Public Employee Press

Young workers meet to strengthen unions

The protesters of Occupy Wall Street are young, but the economic injustice they fight is not. They are joining the struggle the American labor movement has waged for over a century, one that needs the support of young workers to continue.

Unionists of all ages came together Nov. 5 at the City University's Murphy Institute to consider ways to bridge the generation gap to strengthen unions.

The "Young Workers and Organizers: Confronting a Failed Economy" program featured a mix of panel discussions, skits, and poetry to spark a dialogue about what unions should do to turn members under 35 into activists, and what OWS could do to be taken more seriously.

"Occupy Wall Street isn't perfect, but it is happening," said Mary Clinton, the OWS organizer who moderated the program.

Many program participants said they feel a bond with the people in Zuccotti Park that they don't feel with their unions.

"Young workers want to hear what being in the union means for them," said Local 1549 Next Wave Chair Natasha Isma. She stressed the importance of one-on-one communication and relating to the unique concerns of working people in their 20s and 30s.

"We need to speak to members, not at them," said Local 1549 Next Waver Tracey Hawthorne.

OWS shows that the younger generation is ready to fight on the front lines. "We're not going to win with talk, we're going to win with actions," said Local 1199 organizer Stephen Lerner.

"We cannot be afraid to go to jail," he said, calling back memories of times when union leaders were often arrested standing up for workers' rights and civil rights.

"The labor movement has to recognize young leaders and take a chance on them," said Cory McCray, a leader of the Young Trade Unionists group in Baltimore.

Tamara Draut, vice president of policy and programs for the advocacy group Demos, shared her faith in the future of the movement. "Change is coming, and it will come with young people at the wheel," she said.

"Today was very informative," said Hawthorne, a first-year union member who aims to use what she learned Nov. 5 to help turn more of her young co-workers into union activists.

—Joseph Lopez