Great post, Michael. I just have one question and one lengthy comment.
Q: Where can I find a union organizing position paying $75,000?
Comment. I'm going to assume that you think research is more important than media buys, but in my own experience, the opposite has been true.
If the media message were well-executed, and that's a big if, then it could be a necessary part of a genuine movement. In this 33-month organizing campaign I've been involved in, I wish I had a nickel for everytime I had to explain to a coworker what a union does. Just this week I had an espresso bar employee ask me what I planned to do once I moved to Texas. I told him I would look for something political or labor-related. He asked: "You're going to labor in the hot Texas sun?"
The commercials I'd film if I had the job would be labor-friendly celebrities like Cal Ripken or Tom Hanks explaining what unions do with more examples from teachers, government employees, grocery store workers, etc.-- the idea being to counter the stereotype that unions are just for coal mines and assembly lines.
What the labor movement needs is class consciousness. In this day and age, TV ads are one of many places to get our message out. Research, I'm not so enthralled with. This isn't brain surgery. It doesn't take a lot of know-how to stand up for yourself in the workplace. It takes the will to do so and a belief that you have the right to do so AND th belief that something good will come out of doing so.
Where is labor? It's finding itself. It's waiting for directions from its members and the unorganized.
James in Philly
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