Walking in my dad’s shoes, building a movement

Submitted by Megan Jordan, a Union Summer intern in Anniston, AL.

Being a union organizer in the Deep South comes with a particular set of challenges. The days are long, and each is different. Sometimes we visit workers at home because the company won’t let us on site. Some of the workers live hours away, and sometimes we get caught in the rain. Other days we spend time making phone calls or updating our databases.

You see, I’m a union girl at heart. I am the daughter of a former member of the United Auto Workers (UAW). My dad’s union job kept our family afloat during the Great Recession. His job helped pay for my college education and prepare me for my first job after college as an AFL-CIO Union Summer Intern, or summerista as we call ourselves.

When it’s time for house calls, we drive to a neighborhood and walk to the doors. I get paired with one of the senior organizers and carry a packet that usually includes five names and addresses. Before we start, we take some time, as a group, to assess our packet. Are we visiting union supporters? Are we visiting folks who are on the fence or unfamiliar with our union? Sometimes we knock on every door but don’t get to have a single conversation.

When we do connect with workers, it’s so exhilarating, and I learn a ton. It’s amazing how passionate people are about the work they do, and how hard people work for themselves and their families. The pay these workers earn is low — as much as $8 less an hour than unionized workers doing the exact same job elsewhere. Plus, the workers I talk to suffer under grueling and dangerous conditions. The welders don’t have air conditioning. The irony that these workers are building buses worth millions in dingy surroundings and while not earning a decent living is lost on nobody.

The other day, one guy told me, “I’m still hanging on until we get this union.”

He’s staying for hope of something better. He wants to negotiate alongside his coworkers for better pay and working conditions. His resolve was like a cool breeze on a sweltering summer day in Alabama — welcome and refreshing.

We need things to lift us up. Some folks in the South simply hate unions. I’ve been berated. Men have questioned why women should earn equal pay for equal work. I’ve been insulted, talked down to and blamed.

But the trust and faith of the workers who meet with us keeps me going. Not every meeting will be friendly. But every day offers chances to learn, grow and reflect. And change is never easy.

Together we are writing new rules so we, as working people, can provide for our families by working in a safe and healthy jobsite. And we are building a movement.