Road Workers on Strike

Today, road workers in Illinois went on strike to demand contracts. Walking around downtown, I noticed small groups on several different blocks, standing with their signs. As I passed two workers sitting in an alcove together, a man coming the other direction leaned over and yelled, "What are you striking for? You're making all the money in the world!" They looked so disheartened that I stopped to tell them I supported them and understood what they were doing.

As this internship has developed, and as we have learned more about the labor movement, it has been brought to my attention several times that the image of labor and unions as corrupt and bureaucratic is common in the minds of the American public. Opinions like the one expressed by this man are a major obstacle for us, the next generation of the labor movement. When you are already passionate about a cause, the right thing to do and the right side to support in a conflict (e.g., the strikers in this situation) seem so obvious. Yet it should not be unexpected to face disapproval and opposition, in public and even from people close to us.

This struggle to balance our desire for change with the inevitable truth that lack of knowledge about labor seems to create hostility rather than interest is something I think we all have yet to decide how to reconcile. When the baton is passed, we will inherit not only a movement but a PR nightmare in people's minds that stands in the way of progress. But I think what keeps us going is the feeling you get when you see workers holding signs, or march in a picket line, or chant together in a protest. As we've been told many times, we're doing good work. And it is that satisfaction we go home with every day, even when the odds are against us.

I let that man go instead of stopping to correct him. He probably would not have wanted to hear what I had to say anyway. Instead, I turned to those workers and I told them they were not alone. Because, ultimately, we chose this job for the simple reason that we want to stand with them.