Dick Meister leads us through a veritable micro-history (3:22!)of the US labor movement from the 1950's through today. He does this by focusing on the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and it's fundamental tenets in serving the middle class of America.

Meister laments the obvious downslide of organized labor over the past three decades or so. He craftily ties the early days of the CIO and the great depression, Franklin D. Roosevelts efforts, and the basic assumptions of solidarity itself, slowly bringing us to the conjoining of the two seminal labor groups in the U.S., the AFL and the CIO, in 1955. He brings the key diffences between the two groups without judgement and provides just enough information to keep us tuned in and wanting to hear more.

He is unapologetically a labor/progressive. This is surprisingly relieving to hear in this day of social security "reform," constant downsizing, and the seeming unending bleeding of American jobs overseas.

This is a timely and precise commentary, leaning heavily on historical fact. It is pointed, yet without colorful rhetoric. If Daniel Schorr were a labor leader or a political scientist instead of a journalist, this is what he'd be saying. And he'd sound a lot like Dick Meister.

It's format is perfect for any news program. Drop it in. At just over 3:00 minutes, it'll fit anywhere.