Blog 5

There are many important issues in the American Labor Movement and two of the biggest were the harsh working conditions and the low wages. These two main issues saw much attention from singers for the labor movement such as Joe Glazer. Other people such as Joe Hill fought for workers rights in the unions trying to mobilize workers together to fight for better working conditions and better pay. Joe Hill fought to unite workers through song because with song it fires people up with different emotions this and Joe Hill's words brought many people together in unions to fight for their rights. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8Kxq9uFDes. The first video about I saw Joe Hill last night was written by Paul Robeson and this song helped to bring people together in the union because it used the prestige that Joe Hill had built up as a leader and used it to keep uniting people for the cause.
Music in the American Labor Movement functioned by helping people realize that they were being treated badly and that they need to fight for there rights as workers. Music was also used to express what they were feeling and why they were picketing the factories when they were on strike. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaQ7qWo6120. This video is very relevant to the American Labor Movement because he wrote songs specifically for different occupations such as coal miners, steel workers, etc. His hard work help out greatly in all areas of the labor movement because it brought people together under one cause and showed every American what they were striking for.
The song I chose for Joe Hill is called "The Tramp" its about a guy who is a tramp and he cant find work so he just keeps on walking. No one will give him a job because he looks bad like a drifter plus he has to worry about going to jail and he couldn't even get into heaven after he died. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eluvaNu2mw&feature=related. This is a good song for the labor movement because it shows that people want to work but they need to make good wages otherwise people will think they are the tramp and cant find any work or anything. This song is still relevant for today because it shows people they don't want to be poor they need to work and not look like tramps because you will be poor and cant find work.