Labor Union Blog

Here’s your chance to tell the world what the workday is really like for workers. The AFL-CIO Union Label and Service Trades Department (UL&STD) wants to know what it’s like to walk in your shoes. If you work on an auto assembly line, in a hospital emergency room, classroom, coal mine, mailroom, office, grocery store or one of a million other locations, Union Label wants to hear your story of what it is really like on your job. It doesn’t matter if you’re laid off, unemployed or retired—your story is important as well.

Here’s the idea. Tell Union Label what your workday was like on “Walk in My Shoes Day”—Thursday, June 11, 2009. Union Label wants to hear it all—whether you faced a tough commute, dealt with a grumpy boss, took on a big challenge or had a great success. The best submissions will be posted in the Label Letter and on the UL&STD website.

“We want rank and file members to help us illustrate the rich, diverse tapestry of hard working men and women who make up the American labor movement. They are proud of their work and proud of the contributions they make to their communities,” says UL&STD President Richard Kline.

We want to demonstrate to American consumers and businesses that union labor gives added value in quality and reliability to products and services that are bought and sold. Economic history is made daily by America’s union workers, and we are giving these workers a chance to speak to their concerns. By humanizing “organized labor,” we’re also diffusing the myths that have been advanced by anti-union forces and increasing the understanding of what unions actually do for the workers they represent.

You can send a digital photo or film print of yourself at work along with a short summary—150 words or less—of what happened at work on June 11. Send digital photos and entry information by e-mail to: info@unionlabel.org. Digital photos should be at least 300 dpi (high resolution) to be adequate for printing. Make sure you include your name, your union and include complete contact information (best phone number and mailing address as well as e-mail).

If you’re sending snapshots or printed photos, mail to: Union Label & Service Trades Department, Attn: Walk in My Shoes, 815 16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006.

Click here to download a form to print and return to Union Label.