--- title: "Labor 131: McNamara Sheds Light on Latina Anti-Fascist Resistance" description: The America’s Work Force Union Podcast is the nation’s premier daily labor program. Sarah McNamara of Texas A&M joined us on today’s show. image: https://awf.labortools.com/hubfs/General%20LABOR%20131%20Blue%20(1).png --- 1 min read Season 6, Episode 176 # Labor 131: McNamara Sheds Light on Latina Anti-Fascist Resistance [ awfblog ](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/author/awfblog) September 4, 2025 [Labor Issues](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/tag/labor-issues) [Organizing](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/tag/organizing) [General Recruitment](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/tag/general-recruitment) [America's Work Force Union Podcast](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/tag/americas-work-force-union-podcast) [Legislative Action](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/tag/legislative-action) [NLO](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/tag/nlo) [Labor History](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/tag/labor-history) [Blue Cross Blue Shield](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/tag/blue-cross-blue-shield) ![GENERIC LABOR 131 SIDEBAR](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/GENERIC%20LABOR%20131%20SIDEBAR.png?width=400&height=400&name=GENERIC%20LABOR%20131%20SIDEBAR.png)   Guest Name: --- Sarah McNamara Guest Website: --- [TAMU](https://www.tamu.edu/index.html)  Guest Social Media: --- [ Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/tamu/) [ Twitter](https://twitter.com/TAMU?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) [ YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/tamu) [ LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/school/texas-a%26m-university/) Supportive Documents: --- This edition of Labor 131, presented by the[National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association](https://www.bcbs.com/national-labor-office-unions), features Sarah McNamara, Associate Professor of History and Latino and Mexican American studies at [Texas A&M University](https://www.tamu.edu/index.html), who joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the history of Latina anti-fascist resistance in Florida during the 1930s. McNamara explored the impact of Cuban immigrants on Florida's economy, the emergence of women as political organizers and union leaders and the lasting effects of So-Called “Right to Work” legislation on labor movements. McNamara highlighted the significant role Cuban immigrants played in transforming Florida's economy from agrarian to industrial in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She explained that these workers, who came to the U.S. as anarchists, communists and intellectuals, saw unionism as a cross-national endeavor and organized between Cuba and Florida. By the 1930s, Cuban cigar workers formed the majority of Florida's GDP, giving them tremendous economic power. However, she said the Great Depression led to mass firings of well-paid Cuban male artisans, replaced by women hired at lower wages. The shift in workforce demographics led to women becoming political organizers and union leaders. McNamara discussed Luisa Moreno, whom the American Federation of Labor hired to organize Latinas in Florida. Moreno understood the need to combine labor and political organizing to effect sustained change. This culminated in a massive anti-fascist march in 1937, where over 7,000 Latinas and Latinos demanded political representation and support for anti-fascism both at home and abroad. McNamara also addressed the impact of So-Called “Right to Work” legislation on labor movements in Florida. The state enshrined So-Called “Right to Work” in its constitution in 1943, significantly changing the landscape for unions. Despite this setback, McNamara emphasized the importance of sustained resistance over time, noting that changes in civil rights, human rights and labor rights often result from years of persistent effort rather than single actions. Listen to the full episode to gain deeper insights into the history of Latina anti-fascist resistance and its relevance to modern labor movements. --- 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. - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ##### SUBSCRIBE ON: --- [![Group 342](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AmericasWorkForce/podcast%20logos/Apple%20Podcasts%20Button-Dark.png?width=171&name=Apple%20Podcasts%20Button-Dark.png)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/americas-work-force-union-podcast/id1511224946) [![Group 341](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AmericasWorkForce/podcast%20logos/Spotify%20Button-Dark.png?width=100&name=Spotify%20Button-Dark.png)](https://open.spotify.com/show/0GzkHxFSBxiXvuX0lZpQBn) [![Group 343](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Group%20343.png?width=135&name=Group%20343.png)](https://www.iheart.com/podcast/americas-work-force-union-podcast-62567752/) [![Group 339](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Group%20339.png?width=110&name=Group%20339.png)](https://www.pandora.com/podcast/americas-work-force-union-podcast/PC:47979) [![Group 397](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Group%20397.png?width=125&name=Group%20397.png)](https://americasworkforceradiopodcast.podbean.com/) [![Group 397](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/YouTube_button.png?width=125&name=YouTube_button.png)](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuQo1PAtRAel1_tS7-PQOkA)   #### [Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen on the Union Pacific Merger Threat](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/brotherhood-of-railroad-signalmen-on-the-union-pacific-merger-threat) : July 6, 2026 # Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen on the Union Pacific Merger Threat Brandon Elvey, Secretary-Treasurer of the [Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen](https://www.brs.org/),... 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