Labor history

Right back.

[upbeat music] I'm Rick Smith, and this is Labor History in Two.

[upbeat music] On this day in labor history, the year was 1993.

That was the day that President Bill Clinton signed into law reforms to the Hatch Act.

The Hatch Act was passed in 1939.

Right back.

Stick around.

[upbeat music] I'm Rick Smith, and this is Labor History in Two.

Right back.

[upbeat rock music] I'm Rick Smith, and this is Labor History in Two.

[tape rewinding] On this day in labor history, the year was 1935.

That was the year that San Diego hosted the California Pacific International Exposition, where President Franklin Delano Roosevelt spoke the most memorable words about the rights of workers to organize.

The goal of the exposition was to showcase San Diego and to boost the local economy, which had fallen on hard times during the Great Depression.

Right back.

[upbeat music]

[upbeat music]Rick Smith, and this is Labor History in Two.

Yeah.

I mean, I actually taught a section on labor history to my class, and they had no clue whatsoever how violent the Americans struggled for the eight-hour day.

To win the eight-hour day.

They had no idea how violent that struggle was.

Right back after this.

I'm Rick Smith, and this is Labor History in Two.

On this day in labor history, the year was 1789.

That was the day that the United States Congress officially created the United States Army.

Not everyone agreed that the U.S. should have a standing army.

Rick at TheRickSmithShow.com. And also, do you think maybe we'll get some sanity? Touch? I know, not in the near future.

Rick at TheRickSmithShow.com, right back.

I'm Rick Smith, and this is Labor History in Two.

[upbeat music] Question one, elevators: The Great Glass Elevator in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory can take you up and down, sideways, and what other direction? The Great Glass Elevator in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory can take you up and down, sideways, and what other direction? [upbeat music] Question two, wildflowers: Bluebonnets have a scientific name that is based off of what animal, as they were thought to rob nutrients from the soil? Bluebonnets have a scientific name that is based off of what animal, as they were thought to rob nutrients from the soil? And there's a great Monty Python skit about this.

[upbeat music] Question three, labor history: The American Federation of Labor, or AFL, was founded in 1886 by what British-American cigar maker? The American Federation of Labor, or AFL, was founded in 1886 by what British-American cigar maker? [upbeat music] Question four, optics: What is the world's darkest material, whose name comes from a portmanteau of an anagram and a color? What is the world's darkest material, whose name comes from a portmanteau of an anagram and a color? [upbeat music] Question five, flags of the world: Which two nations are the only ones to have perfectly square flags? Which two nations are the only ones to have perfectly square flags? [upbeat music] Question six, textile patterns: A continuous interlocking pattern of one line that folds back on itself and is of Greek origin is known as what? A continuous interlocking pattern of one line that folds back on itself and is of Greek origin is known as what? [upbeat music] And that's gonna wrap it up for today.

So on a previous episode, I teased about another video game milestone.

And on this day in 1996, Nintendo officially launched the N64 in North America, which was a very, very happy day for a young Dan.

Thank you.

Welcome to Working History, a podcast brought to you by Labor History Organizations and Journals, where we discuss labor's past and present.

My name is Sarah McNamara, and I'm here with Julie Green, Eileen Boris, and May Nye.

We're excited to relaunch Working History, a podcast originally created, produced, hosted, and edited by Beth English.

has been undergoing a lot of changes.

Two and a half, three years ago, a new team of editors took over the journal from Leon Fink, who of course had founded it and led it for about 20 years, done incredible work.

But as we took over, we have been working on a lot of initiatives to try to articulate more clearly the capaciousness of the field of labor history to draw in new audiences, to connect more with the public.

And given the historical moment we're all living through, we're living through, Such a challenging time, sometimes exciting, but always challenging, sometimes horrific, what we're seeing around us.

Rose Friedman grew up in Newton, Massachusetts.

She studied labor history at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Rose brought her passion for labor issues to NPR, acting as a shop steward for SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents the company's editorial workers.

She was especially proud of her work convincing NPR to increase its paid parental leave policy.

Rose edited numerous hashtag MeToo stories in 2018 and we shared a national headliner award for our feature Women Are Speaking Up About Harassment and Abuse.

But why now? Rose Friedman grew up in Newtown, Massachusetts.

She studied labor history at Mount Manchester, Mount Caster College in St. Paul.

For her dissertation, she researched worker solidarity across ethnic lines in the Iron Range in Minnesota.

Right back.

I'm Rick Smith, and this is Labor History in Two.

On this day in labor history, the year was 1934.

That was the day that leading southern textile employers met together in Greenville, North Carolina.

They met to plan a coordinated response to the national textile strike.

Rick at the ricksmithshow.com.

Right back.

I'm Rick Smith, and this is Labor History in Two.

Right back.

I'm Rick Smith, and this is Labor History in Two.

On this day in labor history, the year was 1897.

Striking coal miners marched on a coal mine in Latimer, Pennsylvania.

Earlier that year, the miners had gone out on strike.

This time they demanded a 15 cent an hour raise.

A week later, between 5 and 10,000 miners were on strike.

And on this day in labor history, about 300 to 400 miners marched to a mine in the town of Latimer.