On this week’s Labor History Today, we continue our look at the legacy of A. Philip Randolph and the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first major Black-led union in the United States.
Recorded at Georgetown University’s Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor, SEIU International President April Verrett reflects on what Randolph’s legacy means for workers today.
Posting on International Women’s Day, this conversation highlights the role of women workers—especially in care and service jobs—in carrying forward the fight for dignity, organizing rights, and democracy. Verrett connects the porters’ struggle a century ago with today’s battles over worker power, immigration, and the changing nature of the working class.
PLUS: Remembering Lucy Parsons on Labor History in 2:00 and We Were There, from Bev Grant and the Brooklyn Women’s Chorus.
Listen to the show here
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Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor.