It Starts When You Say We

This week on the Labor Heritage Power Hour, we explore the power of solidarity—from the labor roots of "We Shall Overcome" to the workers who built movements one person at a time.

Elise Bryant shares Marge Piercy's powerful poem "The Low Road" from this year's Great Labor Arts Exchange, Eric Bernardino tells the story of Emma Tenayuca and the 1938 San Antonio Pecan Shellers' Strike, and we visit Akron's Rubber Worker statue as part of the People's 250 project. We also hear Kenyetta Dunston's stirring poem "We Didn't Come This Far to Go Back," learn how labor activists won a groundbreaking living wage ordinance in Madison, Wisconsin, and mark the anniversary of the Taft-Hartley Act and the worker resistance it inspired. Plus: latest labor art news, a bonus People’s 250 visit to Ben’s Chili Bowl, two versions of the Taft Hartley Song and Robin Roberts sings If It Weren't For The Union.  

As Marge Piercy reminds us: "It starts when you say we and know who you mean."

Broadcast on June 25, 2025; hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Kahlia Chapman. Thanks to America’s Work Force Radio Podcast for the Eric Bernadino segment.
The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network and syndicated on Pacifica’s Audioport.

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