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Crossing the Picket Line by
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(270 Stories)

Prompted By Strikes

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I was raised in Michigan during the era when Walter Reuther advocated for workers’ rights, universal health care, public education, and affordable housing and the UAW was seen as a sacred, progressive union in my home. He and George Meany cofounded the AFL-CIO in 1955. Unions brought prosperity to middle class families, many of whom…
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1969 by
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(110 Stories)

Prompted By Strikes

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Imagine being in that stadium with thousands of other university students and faculty, all roused up, politically aware, wanting a path forward.  The emotional energy was contagious and overwhelming.  Surely the concerns of so many people coming together could not be denied. 
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Teacher Strike by
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(276 Stories)

Prompted By Strikes

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In September 1968 I was a new minted school librarian working in a New York City public high school when my union,  the United Federation of Teachers (UFT),  then led by Al Shanker,  voted to strike.  I joined the picket line. The strike followed a confrontation between a newly established community-controlled school board in the…
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A Union Town by
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(349 Stories)

Prompted By Strikes

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I come from Detroit. My family was in the automotive industry. My great uncle, Meyer Prentis (Uncle Meyer) was the Treasurer of General Motors when it was the largest corporation in the world. My dad’s oldest brother was it’s comptroller. My dad worked for the Chevrolet division in Flint, MI before WWII, but upon returning from…
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