Maryland Labor History

Cassie Kilroy-Thompson has created a unique history project about the town of Texas, Maryland (now part of Cockeysville) where her family lived. She speaks on the labor history of this quarry town, settled by Irish immigrants, as well as the union activities of her father.

Workers at Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE) ran several organizing campaigns with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), and we have Al Bankard and Bill Durkin, who participated in the early campaigns. In the 2000 campaign, BGE used "social media" to oppose the union, sending VHS cassettes to the homes of every worker. The union responded and the videos are unique...

Conor Conneally on Building the B&O Railroad

Buddy Cefalu, a longtime member of Ironworkers Local 16 in Baltimore, describes building the Key Bridge. There is also a great exhibit at The Baltimore Museum of Industry about the construction of the bridge. https://www.thebmi.org/exhibits/building-a-baltimore-landmark/   Thanks to Mike Lore for suggesting this topic.

Phil Bradley was an active member of the Major League Baseball Players Association during the lockout of 1989 when he was an outfielder with the Orioles.  He is a Special Assistant with the players union now. Thanks to Matt Hood for suggesting this program.

Bill Barry speaks with Andrew Morton on his amazing 3D rendering of the Sparrows Point Steel Mill.

Michelle Stefano and Bill Shewbridge discuss Mill Stories, their project to preserve the legacy of the workers at Bethlehem Steel's Sparrows Point mill in Baltimore.

Bill Barry interviews Dave Kotelchuck on the Red Scare in Baltimore.

Bill Barry interviews sociologist and historian Angie Luvara on the 1919 Luke Mill Strike in Luke, Maryland. Luvara, an Assistant Professor of sociology at Frostburg State University, examines the widely forgotten, yet important, strike as part of a larger research project on the history of policing Applachian labor movements.

Bill Barry interviews historian Alexis Cathcart on interracial working class solidarity in 19C-20C Baltimore. Alexis is a PhD candidate in history at Morgan State University whose dissertation addresses Black southern migrants and radical politics in the 20th century.

Bill Barry interviews historian Craig G Simpson on the monumental Crisfield, Maryland Crab Pickers Strike of 1938.

Bill Barry interviews historian Shawn Gladden on Baltimore's free Black ship caulkers — skilled workers who built one of the most effective labor unions in 19th-century America. The conversation covers the racial and economic landscape of 19C Baltimore, including the legacies of Frederick Douglass and Isaac Myers.

Bill Barry interviews historian and author Len Shindel about the monumental 1970 Garrett County strike, which was the longest public worker strike in U.S. history. Order his book here via Hardball Press.

Historian Bill Barry interviews Baltimore Teachers Union members Mike Pesa, Patrice Pilgrim, Cristina Duncan-Evans, and Koli Tengella about their recent article on the history of the BTU. Read the article here: https://baltimoreteachers.org/90-years/.

Bill Barry interviews Thurman Wenzl about his experience in the labor movement as a Baltimore longshoreman as part of the Maryland250 Labor History podcast series. To learn more about the project, or to get involved, visit us at md250laborhistory.org .