In 2005, The Rick Smith Show stepped into a local radio world devoid of progressive talk. Rick took his straight shooting no nonsense Teamster outlook to the air and started mixing it up with conservatives from one of the reddest areas north of the Mason Dixon line. His show grew steadily, attracting listeners starved for a voice that spoke to working stiffs who felt the economic floor crumbling beneath them.
Five years after the start of his weekend program, Rick moved to new time slots and new stations. His show now airs Monday-Friday 3pm-6pm on several stations across the state of Pennsylvania where he offers hard truth and commentary with a unique blend of clear-headed, gruff analysis and bemused observation. Lest things get too serious, he spices things up with a laugh or two.
Rick comes by his outlook honestly. He grew up in the projects of Cleveland, ducking local gangs while doing paper routes and odd jobs to help feed his family. After high school, he went out on his own, driving 18 wheelers as a proud union member. Nowadays, Rick, a father of three, is on the front lines of the class work every weekday from 3pm-6pm. He feels the calling to spread the word about the desperate needs facing workers, and to make the world a better place for kids growing up in what is becoming an America of rich and poor.
Rick believes somebody has to wake up the American working class to engage in the democratic process, but not in the corporate-funded Tea Party fashion. He has the rough edges and the grit of a Teamster; he’s a street talker, but a street talker with charm.
On Friday May 22, 2020, Emily de La Bruyère, co-founder of Horizon Advisory joined Rick on the show to discuss China and
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On Wednesday May 20, 2020 John Costa, President of the Amalgamated Transit Union joined Rick to discuss the work his union was doing to protect workers in one of the most deadly of essential jobs and to share his thoughts
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by Rick Smith | May 30, 2020 | Show News | 0 comments On May 27, 2020 GasLit Nation Co-host and NY Times Best Selling author Sara Kendzior Joined Rick to discuss a wide array of topics
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On Friday May 22, 2020, Emily de La Bruyère, co-founder of Horizon Advisory joined Rick on the show to discuss China and their push to dominate global manufacturing, the risks associated with
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On Wednesday May 20, 2020 John Costa, President of the Amalgamated Transit Union joined Rick to discuss the work his union was doing to protect workers in one of the most deadly
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On Wednesday May 13, 2020 John Samuelsen, President of the Transport Worker’s Union (TWU) joined Rick to discuss the conditions his members are facing during this deadly global pandemic. During the discuss
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On Thursday May 7th, 2020 Ben Speight, Director of AFGE’s Crisis Response Campaign joined Rick to discuss the widespread actions at Veterans Administration facilities across the country to demand safer working conditions
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On Tuesday May 5th 2020 Teamster’s Local 238 Secretary-Treasurer Jesse Case joined Rick to talk about the working conditions processing plant workers face in Iowa, the continual fight to ensure his members
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On May Day I spoke with Temple University Hospital Radiology Tech Celeste-Bevans about her union’s Solidarity protest to raise awareness to the conditions health care workers face on the job and to
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Historian Erik Loomis of Lawyers, Guns, and Money blog joined The Rick Smith Show to discuss the possible meaning behind Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s push for liability protections for employers in future
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