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Evelyn Kent's avatar

When I was a girl in Georgia, Baptist preachers would rail against unions in the pulpit, calling unions the work of the devil. I kid you not. I assume they didn't want people to pay union dues instead of tithes -- and that they wanted to maintain influence over their members. People who are comfortable financially tend to go to church less.

In a similar vein, I had a friend -- still in Georgia -- in my mid-20's who drove a truck for a national food distributor. When his local group consider unionizing, the big wigs flew them all to Atlanta, fed them some steaks, told them they were all family and didn't need a union. The union lost the vote. Four years later, my friend hurt his back and was summarily fired. Georgia is a misnamed right-to-work state, and he had no recourse. That union he didn't vote for would have helped him.

And last, a different friend worked for the AFL-CIO as a secretary for a few years before she was diagnosed with MLS. Twenty years later, she still has a pension and health insurance, despite working for the union for less than three years.

U.S. unions made working conditions better the world over. Unions change people's lives, and I love that you're giving us examples of how they came to being. One person CAN make a difference, something we very much need reminding of right now.

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Naomi Yaeger's avatar

How exciting to have found that female labor union relative! ( I am fighting a cold, so my thinking is not very clear. I did enjoy reading this, but it’s hard for me to make a super intelligent comment at this time.)

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