Labor History Today

Author: laborhistorytoday

Gripping stories of the historic battles for worker rights and how they fuel todays struggles. Part of the Labor Radio/Podcast Network: #LaborRadioPod
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Language: en

Genres: History

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The Poet of the Lawrence Strike
Episode 346
Sunday, 25 January, 2026

This episode of Labor History Today features historian Marcella Bencivenni on Arturo Giovannitti—Italian immigrant, poet, socialist, and labor organizer—whose role in the 1912 Lawrence textile strike made him a target of state repression and a powerful voice of labor resistance. Arrested for his words, Giovannitti turned imprisonment into poetry that helped define an era of immigrant-led radical organizing. The episode explores free speech struggles, anti-immigrant repression, and labor solidarity—lessons from more than a century ago that still resonate in 2026 America. We close with the Labor Song of the Month, featuring “Joe Hill’s Ashes,” performed by Otis Gibbs. Today’s show comes to us from the always fabulous Heartland Labor Forum on KKFI in Kansas City.