Happy Labor Day. I always think of IWW organizer and songwriter, Joe Hill, on this holiday. I just stumbled into an article by Jeremy Harmon about Hill’s stirring, rabble rousing tunes at the Salt Lake Tribune’s Legacy of Joe Hill web site. Hill lived and worked in Utah, ultimately dying there after being convicted and sentenced to death for murder. Hill’s supporters have long argued that it was a set-up because of his union activities. I’m inclined to agree. The IWW was a radical union and had more enemies than you can shake a stick at. Why anyone would do such a thing is beyond me…

Labor educator and troubadour Joe Glazer recorded The Songs of Joe Hill in 1954. Here it is in the YouTube playlist format. Ironically, there are some pop up ads but they can be skipped; guess they don’t anything about the Wobblies:

Happy Labor Day.