Listen "The Conductorettes"
Episode Synopsis
On this week’s Labor History Today: "This drunk came on and he started showing me a bad time, and I up and popped him and knocked him out. The soldier got one arm, I got the other and we put him beside the telephone pole. We got back in, gave a bell, and away we went. Never knew what happened to the guy. He could still be sitting there—I don’t know."
That was Pearl Wattum, one of Vancouver’s legendary “conductorettes”—the women who kept the city’s streetcars running during World War II while the men were away fighting fascism. On today’s show, from our colleagues at On The Line: Stories of BC Workers, we share their stories—firsthand accounts of grit, humor, and union solidarity from the front lines of public transit. It’s a powerful look at gender, labor, and what it took to keep a city moving in wartime.
And, on Labor History in 2:00: The Day Rosie the Riveter Died.
Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at [email protected]
Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor.
#LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory
That was Pearl Wattum, one of Vancouver’s legendary “conductorettes”—the women who kept the city’s streetcars running during World War II while the men were away fighting fascism. On today’s show, from our colleagues at On The Line: Stories of BC Workers, we share their stories—firsthand accounts of grit, humor, and union solidarity from the front lines of public transit. It’s a powerful look at gender, labor, and what it took to keep a city moving in wartime.
And, on Labor History in 2:00: The Day Rosie the Riveter Died.
Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at [email protected]
Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor.
#LaborRadioPod #History #WorkingClass #ClassStruggle @GeorgetownKILWP #LaborHistory @UMDMLA @ILLaborHistory @AFLCIO @StrikeHistory #LaborHistory @wrkclasshistory
More episodes of the podcast Labor History Today
Where’s our Forty Acres And A Mule?
16/11/2025
“We’re in a real fight”
11/11/2025
The Untold Story of John Henry
02/11/2025
Voices of Guinness (Encore)
26/10/2025
The Donora Death Fog
12/10/2025
Remembering Mary Kenney O’Sullivan (Encore)
05/10/2025
Red Bandanas and Solidarity
28/09/2025
Cecil Roberts: “ You must continue to fight”
21/09/2025
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.