I haven’t decided how much to post in the next couple of days since most normal people will be away from their computers–I hope. But, here are two impressions for those going to your Labor Day parades.

Thought Number One: What about carrying “Remember the CAFTA 15” signs? And if you happen to be lucky enough to live in one of the CAFTA 15’s districts, keep an eye out for those folks and give them a piece of your mind (no violence, now, we need you for the long haul).

Thought Number Two. Think civil disobedience. This past Wednesday, my compatriots from the United Auto Workers staged a noisy protest at New York University (alas, I was nowhere near NYC so could not attend the festivities). You may have heard that the UAW organized and represents the graduate students at NYU. But, the National Labor Relations Board decided to reverse the ruling that gives graduate students the right to unionize–so NYU (a rich, private university) now says it won’t negotiate with the grad students.

So, a whole lot of people went to NYU to raise a ruckus, and 76 got
down on their butts and got arrested, including John Sweeney. Check out
the pic here of my dear friend Elizabeth Bunn, the UAW’s
international secretary-treasurer, and Maida Rosenstein, the president
of the UAW local that represents the grad students, being lead away in
cuffs by the police.

This is an image that we could learn from–I’m not suggesting it’s the only tactic but I often wondered what would happen if unions targeted 25 large employers in cities around the country and surrounded them on the very same day as a way of demanding immediate union recognition.