Marching to the Music: Songs from the American Labor Movement

07 September 2010

VOICE ONE:

Members of the American Postal Workers Union and their supporters during a Labor Day parade Monday in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They were protesting proposed cuts to Saturday mail delivery.

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Barbara Klein. Most of the world observes Labor Day on May first. But the United States has its workers holiday on the first Monday in September. Today on our program, we have a few songs from the history of the American labor movement.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Labor songs are traditionally stories of struggle and pride, of timeless demands for respect and the hope for a better life.

Sometimes they represent old songs with new words. One example is "We Shall Not Be Moved." It uses the music and many of the same words of an old religious song.

Here is folksinger Pete Seeger with "We Shall Not Be Moved."

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Many classic American labor songs came from workers in the coal mines of the South. Mine owners bitterly opposed unions. In some cases, there was open war between labor activists and coal mine operators.

VOICE ONE:

Once, in Harlan County, Kentucky, company police searched for union leaders. They went to one man's home but could not find him there. So they waited outside for several days.