The Twin Cities event was the first in a series of door-to-door canvasses being held around the country this week. Canvassers and volunteers are engaging working people in discussions about the economic issues they care most about, and recruiting them to join Working America, the AFL-CIO\'s grassroots organization for workers who do not have a union on the job.
Speaking at a rally before the canvass in the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 82 meeting hall, McCollum said the economy "clearly is not working for millions of Americans."
McCollum pointed to rising unemployment rates, skyrocketing gas prices and the 260,000 jobs lost nationwide since January. With polls showing 80 percent of Americans think the U.S. is on the wrong track, McCollum added, Working America canvassers should have a receptive audience.
"We just have to let people know that they can make a difference, and they can make a difference by being involved in Working America," she said.
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| Congresswoman Betty McCollum (left) helped kick off Working America week. Photo by Michael Moore |
What is Working America?
In short, Working America is the labor movement\'s connection with non-union workers. Working America fights on behalf of those workers – its members – to advance the economic interests of all working families through issue and legislative advocacy and through political mobilization.
Karen Nussbaum, executive director of Working America, said her organization gives workers "a powerful collective voice and a real opportunity to create an economy that works for all, not just the privileged few."
"For far too long, working people\'s interests and concerns have been ignored," she said. "People are looking for ways to come together with friends, co-workers and neighbors at a grassroots level to help turn around America."
Indeed, Working America is the fastest-growing worker advocacy organization in the country, adding 34,000 members per week. Launched in 2003, the organization currently has more than 2 million members nationwide.
In Minnesota, Working America has about 100,000 members, and State Director David Wehde said organizers plan to double membership by Labor Day.
"We are building the labor movement in Minnesota every day," Wehde said. "We engage the folks that don\'t have the benefit of a union on the job, the folks that might not have had a way available to take action at their workplace. We give them that way to take action."
A case study
Kim Schlagel of Mahtomedi is one of the workers who has found a voice through Working America.
Three years ago, Schlagel had a job as a school nurse in an "awesome" district that provided its employees with "awesome" benefits. But when her son began showing symptoms of a severe mental health illness, Schlagel had to quit her job to take care of him.
Work since then has been "touch and go" for the past two years, Schlagel said at the rally Monday. The jobs she has landed have been part-time, and few have not provided the benefits – or the flexibility – her family needs.
"I\'ve put resumes in everywhere," Schlagel said. "Nobody wants to hire me because I have a child with serious health problems."
Working America canvassers – who, in the Twin Cities, carry cards directing families in need to agencies that can help via the AFL-CIO Community Services program – signed Schlagel up, and she since has become active in the fight to turn around America\'s economy.
"I\'m sick of asking people for help," Schlagel said. "The food shelves are getting bare. We need to do everything we can to change this."
Michael Moore edits The Union Advocate, the official publication of the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation. Visit the federation\'s website, http://mn.aflcio.org/stpaulunions/
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The Twin Cities event was the first in a series of door-to-door canvasses being held around the country this week. Canvassers and volunteers are engaging working people in discussions about the economic issues they care most about, and recruiting them to join Working America, the AFL-CIO\’s grassroots organization for workers who do not have a union on the job.
Speaking at a rally before the canvass in the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 82 meeting hall, McCollum said the economy "clearly is not working for millions of Americans."
McCollum pointed to rising unemployment rates, skyrocketing gas prices and the 260,000 jobs lost nationwide since January. With polls showing 80 percent of Americans think the U.S. is on the wrong track, McCollum added, Working America canvassers should have a receptive audience.
"We just have to let people know that they can make a difference, and they can make a difference by being involved in Working America," she said.
|
| Congresswoman Betty McCollum (left) helped kick off Working America week.
Photo by Michael Moore |
What is Working America?
In short, Working America is the labor movement\’s connection with non-union workers. Working America fights on behalf of those workers – its members – to advance the economic interests of all working families through issue and legislative advocacy and through political mobilization.
Karen Nussbaum, executive director of Working America, said her organization gives workers "a powerful collective voice and a real opportunity to create an economy that works for all, not just the privileged few."
"For far too long, working people\’s interests and concerns have been ignored," she said. "People are looking for ways to come together with friends, co-workers and neighbors at a grassroots level to help turn around America."
Indeed, Working America is the fastest-growing worker advocacy organization in the country, adding 34,000 members per week. Launched in 2003, the organization currently has more than 2 million members nationwide.
In Minnesota, Working America has about 100,000 members, and State Director David Wehde said organizers plan to double membership by Labor Day.
"We are building the labor movement in Minnesota every day," Wehde said. "We engage the folks that don\’t have the benefit of a union on the job, the folks that might not have had a way available to take action at their workplace. We give them that way to take action."
A case study
Kim Schlagel of Mahtomedi is one of the workers who has found a voice through Working America.
Three years ago, Schlagel had a job as a school nurse in an "awesome" district that provided its employees with "awesome" benefits. But when her son began showing symptoms of a severe mental health illness, Schlagel had to quit her job to take care of him.
Work since then has been "touch and go" for the past two years, Schlagel said at the rally Monday. The jobs she has landed have been part-time, and few have not provided the benefits – or the flexibility – her family needs.
"I\’ve put resumes in everywhere," Schlagel said. "Nobody wants to hire me because I have a child with serious health problems."
Working America canvassers – who, in the Twin Cities, carry cards directing families in need to agencies that can help via the AFL-CIO Community Services program – signed Schlagel up, and she since has become active in the fight to turn around America\’s economy.
"I\’m sick of asking people for help," Schlagel said. "The food shelves are getting bare. We need to do everything we can to change this."
Michael Moore edits The Union Advocate, the official publication of the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation. Visit the federation\’s website, http://mn.aflcio.org/stpaulunions/