CLICK RICK to listen to his program.
In 2005, The Rick Smith Show stepped into a local radio world devoid of progressive talk. On a small country & western station, Rick took his Teamster-member 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 9pm-12am on WIOO 97.9 FM & 1000 AM (Carlisle/Harrisburg) and WEEO 93.9 & 1480AM (Chambersburg/Shippensburg), 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 working on a Masters. 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.
.
In addition to being a Teamster in two Ohio Local Unions, Teamsters Local 293 and 407, Rick was a card carrying member in Teamsters Local Union No. 229 and Teamsters Local Union No. 776 both in PA
