Wages So Low, You'll Freak
By Mike Pudd'nhead
Late in 2010, as my marriage was collapsing and just before I moved to St. Paul, the Jimmy John's Workers Union lost its representation election.
By two votes.
This book is the memoir of the spine of that campaign, an unstable bike delivery driver too drunk to stop organizing. Sometimes there's a committee to be the union's hands and feet and brains. Sometimes there's just the spine, wiggling along.
It's beautiful and funny and honest and you should read it as long as you don't mind cussing. It's taught me a bunch of things about union structure. It will probably teach you something different.
I hope you don't have to be an alcoholic with a lousy sex life to be a good organizer, but at least you can be crazy and disreputable and you don't have to start out good.
P.S. I should start blogging books again, n'est-ce pas?
P.P.S. It's actually kind of creepy to map my marriage onto the JJWU timeline. I shouldn't do that. It's five in the morning and I have to be at court in four hours.
Late in 2010, as my marriage was collapsing and just before I moved to St. Paul, the Jimmy John's Workers Union lost its representation election.
By two votes.
This book is the memoir of the spine of that campaign, an unstable bike delivery driver too drunk to stop organizing. Sometimes there's a committee to be the union's hands and feet and brains. Sometimes there's just the spine, wiggling along.
It's beautiful and funny and honest and you should read it as long as you don't mind cussing. It's taught me a bunch of things about union structure. It will probably teach you something different.
I hope you don't have to be an alcoholic with a lousy sex life to be a good organizer, but at least you can be crazy and disreputable and you don't have to start out good.
P.S. I should start blogging books again, n'est-ce pas?
P.P.S. It's actually kind of creepy to map my marriage onto the JJWU timeline. I shouldn't do that. It's five in the morning and I have to be at court in four hours.