The Rick Smith Show

Floyd Cohens Explains Why He is Pushing for a Union After Trucking for 40 Years

Floyd Cohens has been trucking for over 40 years and talks about his prior organizing experience with freight and container drivers and why he joined the Teamsters organizing drive.  

Gerald Spaulding, Port Truck Driver, Explains What it Means to be Cheated Out of Wages & the First in His Family to Push for a Union

Gerald Spaulding is a port truck driver in Savannah, Georgia who is tired of getting ripped off at work.  He explains what it is like to be the first member of his family to ever be a part of a union drive. 

Chester Dunham from the Dunham Report Talks About His Labor and Civil Rights Experience in the Savannah Region

Chester Dunham is a Savannah Celebrity from the Dunham Report and he joined the Peoples Tour to talk about his experience in the local labor and civil rights movements.

Pastor Thomas Dixon Gives Insight into the Modern Civil Rights Movement Taking Place In Charleston

Pastor Thomas Dixon, community organizer and co-founder of The Coalition (People United to Take Back Our Community), explains how the Fight For 15, Public Transportation and Black Lives Matter are part of the modern Civil Rights Movement taking place in Charleston, South Carolina

Christine Nelson was a Nurse at the Medical University of South Carolina & She Explains How Little Has Changed in the 45 Years Since the Strike of 1969

Christine G. Nelson was a nurse at the Medical University of South Carolina and she explains how little has changed in the 45 years since the famous strike.  She was fired from her job for insubordination, but luckily she has been able to land work with the International Longshoremen Association.  

Kerry Taylor, Local Historian, Explains Charleston's Rich Labor History & the Origins of "I Shall Overcome"

In our second interview with Kerry Taylor, a historian from The Citadel, we dive into Charleston's rich labor history.  Besides the 1969 healthcare workers strike at the Medical University of South Carolina, Kerry talks about some of Charleston's other important labor actions, especially the 1944-1945 American Tobacco Cigar Factory Strike, which was the origin for the famous "I Shall Overcome" protest song  

Kerry Taylor, Local Historian, Explains the Background of Denmark Vesey, Hampton Park and Charelston's Civil War History

Kerry Taylor is a local labor historian from The Citadel and on the fast part of our tour through Charleston, Kerry recalls the city's early history, Denmark Vesey's planned slave rebellion, how Hampton Park was used during the Civil War and the liberation of Beaufort, South Carolina

Jack Bradford was the Local 1199B Vice President and Shares His Stories of the 1969 Strike

Jack Bradford was the local SEIU 1199B vice president and he shared his stories about his time working at the Medical University of South Carolina and what it was like participating in the 1969 strike. 

Louise Brown was One of the Twelve Nurses Fired That Sparked the 1969 SEIU1199b Strike

Louise Brown was a nurse at the Medical University of South Carolina and was one of twelve nurses fired for insubordination that sparked the four month strike

William Saunders Explains the Organizing Process Behind the 1969 Medical University of South Carolina Strike

William Saunders was an organizer of the famous 1969 SEIU 1199B Healthcare Workers Strike at the Medical University of South Carolina.  He explains how the organizing process that happened in the two years leading up to the strike. 

Todays's show 8-11-2015

Erin Mckee, SC AFL-CIO Bringing the Class War to the South

Erin Mckee, President of the South Carolina AFL-CIO joins Rick to talk about culture shock associated with moving to South Carolina and what her organization is doing to advance Civil and Worker’s rights. 

Dr. George Hopkins Gives a Preview of What to Expect in Charleston, South Carolina

Dr. George Hopkins, President of Charleston Chapter of the South Carolina Progressive Network joins Rick to talk about the grassroots progressive movement that is growing in South Carolina.

James Felder An Amazing Life

James Felder, Author and Civil and Voting Rights Activist joins Rick to share his experiences and talk about his book about South Carolina’s history of struggle from the days in the streets to the victories in the courtroom.

James Andrews Fighting the Workers Battles in NC

James Andrews President of the North Carolina AFL-CIO joins Rick on the People’s Tour for America to discuss his experiences during the Civil Rights Era and what the Labor community has done to help fight for rights for all workers. 

Rebecca Cerese Telling the Story of Fighting Back and Winning at the Lunch Counter

Rebecca Cerese, Director of the documentary February One: The Story of the Greensboro Four joins Rick to discuss the film and share the story of one of history’s most important moments.  

Beverly McNeill, President of the Stagville Plantation, Explained the Slaves Living Quarters and What Their Occupations Would Be

Beverly McNeill, President of the Stagville Foundation takes Rick on a walk through the slave quarters being maintained on the Historic Stagville Plantation. 

Stephanie Cobert, Managing Director of Stagville Plantation, Talks About the Family History Behind the Plantation

Stephanie Cobert, Managing Director of Historic Stagville takes time to sit down with Rick to talk about the largest plantation in North Carolina history and their mission to keep the history alive.

Lewis Brandon Talks About the A&T 4 & How They Changed History at the Greensboro Woolworth Lunch Counter

Lewis Brandon, Grassroots History Coordinator at the Beloved Community Center sits down with Rick to share his story of being a part of history joining four fellow North Carolina A & T sit in of the lunch counter in Greensboro.

Joyce Johnson Explains What it was like Being One of the First African American Women to Attend Duke University

Joyce Johnson Co-Director of the Beloved Community Center in Greensboro NC shares her courageous story as a young girl from Richmond, VA going away to college at Duke University as one of the first African-American women in the school’s history and all of the struggles she has seen.