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...
Apr 06, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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. @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod @EricDirnbach...
Apr 03, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Broadcast on March 30, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith 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. Produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Kahlia Chapman. @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod @JohnnieKallas @CornellILR @ILRLaborAction...
Mar 31, 2023•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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, ...
Mar 24, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Micha...
Mar 23, 2023•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 dirt...
Mar 20, 2023•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 . Produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Michael Nassella and Kahlia Chapman. @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod @ResilienceForce...
Mar 18, 2023•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Broadcast on March 9, 2023 Hosted by Chris Garlock 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 Solidar...
Mar 11, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Broadcast on March 9, 2023 Hosted by Chris Garlock “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!” The message was loud and clear at Wednesday’s spirited rally protesting this week’s move by Congress to block the implementation of new criminal justice reforms in DC. We’ve got an audio postcard from the rally. Produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Mic...
Mar 10, 2023•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Broadcast on March 2, 2023 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith 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 a...
Mar 06, 2023•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Broadcast on March 2, 2023 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith Starbucks Violated Labor Law in Buffalo Union Drive, Judge Rules Caterpillar and UAW reach a tentative contract agreement, averting strike Union leaders hail Su nomination as new Labor Secretary Brandon Johnson Is Heading to Chicago’s Mayoral Runoff as a Champion of the Working Class High-Profile Art Couple Offers Worst Job Ever Produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Michael Nassella and Kahlia Chapman. @wpfwdc @aflcio #1...
Mar 03, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Broadcast on February 23, 2023 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith Jon Melrod on the life and legacy of David Fagen, a Buffalo Soldier who became a Filipino revolutionary. A former auto worker, Melrod’s the author of Fighting Times: Organizing on the Front Lines of the Class War . Produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Michael Nassella and Kahlia Chapman. @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod @JonathanMelrod...
Feb 24, 2023•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast Broadcast on February 23, 2023 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith EPI policy analyst and government affairs specialist Margaret Poydock : Major strike activity increased nearly 50% in 2022 . Union Veterans Council Executive Director Will Attig : Labor joins Ukraine solidarity rally this Saturday at Lincoln Memorial. Evening with Labor award-winners Sam Epps, UNITE HERE 25 Political Director and IATSE 22’s Chuck Clay. Plus: Latest labor news headlines. Produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by...
Feb 24, 2023•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Broadcast on February 16, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock Elise Bryant on a new generation’s plans at the Coalition of Labor Union Women and the Labor Heritage Foundation . Plus an audio postcard from the Feb. 15 Prince George’s County building trades rally for a project labor agreement. Produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Michael Nassella and Kahlia Chapman. @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod @CLUWNational @LaborHeritage1 @pgcd8_burroughs @KrystalOriadha @WalaBlegay @Progressiv...
Feb 20, 2023•16 sec•Transcript available on Metacast Broadcast on February 16, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock Live report from the Teamsters 639 picket line against Keolis Transit in Prince William County. Veteran railroader Fritz Edler says rail workers have been warning of the dangers of accidents like the Feb. 3 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and why it matters to us all. Edler is a Special Rep for Railroad Workers United, and former local and regional officer of BLET-IBT. Produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Michael Nassella and K...
Feb 17, 2023•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Broadcast on February 9, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith Back when he was an arc welder, longtime labor activist Bill Fletcher Jr fell 20 feet on the job; his second novel, The Man Who Changed Colors , imagines the story of another worker who didn’t survive the fall, exploring the complicated relationships between Cape Verdean Americans and African Americans, Portuguese fascist gangs, and abusive shipyard working conditions on Cape Cod. Produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Kahlia...
Feb 10, 2023•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast Broadcast on February 9, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith Pasha Fesenko and Jeslyn Zakes on why DC-area farmers market workers voted to unionize this week with UFCW Local 400 to form the FRESHFARM Workers Union. Plus: Harold Phillips, actor and fellow Labor Radio Podcast Network member , on the workplace safety issues raised by the recent charging of actor Alec Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter in the tragic 2022 "Rust" shooting case. Produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Kahli...
Feb 09, 2023•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Broadcast on February 2, 2023 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith Ralph Fasanella , a former UE organizer who became recognized as one of America’s greatest painters of working-class life and struggle, passed away twenty-five years ago, on December 16, 1997. UE Communications Director Jonathan Kissam talks about Fasanella’s life, art and commitment to the working class. Read his article here: Remembering Ralph Fasanella, UE Organizer and Painter of Working-Class Life and Struggle Produ...
Feb 06, 2023•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Broadcast on February 2, 2023 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith Longtime labor activist Sam Weinstein reports live from the UK on the Wednesday Walkout by 500,000 fed-up workers. Defenders of Wildlife works to protect animals and plants but who protects the people who work there? We find out from Defenders United’s Erica Prather. PhD candidates Jan-Michael Archer and Alexander Hoyle on how Maryland graduate student workers are fighting for union rights. Produced by Chris G...
Feb 03, 2023•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast Broadcast on January 26, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith Economic Policy Institute Policy Analyst and Government Affairs Specialist Margaret Poydock on how Unionization increased by 200,000 in 2022; tens of millions more wanted to join a union, but couldn’t . Emily Barth , Assistant Attorney General in the DC OAG’s Office of Consumer Protection on how Instacart workers who made deliveries in DC may be eligible for $150+ cash payments. Click here for details on how to file a claim. De...
Jan 30, 2023•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Broadcast on January 26, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith On the picketline, striking Loudoun County bus driver Sandra Vigil talks about why she and her fellow ATU 689 members are striking Keolis Transit. Plus labor news headlines: Union ratifies contract with Ingredion, ending nearly six-month strike; New Kroger payroll system has led to wage theft, UFCW 400 members allege; ‘SNL’ Postproduction workers authorize strike as contract negotiations stall; Nurses rally to uphold safe staff...
Jan 26, 2023•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Broadcast on January 19, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith Longtime union organizer and musician Joe Uehlein drops by to preview the ULiNERS 20th Anniversary Celebration coming up this Saturday, and legendary labor leader Bill Lucy reflects on Martin Luther King, Jr. the 1968 Memphis sanitation strike and why “Change is possible.” Produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Kahlia Chapman. @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod @THEULINERS...
Jan 20, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Broadcast on January 19, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith ATU 689 President Raymond Jackson gives us an update on the Loudoun County transit strike against Keolis; American Prospect Editor At Large Harold Meyerson explains The Holman Rule, which would empower Congress to fire, demote, reassign, or cut the pay of individual federal employees. Plus labor news headlines: Union membership grew by a quarter of a million workers in 2022; How Restaurant Workers Help Pay for Lobbying to Keep ...
Jan 19, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Broadcast on January 12, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond previews the AFL-CIO’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil and Human Rights Conference (Jan. 13-15) and Labor Heritage Foundation Executive Director Elise Bryant on the origins of LHF’s annual MLK “Gonna Take Us All” Ball (Jan. 15). Music: Why We Sing: DC Labor Chorus Plus labor news headlines: Landslide union vote by Yale grad students and why the Glacier Northwest v. Teamsters case...
Jan 13, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Broadcast on January 12, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith Striking Loudon County paratransit driver Lisa Saunders reports live from the Keolis picket line. Plus labor news headlines: NYC nurses win strike, Microsoft grants unlimited leave, and was George Santos really a striker? Produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Kahlia Chapman. @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod @ATULocal689 @ATUComm #ATUStrongerTogether @KeolisNA @AFLCIO...
Jan 12, 2023•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast Broadcast on January 5, 2023 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith Callers react to Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin's on-the-job injury and the game’s shoddy treatment of workers, er, players ; Patrick Dixon reports on the massive UK strikes; Ed Smith on why exhausted hospital workers are demanding change ; a peek into the 2023 Labor Crystal Ball , and local gamers organize first union at Microsoft. Produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Kahlia Chapman. @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #un...
Jan 05, 2023•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast Broadcast on December 29, 2022 Earlier this month, the DC Labor Chorus performed their annual Evening of Favorite & Sacred Songs at the Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church; on today’s show, we bring you an hour-long version of that concert, featuring both holiday and labor classics. Produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Kahlia Chapman. @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod
Dec 31, 2022•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast Broadcast on December 8, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith DC-area union members who door-knocked in Georgia to help elect Rev. Raphael Warnock to the U.S. Senate report: Amy Millar, UFCW/MCGEO 1994; Darlene Butler-Jones and Billy Osborn, UFCW 400. Produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Kahlia Chapman. @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod @UFCW1994 @UFCW400 @ReverendWarnock
Dec 12, 2022•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Broadcast on December 8, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith “The harder they push back, the more literature they post in the back room, the more unionbusting they try to do, it just makes everyone at my store and across the country wanna fight even harder.” December 9 marks the one-year anniversary of the organizing campaign at Starbucks, which first went public in Buffalo, New York; since then hundreds more across the country have organized and rallies across the country -- including i...
Dec 08, 2022•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Broadcast on December 1, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock Chad Pearson traces “the continuity of thuggery” by bosses in “Capital's Terrorists: Klansmen, Lawmen, and Employers in the Long Nineteenth Century ” . Produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Michael Nassella. @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod @EdgeofSports
Dec 04, 2022•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
