When I began my career, working in the labor movement, it seemed like the hippest, most cutting-edge career path possible. I was young and I wanted to help make the world a better place (and this was before I spent my 23rd birthday knocking on doors in Schenectady). I was especially interested in the ways that globalization impacts human lives, and how technology transforms existing social, political and economic structures.
The theoretical and the practical rarely converge in perfect harmony, and, despite my commitment and desire to discern a constructive space between the oscillating poles of decaying hippie culture and ignorant kneejerk conservatism, I tired of the vagaries of the labor movement and moved on to something more capable of holding my interest.
A passage in a recent article by prominent labor activist and intellectual Bill Fletcher, Jr. summed up one of the movement's central flaws with devastating brevity:
A few years ago I helped to arrange a visit by several SEIU leaders to South Africa. At one point during the trip, the SEIU leaders were discussing electoral politics with several South Africans from the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU). One of the SEIU local union leaders said that "the fundamental role of the trade union leader is to represent the interests of our members."
Well, in the United States this would not have been a surprising statement, yet in South Africa there was an interesting response. The NEHAWU representatives said, "Not so fast, comrade. The job of the union leader is to represent the interests of the working class. Sometimes those interests are not identical to the interests of our members."
You could have heard a pin drop.
Speaking of pins, I recently discovered a truly fascinating project called SEAMS, "that focuses on clothing as a vehicle to comment on the garment industry." The attractive, well-designed site, seams.la, showcases multimedia explorations of the myriad relationships and transactions behind the production of a single garment. Do take a closer look.
Previously: Interviews with activists Andre Banks and Luke Brindle.
