On this week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour, What does labor culture actually do? SEIU President April Verrett accepts the Labor Heritage Foundation’s 2026 Solidarity Forever Award and delivers a powerful reminder that “culture moves people before politics ever will.” We bring you highlights from the evening, featuring music, storytelling, and reflections on why labor arts remain central to organizing, solidarity, and movement-building. Then Harold Phillips heads to Bellingham, Washington for a conversation with playwrights Lantz Simpson and Victoria McCallum about The Last Words of Joe Hill, a contemporary theater piece imagining legendary labor organizer and singer Joe Hill walking into a modern coffee shop union drive. Through clips from the play and a wide-ranging interview, they explore labor memory, Starbucks organizing, songwriting, storytelling, and why working-class history still matters to young workers today. Along the way, we hear new stories from the People’s 250 campaign, including the story of Virginia Snow, the rebel educator and organizer who helped defend Joe Hill during his 1915 trial, and a remembrance of the 1968 Memphis sanitation strike that brought Martin Luther King Jr. to Memphis. Plus: this week’s labor arts calendar, labor arts news, and Labor History in 2:00 on the Matewan Massacre and the road to Blair Mountain. Broadcast on May 21, 2026; hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network and syndicated on Pacifica’s Audioport. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod