Union Made

Javier from Walton Avenue tugged my elbow on the 2 train this morning.

“I’ve been reading your blog,” he said. “You support the union more than the union supports the union.”

“Someone has to stand up for the workers,” I said. “The media likes to paint the billionaires as the heroes and the workers as the villains these days.”

“That’s because billionaires own the newspapers and the television stations,” Javier said. “They get people looking in the other direction and then they can pick their pockets.”

Javier felt for his wallet.

“They ain’t got mine,” he said. “You always gotta keep your guard up.”

That’s an old habit with me. My father was a union man and he taught me that organized labor is the only path to economic justice.

The Major League Baseball Players Association leads that fight for ballplayers, but their work extends to everyone.

Throughout history, unions haven’t just raised wages and benefits for members. They’ve raised them for every worker.

That’s what the billionaires don’t what you thinking about.

Quick, check your wallet.