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Hey folks. Thanks for clicking on this little diary.
I tend to ramble a lot, so I’ll try (and probably fail!) to keep this short and useful. I’d also like to tell this story with personal memories, so I’ll be using the word “I” even more than I already have. I ask pardon.
So I was born around 1970. Seems like a relatively short while ago to me, but there will probably be people who’ll read this who literally weren’t alive then. That’s sort of freaky, to me at least!
So I was a little late for the earliest history of labor unions (haha, I said “a little,” more like 100+ years). But I remember how things were even when I was young, and if anything they’ve gotten harder since then.
I got my learner’s permit (to drive) at 15, and my first “job” the same year. It was at a car wash on a main thoroughfare outside Nashville, Tennessee. I’ll spare too much dilation about how crappy the conditions were. Incredibly rude, verbally abusive leaders/managers, one in particular. I didn’t keep the job long; I actually gave two weeks' notice, but was told to just go home and not come back. Benefits? A reasonable wage? Both a joke.
Still in school, I worked in fast food joints, a few. Rax Restaurants when they were still here. Captain D’s, Red Lobster, Hardee’s, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Papa John’s. Honestly, they were all crap. Miserable environments, awful leadership, long hours standing on concrete floors.
I had only the vaguest idea of what a labor union was at this point. If you’d hit me with a test, I’d have failed it. I mentioned living in Tennessee; not all the teachers were awful, but honestly not many seemed very engaged. And I don’t even remember the subject being broached in history classes (and that was one of the few courses with engaged teachers).
Long about ‘98, I moved down to the ATL for stupid kid reasons. Stayed about a year. It proved to be a good learning experience in a few ways. I had two jobs most of the time, UPS during the day and Papa John’s at night. UPS was my first direct experience with labor unions.
I won’t say the experience was positive—the Doraville hub in the late ‘90s wasn’t a fun-ish place to work—but it was educational. Within a few months at the hub, I had a chance to promote to sort aisle lead, and took it (needed the $). For the first time, I was on the other side of the corporate wall. As a line worker, I’d been part of the union; paying a small due each check, and getting a list of the benefits, privileges, and means to invoke the union’s aid where needed. (I’ve always been a head-down, just get stuff done type, so honestly I never used any of it—but it was there and I knew about it.)
I mentioned the tense environment. One employee nearly initiated a physical brawl with me at one point (near misses like this were common). I got the manager (corporate) involved; the employee brought in the union rep. The interaction wasn’t pleasant, but it was guided. The union rep—another line worker—was engaged. He didn’t like having to mediate hurt feelings and an altercation, but he had a set of rules and guidelines, and he followed them clearly (including coaching the employee on behavior, too).
It took me some years to recognize the significance of this interaction, and all the information it contained. In a fast-food environment, that employee would have been fired on the spot, and a big black mark on his record (the dreaded DNR, Do Not Rehire). He’d either have had to lie about his employment history or deal with that bad mark. Through the union’s involvement, there was a measured interaction in which the corporation had to follow rules too. For the record, I’m not saying the employee didn’t receive any disciplinary action; he did. But again, the employee had rights, and counsel, in the interaction.
In short, he had a voice. He screwed up (for the record, so had I), but he wasn’t standing there alone in a manager’s office, getting a chewing-out that might have come from a military DI or abusive parent. He had other employees standing with him and behind him. He was held accountable, but he wasn’t treated like human dirt, slammed out the door with no recourse.
I’d seen those chewing-outs, and been on the receiving end of a few. Managers in the ‘80s and ‘90s were more or less invincible. I saw physical abuse of employees in some of the places I worked, and verbal abuse was literally almost daily. Kids—because most of us were kids—were treated like sentient litter, ambulatory pond scum. UPS was the first place I’d seen employees actually have some measure of agency.
The first place I’d seen where employees had a voice. I wish I could tell you how valuable that is. (If you’ve seen what the lack of it is like, I know you get it.)
If you work an 8(-ish) hour day, 40(-ish) hour week, with two days off per week, have minimum break periods each working day, and get bennies at your job—thank a labor union. Blood was literally shed for us to have these things.
I’ve been a member of Daily Kos since (holy crap!) just over 11 years ago. I lurked for a couple of years before that, just reading and trying to learn. I’ve watched this community grow and change (not always in positive ways, I’m sad to say—but we do try). I’ve watched the very lean starting staff of full-time writers grow and be bolstered by outside sources, and more recently by the talented and committed writers in the DK Guild. I also have the privilege and honor of being friends with a couple.
I am thankful for the DK Guild, their hard work, and their dedication in tough times. I’m grateful to the Community for welcoming and standing with them. I hope the future improves for everyone involved with DK, Guild, community, and otherwise.
Thanks for reading.
(Look, I warned you I was gonna talk a lot!)
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Y’all stay safe!