Okay, so maybe you’re not a card-carrying member of the One Big Union—AKA The Wobblies (legend sources the nickname to the IWW’s international outreach: a non-English speaking member tried
to pronounce IWW but it came out I-Wobble-Wobble).
In fact, odds are you’re member of no union, rabble-rousing Wobblie, or otherwise. Union membership in the U.S. is at a nadir, with less than 7% of public-sector workers sharing the protective umbrella of organized representation and collective bargaining.
Be that as it may, we can on Labor Day (and hopefully on every other day) to look back appreciatively and honor the gifts that organized labor has bestowed upon us all: The 40-hour workweek, paid vacations and holidays, health insurance and other fringe benefits, and the implementation of workplace-
safety and child-labor laws.
But you know—we don’t have to admire from afar. Workplace union-building is on the wane (because workplace union-busting is ever on the rise). Nevertheless, if we feel so inspired, we working-stiffs can still join a union, as solitary members (and secretive ones, if needed) . Here’s a few worth checking out:
Working America (a branch of the AFL-CIO)
Look ‘em over, give it some thought, and see if you might be inspired to be one of the few and proud working to rebuild the glory of the great American labor movement…
…and don’t forget to have one helluva Labor Day weekend.
