keep a union alive. All hour long, it’s WPFW’s Fall Fund Drive. If the music, history, and first-person voices you hear here matter to you, help keep Jazz & Justice strong and independent: wpfwfm.org or 1-800-222-9739; $12.50/month makes you a sustainer; any amount makes you family. Broadcast on October 23, 2025 on WPFW 89.3FM in Washington, DC and Pacifica stations and affiliates across America. Hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Mike Nasella & Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod
On this week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour: We dedicate this week's show to Laurel Blaydes (1952–2022) — singer, organizer, and former director of the Labor Heritage Foundation—on the week she would have turned 73. Co-host Elise Bryant shares reflections on Laurel’s artistry and why labor culture sustains us in hard times, before we hear Laurel’s 1981 Labor Solidarity Day performance of “Hold the Fort” with Joe Uehlein, Tommy Moran, and John Gower. Then: the work, art, and voice of Fannie Lou Hamer—sharecropper’s daughter, timekeeper, Freedom Singer, and SNCC organizer. We spin the brand-new “Fannie Lou” from Baltimore’s R.J. Phillips Band, followed by Hamer herself singing “Pick a Bale of Cotton.” In our second segment, the Heartland Labor Forum talks with historian Marcella Bencivenni about Arturo Giovannitti—Italian-born union leader, poet, and a key organizer of the 1912 Bread & Roses strike—whose free-speech trial helped define labor’s voice. Our third segment is the Labor Song of the Week: Otis Gibbs’ “Joe Hill’s Ashes,” and we go out with Laurel Blaydes singing “What Will I Leave” at the 2004 Great Labor Arts Exchange. It’s also WPFW’s Fall Fund Drive this week. If this mix of music, memory, and movement matters to you, please become a sustaining member and keep Jazz & Justice strong: wpfwfm.org or call 1-800-222-9739. Broadcast on October 16, 2025 on WPFW 89.3FM in Washington, DC and Pacifica stations across America. Hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Mike Nasella & Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod
On this week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour: From a Buffalo coffee shop to a national movement, this week’s show pours a strong cup of worker power. Chris talks with Oscar-nominated director and former steelworker Mark Mori about “Baristas vs. Billionaires,” his new film on the Starbucks union drive. Then we head to Matewan for UMWA President Cecil Roberts’ barnburner on courage, history, and who this land belongs to. We close with street-level memories of former Steelworkers president Leo Gerard and his mic-grabbing solidarity. Plus Labor History in 2.00 and a brand-new version of Woody Guthrie’s classic “Deportee” from Colleen Kattau. Hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Mike Nasella & Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod
On this week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour: A visit to the Donora Smog Museum, where a six-day inversion in 1948 trapped toxic fumes over a mill town and changed how the U.S. thinks about work, health, and accountability. Then educator and Mine Wars Museum co-founder Wilma Steele unpacks how a simple red bandana—rooted in centuries-old paisley—became a living symbol of union solidarity. PLUS: Dropkick Murphy's frontman Ken Casey’s Favorite Labor Song, and a double helping of Labor History in 2:00, with the “Jerry Rescue” of 1851 and the 1919 Elaine Massacre. Broadcast on October 2, 2025 on WPFW 89.3FM in Washington, DC and other stations across the country. Hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Mike Nasella & Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod
This week on the Labor Heritage Power Hour, host Chris Garlock is joined by guest co-host Kimmon “MacGyver” Williams. In our first segment, MacGyver talks with Matt Olson from the New Orleans Worker Center for Racial Justice about Don’t Stand Alone, a striking traveling exhibit that recovers the hidden histories of Black labor organizing in New Orleans and brings them to life through art, storytelling, and solidarity. Then Dan Golodner, co-host of the Tales from the Reuther Library podcast, talks with Dr. Kendra Boyd, author of “Freedom Enterprise: Black Entrepreneurship and Racial Capitalism in Detroit”, which explores the history of Detroit’s Black migration, entrepreneurship, and the struggle against so-called “Negro removal” as urban renewal projects dismantled thriving Black business districts. Plus: the latest labor arts news, including new unions at the San Diego Zoo, Broadway contract fights, Writers Guild recognition at children’s TV producers, and a remembrance of former United Steelworkers president Leo Gerard, honored for his deep support of labor art and culture. Broadcast on September 25, 2025 on WPFW 89.3FM in Washington, DC. and other Pacifica stations. Hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Mike Nasella & Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod
On this week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour: historian Joe McCartin unpacks Congress’s “Unmasking Union Antisemitism,” showing how employers have long weaponized antisemitic tropes against unions while Jewish workers helped build a pluralistic, democratic labor movement—and why the latest push is really about weakening unions and chilling speech. Then producer Patrick Dixon talks with artist-anthropologist Aubrey Edwards about High Iron, a traveling boxcar-turned-community museum honoring the immigrant and Indigenous workers who built the West’s railroads, towns, and economy. Two stories, one thread: who tells America’s story—the power brokers, or the people who built it? Broadcast on September 18, 2025 on WPFW 89.3FM in Washington, DC and other stations across America. Hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Mike Nasella & Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod
On this week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour: former circus hand Chris Bricker talks with historian Andrea Ringer about her new book, Circus World: Roustabouts, Animals, and the Work of Putting on The Big Show—a deep dive into the hidden labor that built 14-acre tent cities, from riggers and animal trainers to strikes that shaped the spectacle. Then organizer and cultural strategist Ken Grossinger returns with updates on Art Works: How organizers and artists are creating a better world together and how artists and organizers are joining forces, why authoritarians target culture first, and what it takes to scale creative power across unions and communities. PLUS, on Labor History in 2:00: The Lattimer Massacre and Chicago Teachers Say, Enough! Broadcast on September 11, 2025 on WPFW 89.3FM in Washington, DC. Hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Mike Nasella & Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio @kgrossinger #1u #unions #laborradiopod
On this week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour: Chris Garlock sits down with Strike While the Needle is Hot: A Discography of Workers’ Revolt authors Josh MacPhee and Kennedy Block to spin and unpack strike records from the ’60s–’80s—including the rousing 1978 EP “Ford Workers on Strike.” A fast-moving tour of worker-made music and how vinyl captured picket lines, speeches, and solidarity anthems. Broadcast on September 4, 2025 on WPFW 89.3FM in Washington, DC. Hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Mike Nasella & Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod
On this week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour: Shanara Gabrielle on Theater Alliance’s fire work, then Zoltoid, the Worker Safety Oracle with Jay Herzmark. Plus previews from our Labor Day Special—Strike While the Needle is Hot (Josh MacPhee/Kennedy Block’s strike-record book, featuring Ford Workers on Strike) and Labor 131 with Jessie Wilkerson on the 1929 Elizabethton rayon strike. Labor Day Special airs Monday, Sept 1, 11am–1pm EDT on WPFW 89.3FM Broadcast on August 28, 2025 on WPFW 89.3FM in Washington, DC and Pacifica stations across the country. Hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Mike Nasella & Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod
On this week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour: Poet Martín Espada joins Susan Eisenberg to read from Jailbreak of Sparrows—poems of work, class, and immigrant labor, including “Look at This” and “The Snake.” Then we mark the IWW’s Little Red Songbook anniversary with four classics: “Hold the Fort,” “The Internationale,” “Dump the Bosses Off Your Back,” and “Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues.” Broadcast on August 21, 2025 on WPFW 89.3FM in Washington, DC, and other stations across America on the Pacifica Network. Hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Mike Nasella & Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod
On this week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour, scholar and creator Shana L. Redmond sits down with Naomi R Williams, Assistant Professor of Labor Studies and Employment Relations at Rutgers University, to discuss Williams' new book A Blueprint for Worker Solidarity: Class Politics and Community in Wisconsin. Williams takes us into the history of Racine, Wisconsin — a small industrial city where, in the 1970s and 80s, workers built cross-racial, cross-sector alliances that transformed their community. From “total person unionism” to coalitions linking labor, civil rights, and women’s movements, Racine’s story offers a powerful blueprint for building democracy and justice today. This episode also features John Lewis Says Freedom, a brand-new song from musical storyteller and political satirist Charlie King. WPFW’s Summer Fund Drive—support the station for jazz and justice here or call 202-588-9739. Tags: labor history, worker solidarity, Racine Wisconsin, Naomi Williams, Shauna Redmond, unions, WPFW, Summer Fund Drive, civil rights, total person unionism Broadcast on August 14, 2025 on WPFW 89.3FM in Washington, DC. and other stations across America on the Pacifica Network. Hosted by Chris Garlock and Kimmon “Macgyver” Williams; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Mike Nasella & Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod
On this week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour: We kick off with Billy Bragg singing Power in a Union at the Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival and end with his moving anthem Help Save the Youth of America. In between, we explore labor solidarity from the streets of San Francisco’s LaborFest to the windswept plains of Texas, where cowboys once went on strike. Plus: labor poetry, cooperative alternatives, and Rick Smith on Reagan vs. PATCO. Music, memory, and the power of collective action—all in one hour. Broadcast on August 7, 2025 on WPFW 89.3FM in Washington, DC and stations on the Pacifica network across the country. Support independent media during WPFW’s Summer Fund Drive—donate today at wpfwfm.org. Your gift keeps shows like this on the air. Hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Mike Nasella & Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod #CowboyStrike #TolpuddleMartyrs #BillyBragg
On this week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour, we open with a tribute to the late Tom Lehrer, the sharp-witted satirist who reminded us that protest songs can be powerful and hilarious. His classic “The Folk Song Army” kicks off a show that digs deep into the contradictions of American progress. We mark the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal with a revealing conversation between author Mark S. Ferrara and labor educator Linda Donahue, who explore the hidden histories of the immigrant diggers, displaced communities, orphan mule drivers, and working-class women who built and lived along the canal. Ferrara’s book The Raging Erie tells a vivid and unsettling story of how labor shaped — and was shaped by — one of the nation’s greatest infrastructure projects. Then, we turn to Charlie King, who reflects on the chilling echoes of McCarthyism in the 1980s when American Express asked potential Louisville workers: “Are you now or have you ever been a member of a union?” His response: a stirring modern protest song that’s as relevant today as ever. Plus: your weekly Labor History in 2:00 from Rick Smith. The Labor Heritage Power Hour originates on WPFW 89.3FM in Washington, DC. and is broadcast on stations across the Pacifica network. Hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Mike Nasella & Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod
On this week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour: An inside look at the organizers and artists on the front lines of political mobilization and social change: Ken Grossinger on his 2023 book Art Works: How Organizers and Artists Are Creating a Better World Together. Check out the Art Works music playlist on Spotify. PLUS: Stand Up, Don’t Sit Down; An excerpt from AFSCME’s I AM STORY podcast. Originally broadcast 7/6/23 & 7/18/24 Produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Mike Nasella & Kahlia Chapman. @ArtWorksbook @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod @AFSCME
On this week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour: Ron Carver sits down with lifelong activist and author Michael Ansara, whose powerful new memoir The Hard Work of Hope traces his journey from a 13-year-old stepping into a Woolworth’s picket line to leading anti-war and grassroots campaigns across the country. Ansara reflects on building hope through action, the lessons of SDS, and the importance of solidarity today. We celebrate John Lewis' birthday with Linda Allen’s “Good Trouble,” and hear fiery remarks from APWU President Mark Dimondstein, winner of the 2025 Joe Hill Award, on the power of labor history, resistance, and the role of the arts in the fight for justice. Plus: Labor arts news, contract wins from the SNL VFX crew, video game performers, and Annapolis Symphony musicians. And we remember civil rights legend Ida B. Wells and the 1934 San Francisco General Strike in this week’s Labor History. Check, check—1, 2, 1, 2—don’t miss this packed episode of labor voices, music, poetry, and power. Broadcast on July 17, 2025 on WPFW 89.3FM in Washington, DC. Hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Mike Nasella & Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod
This week on the Labor Heritage Power Hour, we bring you live music, radical art, and labor history from across time and place. First, we take you to McGinty’s Public House in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland, for Laborpalooza—the high-energy Saturday night concert June 21 at the 2025 Great Labor Arts Exchange. From contest-winning songs and poems to fiery hip hop, choral harmonies, and satirical anthems, this episode captures the spirit of a movement that sings, rhymes, and dances for justice. Then, we return to part two of artist and printmaker Eric Ruin’s deep and honest conversation with Tabitha Arnold. Eric reflects on the challenges and contradictions of living as a mid-career artist—balancing ambition, solidarity work, and creative survival in a system that rarely values art for its own sake. Finally, in Labor History in Two, we remember Ella Reeve “Mother” Bloor, the undercover labor activist and early socialist leader born on this day in 1862. Hosted by Chris Garlock. Produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and broadcast on WPFW 89.3 FM and the Pacifica Network. 🖥️ Watch full performances from Laborpalooza on the Labor Heritage Foundation YouTube channel. Broadcast on July 10, 2025 on WPFW 89.3FM in Washington, DC and Pacifica stations across the U.S. Hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Mike Nasella & Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod
On this week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour, cultural critic Kathleen M. Newman joins Chris Garlock to unpack how class, power, and work are portrayed in three hit TV series: The Residence, Running Point, and Your Friends and Neighbors. From the White House to pro sports to suburban secrets, these shows pull back the curtain on the invisible labor that makes elite worlds run—and the messy lives behind the glamour. Plus, what happens when working-class characters finally get their own stories? Broadcast on July 3, 2025 on WPFW 89.3FM in Washington, DC and on the Pacifica network. Hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Mike Nasella & Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod
This week on the Labor Heritage Power Hour: We go behind the scenes of Hollywood’s Golden Age with J.E. Smyth, author of Mary C. McCall Jr.: The Rise and Fall of Hollywood’s Most Powerful Screenwriter. SAG-AFTRA member Harold Phillips talks with Smyth about McCall’s groundbreaking career, her role in founding the Screen Writers Guild, and her fight for union recognition in an industry built on stars but powered by words. Then we head to San Francisco for a preview of this year’s LaborFest, commemorating the 1934 General Strike with a month-long lineup of labor walks, films, music, and international solidarity. Organizer Steve Zeltzer shares what’s on tap this July—and why art and culture remain vital tools in the struggle for workers' rights. Originating on WPFW 89.3FM in Washington, DC and broadcast on Pacifica Radio stations across the country. Hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Mike Nasella & Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network.
On this week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour: Publisher Tim Sheard reflects on a life of storytelling and organizing—from the founding of Hardball Press to his latest project, Asian Workers Stories. Then, artist and printmaker Eric Ruin talks with Tabitha Arnold about class rage, punk rock, and how zine culture shaped his radical artistic journey. Plus, Rosemary Feurer shares her favorite labor song, and we’ve got your Labor History in 2:00. Broadcast on June 19, 2025 on WPFW 89.3FM in Washington, DC. Hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Mike Nasella & Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod
On this week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour: Francisco Herrera calls on music as a tool of resistance against ICE raids and repression in California; Carsie Blanton and Colleen Kattau bring songs of truth and freedom; Will Attig shares his favorite labor anthem; Seth Newton Patel digs into the 1883 Cowboy Strike; plus a double dose of Labor History in 2:00 and Little Steven’s Bitter Fruit. Broadcast on June 12, 2025 on WPFW 89.3FM in Washington, DC. Hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Mike Nasella & Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network. @carsieblanton @ColleenKattau @WillAttig @unionveterans @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod