On this day in Labor History the year was 1967. That was the day that the “Dust-bowl Troubadour,” Woody Guthrie, died. Over the course of his life, Woody Guthrie wrote almost 3,000 songs. He was one of the thousands of people who took the road during the Great Depression, swept into wandering by the winds that churned the Dust Bowl. In an interview with NPR, fellow folk music legend Pete Seeger described Guthrie’s influence, “We all read about music being part of people’s lives, but I hadn’t seen it in action until I met him. The words that came out of his mouth and the music he made all flowed together with the life that he had led and I was greatly attracted to it and kind of tagged along with him for several months. Woody showed me how to hitchhike and how to ride freight trains, how to sing in saloons.” A 2013 article in Paste magazine summarized Guthrie’s legacy writing, “No artist…has ever expressed a deeper will to fight against oppression and the rights of “the little guy” than Woody Guthrie.” Iconic author John Steinbeck wrote this vivid description, “Harsh-voiced and nasal, his guitar hanging like a tire on a rusty rim, there is nothing sweet about Woody, and there is nothing sweet about the songs he sings. But there is something more important for those who will listen. There is the will of a people to endure and fight against oppression. I think we call this the American spirit.”

On this day, 3 October 2019, a series of protests led by Indigenous peoples began in Ecuador in protest at an austerity package backed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) known as Decree 883. The bill, aimed at reducing public spending, included pay cuts and increases in fuel costs of at least 30%. The movement began with a strike of transport workers on 3 October. After unions called off the stoppage, Indigenous peoples then took the lead in organising disruptive street protests. After a two-week period, protesters with improvised shields and wooden sticks blocked roads and seriously disrupted the economy, closing businesses and drastically reducing oil production. Eight Indigenous protesters were killed over the course of the events, over 1,000 people were injured and over 1,000 arrested before the government caved in and scrapped the bill. Indigenous activists vowed to continue to struggle for better treatment. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10251/ecuador-indigenous-protests Learn more about Indigenous struggles in these books: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/books/indigenous Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory. See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

When workers at the parts retailer AutoZone organized to form the company’s first ever union, their boss pulled out the big guns—but they still won their election! Also in this episode: Video Game Workers at Blizzard have won their first contract and 1,400 solar manufacturing workers have joined the Steelworkers. Labor Notes Podcast co-hosts Danielle Smith and Natascha Elena Uhlmann break down the big lessons (and some important firsts) in three key organizing stories. Also check out: AutoZone Workers Are Trying to Form the Company’s First-Ever Union Video Game Workers Win First Contract at Microsoft-Owned Blizzard Fourteen Hundred Solar Manufacturing Workers Join the Steelworkers

On The Labor Heritage Power Hour: A mother sorts mail through the night. Miners occupy a coal plant. Baristas turn their organizing struggles into theater. This week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour explores how workers preserve their stories—and find power in telling them. Artist and writer Clifford Thompson takes us through Ma at the Post Office, his wordless, 25-panel tribute to the mother who supported him and his grandmother by working nights in Washington, DC. Small details reveal exhaustion, workplace camaraderie and the family life her labor made possible. Then producer Anthony Dominiczak takes us along Virginia’s Gravel Lick Road, connecting the Musick family’s devastating losses during the Harlan County Coal War with the 1989 occupation of Pittston’s Moss Number Three plant. Decades later, miners and neighbors joined forces again to oppose a landfill at the historic site. Finally, Bread & Roses Missouri’s Emily Kohring and worker-performers Alex Barge and Iana Rain discuss this year’s Workers’ Opera. Through music, sketches and poetry, workers bring organizing, bad bosses, racial injustice and hope to the stage. The production runs October 9–11 at Jefferson Avenue Mission in St. Louis. Find tickets at breadandrosesmo.org, and explore more worker culture at laborheritage.org. Broadcast on October 1, 2026; hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network and syndicated on Pacifica’s Audioport. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod

More than a hundred years ago, an immigrant worker named Joe Hill was traveling across the United States, working wherever he could find a job and writing songs along the way. He had a particular talent for taking what workers already knew—low wages, bad bosses, broken promises, company towns—and turning it into songs people could sing together. Then, in 1915, the state of Utah executed Joe Hill for murder. In today's episode, we break down the life, death, and legacy of the early 20th-century Swedish immigrant and songwriter who still has something to say to working people today. Music in today's episode is by: Jonny Miller Jr. ("Joe Hill"), Vlad Annenkov ("Whispering Trails"), Sean Ferree ("The Third Act"), and Pete Seeger ("The Preacher and the Slave").

On The Labor Radio Podcast Weekly: Grocery stores, warehouses and auto parts counters—different workplaces, familiar frustrations, and workers organizing for a say. On Grocery Nerds, a worker and a union organizer describe the fight at California’s Mother’s Market, where the company’s feel-good image clashes with workers’ experiences. The Garage Mind hears from a slot-machine technician organizing with Teamsters Local 710 over low wages, costly healthcare, safety concerns and expanding duties. And Labor & Healthcare Confidential reports on AutoZone workers in White Plains, New York, winning representation with UAW Local 259.Then, We Work Europe explores the complications of living in one country and working in another. On the Labor Heritage Power Hour, Mark Strolle introduces “Assembled in Lansing,” an exhibit putting the autoworkers behind the cars into the picture. Plus, Labor History in 2:00 remembers the 1851 Jerry Rescue and a 2007 victory for Starbucks workers organizing with the IWW. Shows You Should Know: The ALPA Canada Podcast: Bill C-39 and proposed changes to Canada’s Labour Code. Blue Collar News: Who speaks for working-class voters? TWU Local 513 Podcast: Getting off the sidelines and building solidarity face to face. Roswell Hub: Logistics expert Ben Fong on what’s happening at UPS. The Worker Power Hour: Chris Garlock joins Randy to discuss AI—and why workers deserve a voice in its use. Find these shows and more at laborradionetwork.org. Produced by Chris Garlock, Harold Phillips and Patrick Dixon. Recorded under a SAG-AFTRA collective bargaining agreement. Follow #laborradiopod on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram and X. Send feedback to info@laborradionetwork.org, and support the Network with a union-made T-shirt at laborradionetwork.org. Stay active. Stay tuned. Solidarity works.

On this episode of the Worker Power Hour, we're joined by UWUA Local 132 President Bill Gilbertson to discuss the union's ongoing fight with SoCalGas and what's at stake for utility workers. Bill breaks down the issues driving the dispute, the challenges workers are facing on the job, and why Local 132 members are standing together for fairness, respect, and a strong union contract.

This is the first city to announce a boycott in solidarity with the Starbucks Workers United union.

At the construction site of the City Hospital, currently under construction in the Peyas (Kayapınar) district of Amed, 90 members of the Construction, Road and Highway Workers’ Union employed by th...

Workers at snack maker Kuai Kuai Co’s only production facility in Taiwan voted yesterday to continue their strike indefinitely following a one-day strike, as a dispute over the plant’s relocation an...

Three CGTP unions have called a strike for Friday, disrupting schools, public services, councils and rubbish collection. An easyJet cabin crew walkout is also causing flight delays nationwide.

Ser­vices at Works’ Cred­it Union branch­es in Port-of-Spain, Ari­ma, San Fer­nan­do and To­ba­go are ex­pect­ed to be dis­rupt­ed over the next 90 days (three months) as em­ploy­ees take in­dus­tri­a...

Pepe Álvarez bets on a day of struggle with labor improvements, keeps the option of a general strike open, and criticizes the PP for housing policy.

The national AFL-CIO is launching ads targeting the ruby red 2nd Congressional District seat.

After a decade of sounding the alarm over an elementary school plagued by mold, school staff and families in Bessemer, Ala., have finally succeeded in getting the school closed again—seemingly for goo...

NYU Researchers United Postdocs-UAW now officially represents 400 postdoctoral researchers at the university, following a majority vote to unionize earlier this week — allowing the group to begin the collective bargaining process with NYU for salary raises, increased research funding and greater protections for international researchers. At the polls on Wednesday and Thursday, 188 postdocs...

Online ordering systems that cut workers’ tips and hours catalyzed the union efforts, which the United Auto Workers hopes will strengthen the St. Louis labor movement.

Members of the Cleveland Federation of Musicians, American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Local 4, who perform as part of the Cleveland Orchestra, have ratified a new collective bargaining agreement after a three-day strike.The previous contract covering musicians expired at the end

Dumping trash into the ocean seems like a bad idea, right? Wrong.

October 3, 2026 • Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD • A Day of Peace, Love, Justice, and Music

Labor PlazaSan Antonio, TexasLabor Plaza is a public art tribute to the labor movement in San Antonio, honoring the contributions and sacrifices of labor leaders throughout the city's history. The plaza was previously the site of the Samuel Gompers statue, which commemorated the foundi

In an update to a story we've previously reported, two weeks after jointly voting to authorize strike action with the Whitney Museum’s union amid stalled contract negotiations unionized staff at the Brooklyn Museum and the American Folk Art Museum (AFAM) are preparing to vote on ratif

We are the democratic, voluntary federation of national and international labor unions that represent more than 15 million working people. We strive to ensure all working people are treated fairly, with decent paychecks and benefits, safe jobs, dignity...

Night Shifts, Mine Strikes and Workers on StageOn this week's Labor Heritage Power Hour: A mother sorts mail through the night. Miners occupy a coal plant. Baristas turn their organizing struggles into theater. This week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour explores how workers preserve their stori

Too many in the U.S. are ignoring Trump's attempts to steal the Brazilian election this October.

The Cornell chapter of the American Association of University Professors expresses their outrage against the culture of misogyny at Cornell and calls on all members of the Cornell community to attend ...