There used to be a bar on Lincoln Avenue called Holstein’s. I saw David Bromberg play an acoustic show there once. He requested that somebody bring him whiskey. After his third request went unfulfilled he threatened to start playing union songs. He was brought a drink very quickly after that.

My grandfather was an Irish farmboy who wound up driving a streetcar for the CTA. His union job fed his eight children during the Great Depression. He lived to be 102 and when he died the union chipped in for his funeral. I would not have had the opportunities that I’ve had in my life were it not for my grandpa’s union job.

These are but two examples of the power of a union. Something to think about on Labor Day.

Uncle Tupelo “Coalminers” (comp. Sarah Ogan Gunning)
A lot of union songs not only preach the value of labor unions but also work in a plug for socialism. The song is a good example.

Scott H. Biram “Pastures of Plenty” (Woody Guthrie)
Very mellow song from Mr. Biram. Most of his stuff involves frantic guitar riffing and shouting that’s straight out of a tent revival. Very nice lyric about picking hops. If you want people to get concerned about the plight of migrant farm workers, just tell them that their beer is at stake.

Dropkick Murphys “Which Side Are You On” (comp. Florence Reece)
Are you going to be a dirty scab or are you going to be a man? Well, if you put it that way…

Billy Bragg “Which Side Are You On” (comp. Florence Reece)
A different version with updated lyrics about the efforts of Maggie Thatcher’s Conservative Party to break up the British trade unions in the mid-1980s.

I did a phone interview with Mr. Bragg when I was a college radio DJ. He started talking about when he was in the British Army. I was surprised that an angry socialist had joined the armed forces. He said that he volunteered so he could learn how the other side thought. I asked him what he learned. He told me he learned how many feet of standing corn it takes to stop a bullet. Now that’s knowledge that will take you far in life.

The Sydney Union Trade Choir “There Is Power In A Union” (Billy Bragg)
This was one of the entries in the 2002 Wobbly Radio song competition in Australia. When I first heard Billy Bragg play this I just assumed that it was some old union song. He wrote this thing in 1988! Who writes new union songs these days?

Dead Kennedys “Take This Job And Shove It” (Johnny Paycheck)
Not really a union song, but an emphatic anthem for the working man. Hard to believe that this song wasn’t written as a punk rant.