Between my morning meetings and the faculty meetings in the afternoon, I raced to the picket line at At's work, which was sponsored by the Teamsters. It has been well over a year since At and their team won their historic unionization, but they are yet to win their contract.
It wasn't a very big crowd at the picket line--but it was lively. I reconnected with SN, an old student and friend, and the Teamsters regaled me with compliments about At.
My favorite story though was the one about one of the Teamster's once eight-year-old who would race out to meet FedEx delivery people with her mom's business card to encourage them to organize so they too could enjoy pay raises like UPS workers (who are famously with the Teamsters). Adorbs!
I found myself humming "Bread and Roses"--one of my favorite versions is the one featured in Pride (2014), that quirky, plucky, cross-cultural solidarity movie.Pic: Supporters on the picket line outside At's place of work.
6 comments:
Oh Maya, I guess I thought that At's union had won their contract. I'm disappointed to hear that they haven't.
Good luck to At's team getting their contract. Sounds like it's been a long struggle.
I love that scene in Pride, too.
I do love a good picket line
Good luck.
<3
Good luck to the strikers. I, too, love a good picket line, but I've only ever been in supporter of strikers, never been on strike myself. I imagine it's an entirely different story if you're striking and not getting paid! :(
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