I just joined a union, this week, and it made me wonder how many Kossacks are union members.
Are you a member of a union?
There's a poll question at the end of this short diary, but my goals here are very basic:
- To get a sense for how many union members we have around here, and which kinds.
- To bring the issue of work into the light as an important topioc.
- To read people's thoughts on being/not being union members.
So first things, first: go answer the poll and rec this diary so lots of people can answer it. It would be nice to get at least 500 responses.
Second, head into the comment thread and tell your story.
I think one of the reasons that progressive bloggers never talk about the experience of work is because our discussions are often completely taken over by in the minute controversy. We rarely bring to light our own experiences.
Also, work has become a very personal issue over the last 30 years, as the permanence and reliability of jobs has grown more and more fleeting. People worried about their work or who have been forced to take jobs not in sync with their self-image are often reluctant to discuss their work experiences. Work becomes something we compartmentalize and hide away, rather than a source of pride.
Finally, I think the political narrative that drives our debates has been overwhelmed by interests that would rather not discuss work. They don't want that topic out there. Work becomes an element of industrial planning, but not the measure of a person's life. That is a shame.
A few thoughts from me to kick things off, here:
For me, the greatest writer about work was Studs Terkel. I keep a copy of Hard Times at arms reach.
This quote from Terkel has always meant a great deal to me:
“That there are some who were untouched or, indeed, did rather well isn’t exactly news. This has been true of all disasters. The great many were wounded, in one manner or another. It left upon them an ‘invisible scar’….The suddenly-idle hands blamed themselves, rather than society. True, there were hunger marches and protestations to City Hall and Washington, but the millions experienced a private kind of shame when the pink slip came. No matter that others suffered the same fate, the inner voice whispered, ‘I’m a failure.’”
I do believe there is a "private kind of shame" that has spread across this country as a result of the last 20 years of structural transformation in our economy. A widespread private shame.
Joining a union, obviously, is not a cure for shame. But it can be a solution to one of the aspects of that shame: a feeling of isolation.
Often, people who have complained to me about unions have focused on a kind of "On the Waterfront" stereotype of an all-male labor union overrun by organized crime. Bosses with bouncers. Axe handles. Mishandled dues.
What I see is that joining unions for most people is an almost instant solution the feeling of isolation that grows out of that widespread private shame. To work, but not to be alone.
Now, I would not say that I speak from a long experience, here. My membership card is still warm. But the feeling is real, palpable.
The private shame of job loss, see, is not something that requires job loss anymore. Many people feel that private shame without ever losing their job. It gets drilled into them over a life of isolation.
One thing that I think we can do, here--now---as people who consciously see ourselves as members of a progressive movement, is talk about what work means to us, what it means for our vision of the country.
If we can do that, if we can grow that discussion, we can start to repair what gets vaguely described as a "disconnect."
Start here.
