Florence Reece wrote "Which Side Are You On?" during the miners' strike that began on February 16, 1931, in Harlan County, Kentucky, when the Harlan County Coal Operators' Association cut miners' wages by 10 percent, further immiserating the already impoverished miners and their families and the company refused to recognize their chosen union, the United Mine Workers. The strike lasted until 1939, with great hardship and many casualties along the way. In the end, the workers won. The UMW negotiated for the Harlan County miners.
Reece remembered:
Here she is, in a scene from Barbara Kopple's great documentary "Harlan County USA," speaking and singing to UMW members during their 1976-1979 Blue Diamond/Stearns Coal Mining strike over safe conditions and representation.
Pete Seeger popularized the song in the 1960s.
Ani DiFranco wrote her own version during a hopeful time. This performance took place in June 2010, during Barack Obama's first term.
One of my favorite versions is Billy Bragg's, from his 1987 EP, "Between the Wars."
And I just discovered this one, a particularly moving by the Kentucky folk and country singer-songwriter S.G. Goodman.
The UMW lost its two-year struggle in 1979. Then in 1981, 13,000 members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) walked out over numerous unresolved contract issues with the Federal Aviation Administration. As his first act in office, President Ronald Reagan gave them an ultimatum: Return to work or be fired. They would not go back to work without a contract. Reagan fired every striker, banned them from federal employment for life, and decertied their union.
It was the beginning of a long slide for organized labor in the U.S. But the last few years have seen an exciting resurgence, with the support of Joe Biden, leading to victories at Starbucks, REI, Amazon, Trader Joe's and many other places. Resistance from management has been fierce, with companies refusing to recognize legitimate new shops or bargain in good faith with unions many years in place. Needless to say, workers can expect no help from the Trump regime. One of DOGE's chief "accomplishments" was to bust the federal workers' unions, some of the strongest in the country.
Still, support for unions among Americans is at an all-time high, with approval at 70 percent. Among people under 30, almost nine in ten would join a union if they could.
Since the 1930s they lyrics of "Which Side Are You On?" has been rewritten to support struggles for justice throughout the world -- from the U.S. Civil Rights Movement to the Arab Spring, Black Lives Matter Movement to the movement for a free Palestine.
On "Alberta Day", Danielle Smith stood beside the lawyer who repped the Coutts Fucker Truckerblockade and was also Artur Pawlowski's lawyer in a suit against the government...
Every. Single. Day. she shows Alberta, and the rest of Canada, how truly horrible she is. I loathe her!Me too, I loath Danielle Smith as much as I loath Herr Nazi Steve Harper! I loath Nazi Mark Carney more though than both combined, because they don't hide their evil, Carney does.
@bradleybutts.bsky.social:
Weird that you never see her taking photo ops with the disabled, sick kids, even healthy kids for that matter. She only smiles like this around the worst people ever.
@recconrob.bsky.social:
And here's Danielle beside an accused Pedophile ... So yes, Her Judgement is Twisted
Aurora alert! Incoming cannibal solar storm could spark Labor Day northern lights show by Daisy Dobrijevic, Aug 30, 2025, space.com
A pair of solar eruptions may combine into a powerful "cannibal CME," boosting chances for dazzling auroras over Labor Day.
A pair of solar eruptions may combine into a powerful "cannibal CME," boosting chances for dazzling auroras over Labor Day. (Image credit: brett biggers / 500px via Getty Images)
Heads up aurora chasers! A powerful solar storm is on its way and could supercharge the skies with northern lights just in time for the Labor Day holiday.
A long-duration M2.7 flare erupted from sunspot Active Region 4199 on Aug. 30, launching a fast-moving, Earth-directed coronal mass ejection (CME). The CME is expected to reach Earth late on Sept. 1 into early Sept. 2 (UTC), according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC).
NOAA modeling suggests G2 (moderate) geomagnetic storming is likely when the CME first arrives, with conditions intensifying to G3 (strong) as the bulk of the storm passes on Sept. 2. That means auroras could extend farther south than usual across the northern U.S.
Space weather physicist Tamitha Skov highlighted that there are actually two Earth-directed solar storms, with one possibly overtaking the other. "The NOAA model run includes the two Earth-directed #solarstorm launches. The larger one catches up with the smaller one just ahead of Earth so a precursor disturbance may indeed ramp up before the larger storm hits. Impact is expected by late September 1. G2+ conditions possible," Skov wrote on X. When one CME sweeps up another in this way, scientists call it a "cannibal CME" -- a scenario that may be unfolding now.
The U.K. Met Office echoed the alert, stating the auroral oval is expected to be "significantly enhanced" after the CME arrives, with displays possibly visible as far south as East Anglia, the Midlands, and Wales under clear skies. However, they caution that a waxing gibbous moon may hamper viewing.
NOAA classifies geomagnetic storms on a scale from G1 (minor) to G5 (extreme). G3 storms can bring auroras to mid-latitudes (around 50° geomagnetic latitude), which often translates to states like Oregon, Illinois, and New York in the U.S.
CMEs are massive bursts of plasma and magnetic field from the sun that can spark colorful auroras when they slam into Earth's magnetic field. These storms can also disrupt satellites, radio communications, and even power grids during stronger events.
Aurora conditions are expected to remain elevated into Sept. 3, so even if clouds spoil the show one night, there could be more chances to catch the northern lights in the days ahead.
Refer also to:
Bravo united courageous flight attendants, shame on anti-worker anti-rights misogynistic Caveman Carney, serving Air Canada's greedy fuckers at the top. CUPE: "Unpaid work is over. We have reclaimed our voice and our power." This is how communities keep frac'ing out too! By standing united and refusing industry's and gov'ts' threats, lies and bribes.