Labor Heritage Power Hour

How We Get Free — Naomi R Williams on Worker Solidarity in Racine

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

From Tolpuddle to Texas & Frisco: Labor’s Long Ride

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

Are You Now or Have You Ever Been?

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

Art Works (Encore)

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

The Hard Work of Hope

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

“We Are Union, Hallelujah!”: Laborpalooza and More

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

Class, Power, and Primetime

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

The Screenwriter Who Fought Back

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.

Print. Protest. Repeat.

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

Songs of Solidarity and Struggle from ICE Raids to Cowboy Strikes

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