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…

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 @a…

Broadcast on March 30, 2022Hosted 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. @wpfw…

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 Str…

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 schoo…

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, a…

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 …

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 Intern…

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 bl…

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 …

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 Hig…

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 C…

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 Sa…

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 Kah…

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 Speci…

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 …

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 cha…

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 t…

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 Ja…

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 Protecti…

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 wa…

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…

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.…

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: …

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. @wpfwd…

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…

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. @wpf…

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 #laborradi…

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, whic…

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…

Broadcast on December 1, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock BaristaTyler Hofmann on organizing a Richmond Starbucks; sportswriter Dave Zirin on Brittney Griner in “The land of prisons”; "The Workers Cup" director Adam Sobel on worker rights in Qatar. NOTE: Starbucks Workers United Rally 5p Friday Dec. 9th on the plaza outside the Arlington government cen…

Broadcast on November 17, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith The ”red tsunami” predicted to sweep Republicans into power in Congress last week turned out to be barely a ripple. MIA DELL, Deputy Director of Advocacy at the AFL-CIO, on the key role of union voters: the Labor 2022 union program's 100,000 volunteers reached nearly 8 million voters…

Broadcast on November 17, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith SAM DUKORE, striking barista at the Arlington Courthouse Starbucks store, reports on the nationwide “Red Cup Rebellion”. Former Union Kitchen worker – and Union Kitchen Workers organizer -- GABE WITTES with an update on D.C.’s Union Kitchen Slapped With 26 Counts Of Labor Law Violati…

Broadcast on November 10, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith With the holidays coming up, Letycia Pastrana, Executive Director of the Metro Washington Labor Council’s Community Services Agency, on how CSA helps needy working families in the metro area. Produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Kahlia Chapman. @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborr…

Broadcast on November 10, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith Union Veterans Council Executive Director WILL ATTIG on how the UVC mobilized against a lawsuit seeking to block counting of military ballots in Wisconsin. STEVE EARLY on “Our Veterans: Winners, Losers, Friends and Enemies on the New Terrain of Veterans Affairs.” Meet Steve at “Do Ve…

Broadcast on November 3, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith Coalition of Labor Union Women president Elise Bryant premieres It's About Our Choice, the brand-new song/video from Lynn Marie Smith, and discusses getting out the union women’s vote in the 2022 elections. Produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Michael Nassella. @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u…

Broadcast on November 3, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith American Prospect Editor At Large Harold Meyerson on how UNITE HERE, the hotel workers union, has been talking to voters in Nevada, Arizona, and Pennsylvania about progressive fixes to inflation for months. Plus: a special on-the-ground report from Atlanta, Georgia, where retired Util…

Broadcast on October 27, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith Errol Schweizer, host of The CheckOut podcast and Jonathan Williams from UFCW Local 400 on Why A Kroger/Albertsons Merger Is A Bad Idea (except for investors and top executives who have extracted windfall profits). Produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Michael Nassella. @wpfwdc @af…

Broadcast on October 27, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith Elizabeth Falcon, DC Jobs with Justice Executive Director on the Still in the Dark: Tipped Wages in DC wage theft report and a caller suggests direct action at local Jose Andres restaurants. Plus labor news headlines: Threat of rail strike rises as members of another union reject prop…

Broadcast on October 20, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith Sociologist Tom VanHeuvelen on how Being in a Union Means You Could Make $1.3 Million More Over Your Lifetime. Produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Michael Nassella. @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod @TVanheuvelen

Broadcast on October 20, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith A chat with longtime labor journalist Joe Maniscalco, founder/publisher of Work-Bites.com. Plus: Working Girl Blues for Don't Forget The Blues host Chris Deproperty, who passed last week. Click here to support WPFW (select Your Rights At Work on the dropdown menu). Produced by Chris G…

Broadcast on October 6, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Elise Bryant CEO pay rose more than 11% in 2021, a new record, according to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute; JOSH BIVENS, EPI Director of Research, reports. Produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Kahlia Chapman. @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod @EconomicPolicy @joshb…

Broadcast on October 6, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Elise Bryant DC's P Street Starbucks votes in a union; Rebecca Hess, Mid-Atlantic Regional Joint Board, Workers United, SEIU, reports. Iron Workers Local 5 member Nathan Merhige on how he won #1 in the 2022 Outstanding Ironworkers Apprenticeship Competition. Today’s music: Paul Robeson sings “J…

Broadcast on September 22, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock Professor CHRIS MARTIN on Workers at Big Brands Like Starbucks Aren’t the Only Ones Unionizing, and Railroad Workers United’s Fritz Edler on Canadian railroaders who died on the job under circumstances where their deaths were self-investigated by private police owned and directed by their empl…

Broadcast on September 29, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock DC’s historic Paid Family and Medical Leave bill is expanding coverage – increasing to 12 weeks -- this Saturday, October 1; At-Large DC City Council member ELISSA SILVERMAN joins us to discuss how this affects the lives and health of working families in the District. Produced by Chris Garlock…

Broadcast on September 22, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith Vocalist Pam Parker is hosting an online concert on Sunday, September 25; details/tickets at pamelaparker108@gmail.com. Pam, who recently survived a near-death experience, talks about finding her voice after a serious illness, Sunday’s concert’s theme of gratitude, and the importanc…

Broadcast on September 22, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith Netflix documentary The Anthrax Attacks: In The Shadow of 9/11 with director Dan Krauss and Dena Briscoe, president of APWU, Nation’s Capital and Southern MD Local. From Oscar-nominated director Dan Krauss (Extremis) comes the story of the 2001 anthrax attacks on the United States i…

Broadcast on September 15, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith Economic Policy Institute policy analyst Margaret Poydock on President Biden’s first 18 months, including his key role in the tentative rail settlement averting a nationwide strike. Produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Michael Nassella and Kahlia Chapman. @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #un…

Broadcast on September 15, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith With a 72% union approval rating among young workers, American Prospect Editor At Large Harold Meyerson has dubbed them “Generation Union”. RN Victoria Zeehandelaar reports on this week’s 3-day strike by 15,000 Minnesota nurses. Plus an update on the tentative rail agreement, averti…

Broadcast on September 8, 2022 Hosted by Chris Garlock & Ed Smith Last week we talked to U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh about the induction of Essential Workers of the Coronavirus Pandemic into the Labor Hall of Honor. This week we talk with Wade Rathke, Chief Organizer for ACORN about how “Essential workers are taking action” and organizing. …