Union Perspectives

What type of union person are you? Have you even thought about this? There is a theory put forth in 1956 by DL Tagliacozzo is that union members are broken into seven groups: 1. the ideological unionist; 2. the good union member; 3. the loyal but critical member; 4. the crisis activist; 5. the dually oriented member; 6. the card carrying or indifferent member; and 7. the unwilling unionist. In some cases the types tend to merge, making the count arbitrary at times, but on the whole most members fit into one of these seven categories. The ideological unionist is distinguished from the others by articulate, political and social philosophy. They will know and study union history, and be willing to consider personal sacrifices in order to strengthen the union. The good union member will protect and advance the union’s prestige and power. They will strike and walk picket lines when called upon. They are usually preferred by leaders when an office within the union is to be filled. The l

Young people who are not yet in the work place will get their first impressions of unions from sound bites or negative reports from anti-union sources like the Republican party and GOP corporations and the media they control. Labor is missing a lot of chances to educate potential members by putting a positive spin on what labor unions are and how they can help workers. Most of our public education system is taught by union teachers. They could tell their students indirect or innocuous stories about how unions have effected their lives and that of the students. For instance, a teacher/professor could say, something like, ‘union negotiations have kept class size down so that, as a teacher, I can have more time with each of those students who might need more help.’ Or, like I’ve heard, ‘Before our teachers unionized, I had to work a second job to make ends meet.’ Teachers could also incorporate labor history into U.S. history, such as when describing the Great Depression or how children