It’s hard to think about the history of labor unions in this country without thinking of the music. Smithsonian Folkways described the movement this way:
Songs of the American labor movement over the 20th century called for just wages, dignity, and a fair shake. They voiced grievances, affirmed the value of the worker to society, and expressed hope for life in a more just world.
The history of the labor movement is told through its songs, and many folk singers and writers of folk songs became famous because of those melodies. When you think of union songs, no doubt many come to mind, such as Sixteen Tons, the story of a Kentucky coal miner, written by Merle Travis and popularized by both Tennessee Ernie Ford and Johnny Cash; Look For the Union Label, the song of the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union, which became a classic TV ad in 1981 and featured actual members of the union, singing; and Union Maid and Union Burying Ground by Woody Guthrie.
A piece on the Almanac Singers, a folk group that specialized in songs about social activism, in the Ultimate History Project describes the group and the songs this way:
The Almanacs’ “creed” was a simple one: “our work is to be performed in the manner which best aids the working class in its struggle to claim its just heritage. We just stick to the old tunes working people have been singing for a long time—sing `em easy, sing `em straight, no holds barred. We’re working men on the side of the working man and against the big boys.” Over the years Woody Guthrie, Pete and Butch Hawes, Bess Lomax, Agnes “Sis” Cunningham, Josh White, Arthur Stern, and others joined the Almanacs, hoping not only to bring social and political reform to America but also to defeat fascism and generate a singing labor movement. ...
The Almanacs all agreed that their purpose was to use music to aid the fight for social, political, and economic change. Along with battling fascism, the Almanacs prioritized helping the labor movement. They operated at a time when the labor movement had reached a peak—buoyed by the success of CIO organizing drives that included many communist union organizers. By composing songs such as “Union Maid,” “Talking Union,” and “Song for Harry Bridges,” an ode to the West Coast union organizer which they performed at labor events, the Almanacs’ music rallied Americans for the cause.
Many labor songs might seem dated now that unions no longer have the influence they once did, but the music is still powerful. Here are just a few of the songs that built up the labor movement, and the stories behind them.
Solidarity Forever. Possibly the best-known labor song is Solidarity Forever, written in 1915 by Ralph Chaplin. It was adopted by the Industrial Workers of the World, the IWW, also known as the Wobblies, and is still used by labor groups all over. The song is set to the tune of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and most would recognize the chorus:
Solidarity forever,
Solidarity forever,
Solidarity forever,
For the union makes us strong!
In the 1970s, women added their own verses:
We're the women of the union and we sure know how to fight.
We'll fight for women's issues and we'll fight for women's rights.
A woman's work is never done from morning until night.
Women make the union strong!
(Chorus)
It is we who wash dishes, scrub the floors and clean the dirt,
Feed the kids and send them off to school—and then we go to work,
Where we work for half men's wages for a boss who likes to flirt.
But the union makes us strong!
Here’s a version of Solidarity Forever by Pete Seeger, who often sang it as part of his repertoire.
Joe Hill. Joe Hill, born Joel Emmanuel Hägglund in 1879, was a Swedish-American labor activist who moved to the United States in 1902. He became an itinerant laborer, joining the IWW, rising through its ranks, traveling, and making speeches. He also wrote songs and drew cartoons for the labor group that drew attention to laborers’ poor working conditions and called for workers to organize.
In 1914, a grocer and his son in Salt Lake City were shot and killed by two men. Later that night, Hill was treated for a gunshot wound, saying only that he was shot over an argument about a woman. Police arrested him for the murder of the grocer and his son, and Hill was convicted on the circumstantial evidence of his gunshot wound and executed by firing squad in November 1915. In the trial, it was clear that Hill’s real guilt was being a member of the IWW, and that, apparently, was enough for the prosecution and the jury. (It was not until a 2011 biography that the definitive true story came out—Hill and a fellow Swedish-American were quarreling over a woman, and Hill was shot by the woman’s former fiance.)
But Hill’s story became famous in the labor movement. In a final letter to IWW leader Bill Haywood, Hill wrote, “Don’t waste any time in mourning—organize!” That line has been shortened to the slogan, “Don’t mourn—organize!”
Hill’s body was cremated, and it’s what happened to his ashes that kept his story alive. Here’s a description from Wikipedia:
Hill's body was sent to Chicago where it was cremated. His ashes were placed into 600 small envelopes and according to Wobbly folklore, sent around the world and released to the winds on May Day 1916. However, it was not until the first anniversary of his death (November 19, 1916) that delegates attending the Tenth Convention of the IWW in Chicago received envelopes. The rest of the 600 envelopes were sent to IWW locals, Wobblies and sympathizers around the world on January 3, 1917.
In 1988 it was discovered that an envelope had been seized by the United States Post Office Department in 1917 because of its "subversive potential". The envelope, with a photo affixed, captioned, "Joe Hill murdered by the capitalist class, Nov. 19, 1915," as well as its contents, was deposited at the National Archives. A story appeared in the United Auto Workers' magazine Solidarity and a small item followed it in The New Yorker Magazine. Members of the IWW in Chicago quickly laid claim to the contents of the envelope.
Joe Hill’s story was written as a poem titled I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night by Alfred Hayes and set to music in 1936 by Earl Robinson. It was often sung by Paul Robeson and Pete Seeger, and Joan Baez sang it at Woodstock. Here’s a version of Joe Hill sung by Paul Robeson (because why shouldn’t we listen to Paul Robeson when we get the chance?).
Union Maid. Woody Guthrie, a prolific writer of union songs, wrote Union Maid in 1940 in the hall of the Oklahoma City Communist Party in response to a request for a union song from a woman’s point of view. That night, Guthrie and Pete Seeger performed the song for a group of striking oil workers. Here’s a version that was part of Seeger’s 90th birthday concert, featuring Billy Bragg, Mike and Ruthy Merenda, Dar Williams, and the New York City Labor Chorus.
In 2015, in honor of Labor Day, The Nation magazine published a list of the top 10 songs about working people. (Personally, I don’t see how anyone could leave out Which Side Are You On? but include Career Opportunities by the Clash.) At least they included Bread and Roses sung by Judy Collins, which was always one of my favorites.
What the heck—here’s the TV ad of the ILGWU song from 1981 featuring the singing union workers. Let’s remember them this Labor Day as so much of our discount-price clothing (including that sold by Ivanka Trump) is made by workers in Asia being paid a pittance.