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PODCAST

Labor History in 2:00

The Rick Smith Show

A daily, pocket-sized history of America"s working people, brought to you by The Rick Smith Show team.

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All Episodes

1:59

November 15 - Founding of the AFL

Labor History in 2:00 ·

2025/11/15

On this day in Labor History the year was 1881. That was the day that trade unionists held the founding convention of the Federation of Trades and Labor Unions in Pittsburgh. This group later changed its name to the American Federation of Labor. During the 1880's it grew to replace the Knights of Labor as the most powerful labor union organization in the United States.

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1:59

November 14 - Founding of the Women's Trade Union League

Labor History in 2:00 ·

2025/11/14

On this day in Labor History the year was 1903. Working women from around the nation founded the National Women’s Trade Union League in Boston. The organization’s founders included female reformers, working class women, as well as women from wealthy families.

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1:59

November 13 - The Cherry Mine Disaster

Labor History in 2:00 ·

2025/11/13

On this day in Labor History the year was 1909. On this tragic day, 259 coal miners died in a mine in Cherry, Illinois. The Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad opened the mine in 1905 to supply coal for their trains. Most of the miners were immigrants, primarily Italian. Many could not speak English.

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1:59

November 12 - The Misery of Chainsaw Al

Labor History in 2:00 ·

2025/11/12

On this day in Labor History the year was 1996. That was the day that “Chainsaw” Al Dunlap lived up to his nickname. Under his leadership, the Board of the Sunbeam Corporation agreed to eliminate half of the company's 6,000 employees and 87% of its products. Dunlap had built a reputation for ruthlessly restructuring companies. His policy of implementing sweeping layoffs and plant closures earned him the nickname “Chainsaw Al.”

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1:59

November 11 - Execution of the Haymarket Martyrs

Labor History in 2:00 ·

2025/11/11

On this day in Labor History the year was 1887. That was a tragic day for the labor movement. Four men were hung in Chicago for their alleged role in the bombing at a labor rally at the city’s Haymarket Square a year earlier. In a sensational trial a total of eight men were convicted for Haymarket.

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1:59

November 10 - The Benevolent Dictator

Labor History in 2:00 ·

2025/11/10

On this day in Labor History the year was 1933. That was the day that Hormel plant workers in Austin, Minnesota began a sit-down strike. Company head, Jay Hormel, boasted that his company was a benevolent dictatorship. Workers agreed that the company was a dictatorship but not very benevolent.

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1:59

November 9 - The Committee for Industrial Organizing...

Labor History in 2:00 ·

2025/11/09

On this day in Labor History the year was 1935.The Committee for Industrial Organizations was created by eight unions, as part of the American Federation of Labor. United Mine Workers President John L. Lewis was the driving force behind this new committee

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1:59

November 8 - The New Orleans General Strike

Labor History in 2:00 ·

2025/11/08

On this day in Labor History the year was 1892. That was the day that black and white workers in New Orleans began what is considered the first integrated general strike in United States history. The strike began when the New Orleans Board of Trade refused to enter into an agreement with the Teamsters Union because it included black members.

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1:59

November 7 - The Death of Boulware but not Boulwarism

Labor History in 2:00 ·

2025/11/07

On this day in Labor History the year was 1990. That was the day that Lemuel Ricketts Boulware died. Boulware had a notorious reputation with labor leaders. He was the Vice President for employee relations for General Electric during the 1950s.

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1:59

November 6 - Lincoln Stands with Labor

Labor History in 2:00 ·

2025/11/06

On this day in Labor History the year was 1860. That was the day that Abraham Lincoln was elected sixteenth President of the United States. When Lincoln came to office the nation was deeply divided on the question of slavery. By December 20, South Carolina had seceded from the United States.

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1:59

November 5 - Birth of a Labor Giant

Labor History in 2:00 ·

2025/11/05

On this day in Labor History the year was 1855. That was the day that Eugene Debs was born in Terre Haute, Indiana. Debs was forced to leave school when he was just fourteen. He worked as a railroad fireman.

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1:59

November 4 - No Milk Today!

Labor History in 2:00 ·

2025/11/04

Got milk? If you lived in Neillsville, Wisconsin the answer might have been NO. On this day in labor history the year was 1933. Wisconsin is known as the dairy state.

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1:59

November 3 - The Streets Run Wild with Milk

Labor History in 2:00 ·

2025/11/03

On this day in Labor History the year was 1921. That was the day the New York Times headline proclaimed: “Striker Rioting All Over the City, Dump Thousands of Gallons of Milk; Hylan Threatens to Seize plants.” Hylan referred to New York City Mayor John Francis Hylan.

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1:59

November 2 - Murdered on the Pier

Labor History in 2:00 ·

2025/11/02

On this day in Labor History the year was 1928. That was the day that police shot at protesting union workers at Prince’s Pier in Melbourne Australia. Three union workers were injured, one fatally.

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1:59

November 1 - America’s First General Strike

Labor History in 2:00 ·

2025/11/01

On this day in Labor History the year was 1835. That was the day that workers in Philadelphia organized what was the first general strike in North America. There call was for a ten-hour workday.

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1:59

October 31 - Mount Rushmore

Labor History in 2:00 ·

2025/10/31

On this day in Labor History the year was 1941. That was the day that the completed Mount Rushmore monument was dedicated in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The monument portrays massive sculptures of U.S. Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt hewn into the side of a mountain.

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1:59

October 30 - Another Front in Reagan’s War on Workers

Labor History in 2:00 ·

2025/10/30

On this day in Labor History the year was 1986. That was the day that Edward Meese, gave a speech to the US Chamber of Commerce. Meese was serving as Attorney General under President Ronald Reagan. During the speech, Meese encouraged bosses to spy on their employees, in order to determine if they were using drugs.

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1:59

October 29 - Black Tuesday

Labor History in 2:00 ·

2025/10/29

On this day in Labor History the year was 1929. That bleak day is now known as “Black Tuesday,” the day of the Stock Market crash that marked the start of the Great Depression. During the optimistic Roaring Twenties investments in the Stock Market soared.

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1:59

October 28 - Gateway to the Future

Labor History in 2:00 ·

2025/10/28

On this day in Labor History the year was 1965. That was the day that the St. Louis Gateway arch was completed in St. Louis. The project was the result of a nation-wide design competition.

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1:59

October 27 - The Founding of the National Negro Labor...

Labor History in 2:00 ·

2025/10/27

On this day in Labor History the year was 1951. That was the day that the National Negro Labor Council held its founding convention. African American workers had made significant gains in the American workforce during World War II.

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