Live From Labor Notes (1): Creative Mischief
Saturday, May 5, 2012
(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)Solidarity was in the air in Chicago Friday as
labor “troublemakers” from around the world arrived at the 2012 Labor Notes
Conference. At a workshop on “Creative Organizing and Strategic Mischief” I
found myself in a small group discussing ways to build solidarity among young
union members. The group reflected the diversity of the conference, including a
steelworker from the Midwest, a Jobs with Justice organizer from Massachusetts,
and a labor organizer from Japan interested in learning about social media and
how labor is working with Occupy. Ricardo Levins Morales, one of the
facilitators of the workshop, told the group “it’s funny to talk about
creative organizing, because shouldn’t it always be creative?” The packed
room laughed and joyfully dived into strategy sessions applying creative tactics
to labor battles ahead.
- report/photo by Julia Kann