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Season 6, Episode 177

AFL-CIO's Fred Redmond on Labor Day Activism and Worker Discontent

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Fred Redmond

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AFL-CIO 

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Today’s edition of Labor 131, presented by the National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, features Fred Redmond, Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO, who joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the federation's nationwide "Freedom, Fairness and Security" bus tour, Labor Day activism and the historical significance of the 1892 Homestead strike.

Redmond spoke about the AFL-CIO's recent bus tour, which culminated in over 1,000 Labor Day events across 900 cities. The campaign aimed to reclaim Labor Day for working people and express dissatisfaction with current White House policies. Redmond noted increased worker frustration with threats to collective bargaining rights, potential military interventions in cities and policies favoring the wealthy. He emphasized the tour's success in mobilizing workers and attracting media attention to labor issues.

Media coverage of labor activism has notably increased, according to Redmond. He highlighted growing mainstream media interest in worker discontent and union activities, citing extensive coverage of Labor Day events and the bus tour. Redmond connected this shift to declining approval ratings for the current administration and rising public support for unions, referencing recent Gallup polls showing 68 percent of Americans favor unions - a significant increase from 2009.

Reflecting on labor history, Redmond discussed the 1892 Homestead strike, which occurred two years before Labor Day became a national holiday. He described the violent confrontation between striking workers and Pinkerton guards at Carnegie Steel Company, resulting in multiple fatalities. Redmond emphasized the strike's significance as a watershed moment for the labor movement, setting a precedent for workers' collective action in pursuit of fair wages and union recognition.

To hear more about the AFL-CIO's activism and labor history insights, listen to the full episode of the America's Work Force Union Podcast.


America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.

America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes-IBT, Boyd Watterson, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, Melwood, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of North America, The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.

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