According to Darryl Cooper, he’s not an historian. He is, however, curious, passionate and open minded. He also appears to be a glutton for punishment in the form of research at sheer unimaginable volumes. Don’t believe it? Darryl Cooper’s podcasts are long form. Perhaps that should be LONG form… But damn are they good!
It’s hard to say what was going on in his mind when he decided to create a series of lectures on Labor history in the United States. It’s a daunting process, as many Fellow Workers know, trying to sort out the facts from the bullshit. What really went down between the IWW and the authorities? Why didn’t anyone tell us about this in school? Is this why my coal mining grandfather routinely cursed the public school system when he reminded us that our religion was “the union”?
Labor History as Real Life
Some characters in this story will be familiar, but Cooper has gone out of his way to string together the histories of workers, politicians, wives, children, migrants and law enforcers so that we might get to know them as people, rather than mentions in the stories of the famous organizers. He’s stated this is a story near to his heart and it’s easy to tell which side Mr. Cooper is on. As with all his subjects, however, he presents as many facts as possible.
Please enjoy the first two episodes of Whose America. We will be updating these as they are released. You can find Mr. Cooper at https://martyrmade.com/ and https://martyrmade.substack.com/. The podcast can also be found on most podcast apps & feeds. We hope to interview him soon regarding this project and the future of the IWW.
Whose America: Prologue
In August 1921, 10,000-20,000 armed coal miners marched on Mingo County, West Virginia to lift the martial law imposed there, free their jailed brethren, and avenge the assassination of one of their local heroes. At least 20,000 more wives, young boys and other civilians followed the army providing medical, logistical and other services. Before it was over, they would storm a mountainside under fire from entrenched machine guns, and while being bombed from the air. It was the largest and most serious armed insurrection in US history since the Civil War. This episode is going to discuss the West Virginia Coal Mine Wars, and The Battle of Blair Mountain.
The Valley Labor Report, Alabama’s ONLY union talk radio program, is a weekly talk radio show hosted by Jacob Morrison and Adam Keller. The hosts are union members dedicated to the project of educating workers about the power they have to lift themselves up, make their lives better, and shift the balance of power on the job and in society.
Each episode highlights ongoing local and national labor news including interviews with labor leaders and organizers.
In this overtime segment, Jacob and Adam along with guest Mel Buer of The Morning Riot podcast examine the disturbing language found in The Labor Relations Institute’s union busting white paper: Left of Boom: What Can Your Business Learn From the Iraq War?
…with Stuff They Don’t Want You To Know, from the How Stuff Works Network…
Think of STDWYTK as a popular science take on all kinds of “stuff” you didn’t know you need to know! If you’re into hidden histories, real and theoretical conspiracies and unexplained phenomenons, you might like STDWYTK.
This month, the pod published a 2 part story about Union Busting (the history and the present). The first segment is a casual but well referenced short history of the labor movement – it origins, purpose and goals plus short summaries of the Pinkerton Agency and the voilent suppression of early union formation. Segment two covers the modern movement and resurgence of union busting including the resurgence of company towns, what’s really going on with labor law and the Pinkertons, again (they never really left).
Seems there’s a real conspiracy going on to suppress workers’ rights.
If you’re trying to organize your workplace and are facing union busting tactics (or if you just want to learn a little more about this “industry”) check out the Union Busting Playbook.
While they’re not as common as they once were, labor unions are back in the news as employees of companies like Amazon, Starbucks and more choose to organize, pushing for better pay, more rights and so on. In part one of this two-part episode, Ben and Matt explore the history of unions (which can themselves be conspiratorial)… as well as the powerful forces seeking to destroy unions, or prevent them from forming in the first place.
For nearly half a century, Russian emigrant Emma Goldman was the most controversial woman in America, taunting the mainstream with her fervent attacks on government, big business, and war. To the tabloids, she was “Red Emma, queen of the anarchists,” but many admired Goldman for her defense of labor rights, women’s emancipation, birth control, and free speech.
