In October of 2021, a wave of strikes swept the US, from food processing to manufacturing, to education, to health care, food service, and more. The strikers at John Deere, members of the UAW, demanded among other points, a plan to end the two-tier system which John Deere had put in place to disadvantage newer-hired employees and normalize in lower pay and benefits as the older workers retired. They held their picket lines for a month, pushing back against pressure from both the boss and officials within their union to accept a lesser deal, until they won a contract that made solid progress towards their core demands. The strike was one of several signs of a growing rank and file militancy within the UAW membership.
Richard "Dick" Rich, 56, a 15 year worker at John Deere and a 12 year Lieutenant of the Iowa National Guard, was struck and killed by a car on the picket line in Milan, Iowa on October 27, 2021. He is remembered for his sly and imaginative humor, the laughter he sparked in others, and his ability to turn poker games into comedic events. This song is dedicated to him, and the life that was taken from him, sacrificed for his union brothers and sisters.
lyrics
D G D
Dawn on out on the picket, in the morning light
A G D
The headlights from the scabs come hauling into sight
D G D
Damn their injunctions, damn their jails and fines
A G D
Whatever it takes, we’ll hold the line
A G D
All across the grain belt, we’re striking at John Deere
A D A
they’ve split our contracts up into first and second tier
D G D
But my father walked the line for me; I walk it with my son
D A
To get unity before this strike is done
Chorus
G D G Bm
There’s those on the top of the world, and there’s those who build it below
G D BM A
But the time comes for us to be rising, and the times comes to reap what you sow
D A BM G
So keep your hand on the plough, hold the line and don’t give up now
D A D
We’ve planted our seeds, now we’re watching ‘em grow
It’s a trick as old as time, it’s heartless and it’s cruel-
Break us into tiers for the old divide and rule
It’s pulling up the ladder on the workers still to come
And pulling down the strength that we have won
And the union’s not a monument you carve into the rock
It’s a legacy you water or it withers on the stalk
And power’s not in board rooms, the ballot, or the courts
It’s in action when we cut production short
Chorus
God rest you, Dick Rich, and your memory lives on
Killed out on the picket that morning in Milan
A car came speeding up the street and fixed you in its lights
And you died, fighting for our rights
You gave your life for the workers- your people and mine
And for those families toiling, generations on the line
Now you’re in the space between us, your spirit’s in our hands
When we strike, when the union takes a stand
Chorus
A month out on the line and we held that picket strong
‘Til the scabs from middle management couldn't carry on
All our working lives, they’d ground us to our knees
Until we stood on those lines in unity
So whenever any worker is under an attack
There’s a brother at your side and a sister at your back
Because an injury to one is an injury to all
We either stand together or we fall
Chorus; repeat last two lines:
D A BM G
So keep your hand on the plough, hold the line and don’t give up now
D A D
We’ve planted our seeds, now we’re watching ‘em grow
credits
from Rust Belt Ballads,
released September 1, 2023
Concertina: Mattie Ernst
Bouzouki, Vocal, Bodhran, Songwriting: Emmett Doyle
Emmett is a working class rebel musician- a union carpenter, former river deckhand, raised on a farm in central Minnesota.
With American country and blues and Irish traditional roots, he keeps the Long Memory going while singing about today's struggles. His work is rooted in social movements he's an active part of, from labor to defending the earth to fighting hate....more
Bright and skipping songs that foreground the sound of the banjo and fingerstyle guitar in music that feels timeless. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 5, 2020
This album speaks to the continuum of African diasporic culture that is central to the vibrant canon of Americana folk music. Bandcamp Album of the Day May 29, 2020
