Solidarity Works

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").

More than 2,000 feet beneath the surface in southeastern New Mexico is the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, or WIPP — a facility designed to safely dispose of certain radioactive waste deep underground. For two USW members, it's been home for decades.

Dora Ledbetter has worked at WIPP since 2008, while Dora Lopez has been there since 1998. Together, they've spent nearly three decades at the site, learning the job, looking out for their coworkers, and building a life in a workplace where safety is an entire culture.

Today, we're talking about what it's really like to work 2,150 feet underground, what nearly three decades at WIPP can teach you about safety and solidarity, and why these two Steelworkers are still looking toward the future.

Heat is the leading cause of weather-related workplace deaths—and it's preventable. Yet workers still don't have a federal heat safety standard.

In this episode of Solidarity Works, USW Health, Safety and Environment Director Steve Sallman explains what's at stake, why the fight for heat protections matters, and what workers can do to protect themselves on the job.

Music in this episode is by BlueDot Sessions.

For years, workers were told they had to choose between good union jobs and a healthy planet.

Twenty years ago, the BlueGreen Alliance helped prove that wasn't true.

In the latest episode of Solidarity Works, we sit down with Executive Director Jason Walsh to discuss the Alliance's origins, its evolution over two decades, and why labor and environmental advocates must continue working together to build a clean economy that creates and sustains good union jobs.

Listen now and learn why the fight for workers and the fight for a sustainable future are the same fight.

Music in this episode is by Blue Dot Sessions.

In 1941, a young priest in Spain helped spark a movement that would transform worker ownership forever. Today, that spirit is crossing the Atlantic.

In our latest episode, we explore the emerging "Union Co-op" model—a powerful hybrid that combines the democratic ownership of a cooperative with the protective strength of a union.

We speak with Ellen Vera, Director of Co-Op Cincy, about the "how-to" of worker ownership: how to transition an existing business, how to start a new venture from scratch, and the common mistakes to avoid. We also talk with Rob Witherall of the United Steelworkers about how the USW is partnering with cooperatives to provide essential benefits like healthcare and ensure that the wealth of our communities stays in the hands of the workers.

Join us as we discuss why the future of the American labor movement might just be owned by the people who do the work.

Music in this episode is by: Makaih Beats and Ethos

Every day, millions of workers around the world go to work knowing their job is hard. But no one should go to work knowing it might slowly take their breath away.

Across the United States and Canada, USW members are on the front lines of the fight against silica dust exposure, pushing for stronger protections, enforcement of safety rules, and justice for workers who've already been harmed.

We're talking with several activists who know this fight firsthand: Marshal Cummings, a USW safety leader working in the mining industry in Wyoming, and Sean Staddon, a compensation officer and member of USW Local 6500 in Sudbury, Canada.

Their stories highlight why this fight is global and why the labor movement must keep pushing.

Music in today's episode is by Ketsa.

From the Twin Cities to Georgia, ICE enforcement has hit working-class communities hard. In the latest episode of Solidarity Works, two labor leaders—Minnesota USW staff representative Justin Recla and USW Civil and Human Rights Director Alex Perkins—share how they've responded, what tools are available to every local, and why this fight belongs to all of us.

Music in today's episode by Ketsa and Lobo Loco.

Pete Seeger treated music as a communal act—a circle, not a spotlight.

In our newest episode, we explore how Pete braided together labor organizing, civil rights, environmental justice, and peace through song. From congressional blacklisting to union halls and river clean-ups, his legacy isn't frozen in time—it's instructional.

Thank you to the Seeger family for sharing Pete's music with us for this episode.

Other music by: Tolset Music and Black Trend Music.

Artificial intelligence is changing how we work, how we communicate, and how we live — but who's making sure workers aren't left behind?

In the latest episode of Solidarity Works, we sit down with Ed Wytkind, Interim Executive Director of the AFL-CIO Technology Institute, to talk about the federation's new Workers First Initiative on AI.

The initiative lays out a bold plan to make sure technology serves people — not the other way around — by putting worker voices at the center of innovation, bargaining, and public policy.

From protecting jobs and privacy to creating new opportunities for skill building and organizing, we explore what a fair and democratic AI future could look like when labor leads the way.

To learn more about the Workers First Initiative on AI, visit https://www.aflciotechinstitute.org.

Music in today's episode is by Ketsa.

In 1909, a 23-year-old immigrant named Clara Lemlich stood up in New York's Cooper Union and said, "I have no more patience for talk—I move that we go on a general strike."

The next morning, 20,000 garment workers—mostly young immigrant women—walked off the job.

Their courage changed labor history forever.

Tune into our latest episode to hear how their fight reshaped workers' rights for generations.

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Music from today's episode is by: Tar Sahno and Semion Krivenko-Adamo

Sources:

Jewish Women's Archive, "Uprising of 20,000 (1909)."

Global Nonviolent Action Database (Swarthmore College), "Triangle Shirtwaist Factory women strike, win better wages and hours, New York, 1909."

AFL-CIO, "Triangle Shirtwaist Fire."

PBS American Experience, "Clara Lemlich and the Uprising of the 20,000."

In the latest episode of Solidarity Works, we expose the Trump administration's sweeping cuts to public education and research funding—from K-12 schools to university labs. Educators, union leaders, and graduate researchers reveal how these attacks threaten working families, marginalized students, and the future of innovation itself.

Tune in to learn firsthand how communities are being forced to fight back to defend learning, dignity, and the public good.

Music in this episode is by Ketsa.

Long before World War II officially kicked off in 1939, trade unionists were already sounding the alarm. They saw fascism for what it was—racism, anti-Semitism, militarism, authoritarianism.

Union workers and leaders resisted—they distributed leaflets, hid their Jewish neighbors and co-workers, sabotaged Nazi logistics, and even joined armed struggle.

In the latest episode of Solidarity Works, we dive into this powerful—and often overlooked—period of resistance in modern history led by everyday workers who stood up against fascism and showed that solidarity is not merely a word; it's an action.

Music from today's episode: Ketsa, Scott Holmes, Maarten Schellekens

As ICE raids ramp up and communities across the nation are gripped by fear, we're looking back to a powerful legacy of worker resistance in the latest episode of Solidarity Works.

The Legacy of Delano tells the story of how Filipino and Latino farmworkers united in 1965 to ignite a labor movement that changed history.

Today, organizers like Local 675's Xochityl Cobarruvias carry that spirit forward, mobilizing against injustice and defending immigrant workers under attack.

Tune in to hear how courage, unity, and nonviolence still light the path to justice.

John Stevens has been a member of USW Local 341 in Newark, Ohio, for six years and works at an aluminum factory. On Thurs., June 5, he and fellow union members walked the halls of Congress to remind lawmakers about the promise the government made to veterans like him.

This fight to preserve benefits and services for America's defenders is personal to John in many ways. He lost his older brother, also a military veteran, to suicide in 2017.

Hear John's story and learn about some of the legislation that could help prevent similar losses and other hardships for U.S. veterans in the latest episode of Solidarity Works.

Music in this episode is by Mr Smith. Special shout-out to Dropkick Murphys.

Learn more about Veterans of Steel at usw.to/vetsofsteel.

Kim Kelly began her writing career in the heavy metal world – she even adopted a moniker known as Grim Kim – but it wasn't long before her family's labor roots caught hold. She joined a union when writing for Vice, a digital publishing platform, and soon her stories took a turn toward more fervent working-class issues.

Now, Kim is an author and public speaker with two books on the shelves focused on American labor history and a passion for speaking truth to power. In this episode of Solidarity Works, we'll learn about the journalist's unique career path, what inspires her dedication to justice, and why all Americans should be concerned about recent attempts to ban books and limit the free press.

Learn more about Kim by visiting https://about.me/kimkelly.

Music from this episode is by Ketsa.

On Friday, April 25, thousands of labor activists, including USW members, marched and chanted through the streets of Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico, as part of an annual event commemorating the murders of two Los Mineros union members who were killed while on strike in 2006.

In today's episode, we recount the mine explosion and consequential strike that led Los Mineros President Napoleon Gomez to live in exile for nearly a decade in Canada. We're also chatting with members who attended this year's trip to Mexico, as well as a USW activist who participated in a recent global youth exchange program co-hosted by the Steelworkers and Los Mineros.

This episode features music by several artists, including Ketsa, Lobo Loco, and Greg Kirkelie.

From the 1800s to yesterday afternoon, women and girls across the United States have led historic organizing campaigns, and today we're honoring one of these powerful yet lesser known activists whose story deserves to be told.

Emma Tenayuca was only 18 when she began organizing workers for the first time in San Antonio, Texas, in the 1930s, but even then she understood what a good wage could mean to the thousands of Mexican women keeping the city's pecan shelling thriving while they themselves lived in slums.

Her story shows that anyone, no matter your age or gender, can lead a mass movement for economic justice and gain the trust of workers when sticking to your principles and keeping their fight at the center of your heart.

Music from this episode by:

Mr Smith IMLC Blue Dot Sessions Greg Kerkelie

This episode kicks off the first in a series we hope to continue featuring SOAR (Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees) activists offering us their words of wisdom as the labor movement enters a time of great change and upheaval.

Today we speak with Nellie Caraballo, a former USW staff rep and public sector worker who is now a proud SOAR member, about the early challenges she endured on the job that ended with her stepping up in her local union and in her community.

She also reflects on what she learned about people during her organizing days, the hope she sees in the next generation, and her advice to them about the importance of fighting for positive social and economic change.

To learn more about SOAR, make sure to check out http://usw.org/soar.

California musician and activist Jonny Miller Jr. is continuing his ancestors' legacy by making his mark on the labor movement. He sings on picket lines, writes songs about the working class, and teaches the next generation about the importance of labor history.

In the latest episode of Solidarity Works, we talk with Jonny about his career, his love of labor, and the traditional connection between art and activism.

Learn more and buy Jonny's labor album, IE Songs, at https://jonnymillerjr.com/.

From salt and copper to soda ash and iron ore, members of the USW mine the many crucial resources needed to keep the U.S, Canada, and the world moving. It's an industry that goes back 150 years, and it's an industry that has seen exponential change over the past several decades.

In the latest episode of Solidarity Works, we're speaking with USW Vice President of Administration Emil Ramirez about all things mining. He talks about what the historic sector looks like in District 11, which he calls home, as well as what the future of the industry as a whole looks like as technology continues to expand.