(crossposted from Buffalo Ridge Blog )
Conventional wisdom has it that organized labor is a big city phenomenon. Heck, us redneck hicks out here would never join one of them "goddam communistic socialistic" unions. Supposedly we're too "independent" too join a union, never mind organize one.
Once again, conventional "wisdom" is wrong. As I write, 1500 union sugar workers are locked out of work by their employer, American Crystal Sugar. Almost all of them are in the sparsely populated Red River Valley, a region with a total population less than that of Minneapolis'. But with the closing of several bakeries and grain facilities, I wouldn't be surprised if there's less than a hundred union grain millers and bakers left in Minneapolis.
Suffice to say, the population demographics of union membership do not follow those of the general population. Look at the biggest unions- For example the Teachers are everywhere, and thus provide the backbone of the Democratic Party in many rural areas. The transportation unions are rural heavy, as truck drivers, rail workers, etc. are needed as much in the rural areas as the cities to keep the flow of parcels and freight moving across the country. Thus their are hundreds and even thousands of union transportation workers in places like North Platte and Lincoln, Nebraska and Havre, Montana. Same with the extractive industries- their are thousands of United Mine Workers members in rural Appalacia and Steelworkers in northeastern Minnesota. And union government workers? While metro D.C. accounts for many federal workers, state capitals are often in small towns. And government workers are stewards of much of our parks in rural areas as well as serving farmers and rural communities.
So it's thus no surprise that Alaska, Hawaii, Delaware, Iowa, Maine, Montana, Nevada, and Vermont have higher than average rates of union membership. But again, conventional wisdom has it that rural areas are dead zones for union and progressive organizing . But a couple weeks back at Fargo-Moorhead Pride I met a progressive Democratic (actually Democratic Non-Partisan League, ND's democratic party) candidate for state representative that was ready to mount a second campaign to wrest her Fargo suburban district from republican control. Why? Her district had a heavy proportion of union members ready to be activated and vote democratic! I've seen the same thing doing GOTV phoning from lists of union members- not many members in the city, but hordes of union members in suburbs, exurbs, and rural areas that we progressives have written off.
So yup, we're union and we're out here! And my union brothers and sisters, please check in and join the discussion!