Host: Ann Heppermann and Kara Oehler of Mapping Main Street

For Labor Day, the work we do, from Wall Street traders to taxi cab drivers. People who work with brassieres, dead bodies, lost golf balls, and off-the-books in an underground economy:

The Ramones obviously believe "It's Not My Place (In the 9 to 5 World)" (1980 Pleasant Dreams).

Meryn Cadell fills out a "Job Application" (1992 Angel Food for Thought).

In the 1950s Tony Schwartz conversed with The New York Taxi Driver about "A Temporary Job." (This 1959 LP is on The Library of Congress National Recording Registry).

Steve Fisk recites some "Government Figures" (1980 Over and Thru the Night).

Grief and guts fill the work day of Aftermath,® Inc: Specialists in Crime Scene and Tragedy Cleanup, Trauma Cleanup, Accidental Death Cleanup. Interview with Tim Reifsteck by Laura Kwerel, produced by Nick van der Kolk; an excerpt from "Aftermath," a Love and Radio podcast. (L & R's slogan: "What Ira Glass might make if he showed up to work drunk.")

Cilla Black's boyfriend believes "Work is a Four Letter Word" (1968 The Best of Cilla Black).

Break music: Leroy Anderson "Plink, Plank, Plunk!" (1951 Leroy Anderson Favorites). Part two…

Retired school teacher Paul Neibuhr dons a full wet suit with air tank and transforms into a professional "Golfball Diver." Produced by Jeff Rice, with music by Leroy Anderson ("Plink, Plank, Plunk!" 1951; theme for the TV game Show I've Got a Secret for 24 years; CD: Leroy Anderson Favorites).

Ken Nordine wants to be "The Bullfighter" (2001 A Transparent Mask). A Radio Diary from "Selma Koch, Bra Saleswoman." Sez Selma: "Nobody says the retail business was gonna be easy." Produced by Emily Botein and Joe Richman with help from Ben Shapiro and Deborah George (2002 New York Works). Tony Schwartz talks with The New York Taxi Driver about "Females" as fares. "Open Outcry" is the trading technique heard on the floor of the New York Mercantile Exchange. This sound-portrait by composer Ben Rubin is a 2002 commissioned by Creative Time for Sonic Garden, World Financial Center, NYC. Features the voices of Madeline Boyd, J. Robert Collins, Jr., David Greenberg, John Hanneman, Vincent Viola, Elisa Zuritsky, and others. John, the Medicine Man does the "Chicago Hustles." An excerpt from the documentary on the city's underground economy by our hosts Ann Heppermann and Kara Oehler for the 2005 series Chicago Matters: Money Talks. Reinhardt "Buck" Buchli makes a "Fortunate Decision" (2005). A story told and production by David Greenberger of Duplex Planet. Music performed by Bangalore, composed by Phil Kaplan. The New York Taxi Driver waxes work philosophies with Tony Schwartz in "...The Way It Has to Be." Depeche Mode clocks out with Work Hard (1984 Singles Box 2). And mixed in there is "Toner" by Cornelius (2006 Sensuous). A "collaboration with Takagi Masakatsu produced for Japan's Sound & Recording magazine... inspired by inkjet printers!" Cornelius "Toner":

For many years, Transom editor, Sydney Lewis, worked side by side with Studs on his radio show and his books. For this remembrance, told in a seamless blend of doumentary and reminiscence, she brings together of crew of Stud's co-workers with their great stories along with wonderful previously-unheard tape of Studs himself. 

Note: Studs would have been 98 on May 16, 2010.  

On July 17, 1944, two Liberty ships anchored at the Port Chicago Munitions Case near San Francisco exploded, killing 320 men and injuring 390. It was the worst homefront disaster of World War II. A majority of the casualties were African-American sailors who loaded ammunition onto the ships at Port Chicago. Shortly after the explosion, the African-American munitions loaders who survived were transferred to a nearby base and ordered back to work. Shaken by the death of their workmates and afraid that another explosion might occur, 50 men refused. In the largest courtmartial in Navy history, they were all convicted of mutiny and sentenced to up to fifteen years of hard labor. In January 1946, only months after the war ended, all convicted men's sentences were suspended as part of a general amnesty. While these men were allowed to return to civilian life, they were left angry, ashamed, and afraid they would be fired from their jobs or worried that they would be seen as unpatriotic. As a result, some did not discuss the case, even with family members, for more than 50 years. Originally broadcast on This American Life in 1996.

For over a hundred years the Mohawks of Akwesasne, a reservation on the New York-Canada border, pursued the occupation of ironworkers, one of the most dangerous jobs in construction. Mohawks were on the high steel crews of every bridge and skyscraper in Manhattan, commuting between job and their 12-hour-distant home every weekend, and became famous for their skill, daring and major contribution to the skyline of New York. This is the story of men plying a difficult craft in the modern world while cleaving to tribal customs in an ancient world -- a balancing act that has taken its toll in lives and relationships. An honest, intimate and informative portrait of an unusual occupation and the Native Americans who made it their own.

Remembering Mother Warren - A look into the labor history of one of the world?s oldest paper mills Remembering Mother Warren unearths the culture of an industrial community, the drama of life working for a once-great employer, and probes the meaning of workers? memories in the face of disruptive industrial change. Produced by Big Talk on WMPG, it is a 30-minute documentary that traces the labor history of the S.D.Warren paper mill in Westbrook, Maine. You?ll hear stories from generations of mill workers and managers, including Shirley Lally, a 30-year veteran who sorted reams of paper by hand, Phil LaViolette, who recalls the struggles of Warren?s Franco workers, and Howard Reiche, a former mill manager who describes the mill?s paternalism and the favoritism encountered by workers prior to unionization. Other workers tell the history of the S.D. Warren ?family,? of their experiences in the mill dating back as far as the 1920s, of the extreme heat, dangerous equipment and deadly accidents, a forgotten1916 strike, unionizing in the 1960s, and of the mill?s recent decline. University of Maine historian Charles Scontras, and University of Southern Maine economist and labor historian Michael Hillard provide analysis of the mill?s unique labor history. ?Remembering Mother Warren? is produced by Big Talk members Jessica Lockhart, Michael Hillard, and Claire Holman. Narrator: Thomas Lestage, President PACE Local 1069. Project Historians: Eileen Eagan and Michael Hillard. Additional narration by Paul Drinan. ?Remembering Mother Warren? won First Place in Public Affairs from the Maine Association of Broadcasters 2003. Sponsored by the Southern Maine Labor Council, AFL-CIO, with funding from the Maine Humanities Council. e-mail us at bigtalk@maine.rr.com

Matthew Works has been living on the streets of Boston for over a decade. Here he remembers one of his last paying jobs, assembling braille typerwriters, which thrust him into a Dickensian nightmare. Producer Chelsea Merz has been chronicalling Matthew's life on the streets for the last few years. This story was taped at a pizza joint in downtown Boston.

Big low-wage employers are now issuing ATM style "payroll cards" instead of paychecks, costing low wage employees hundreds of dollars a year just to acess their money.

In his own words, Anthony Mulay explains the technology he uses to rid New York City's sidewalks of gum patches, and where his machine gets the most use.

The working rights we enjoy today did not come without a struggle. (Not to mention the working rights not yet attained.) Labor Day is a day set aside to honor the American labor movement and the contributions that workers have made to the country. This, the 2nd part of a 2 part episode, highlights the songs from the labor movement.

It’s Labor Day, which means we’re celebrating the hard-working people who keep the engines of productivity humming. This rebroadcast production from The Pulse at WHYY in Philadelphia explores how science and technology are changing work and workplaces, and what we are learning about the pitfalls of different work environments. Our current healthcare conundrum certainly stems in part from the coupling of work and insurance benefits — so we’ll look at the past and future of this union. We’ll meet a woman who used science to prove that ladies should be part of the work force. Also: The psychology of snarky office emails, and the case for mandatory vacation days.