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Holiday Gift Picks from AFL-CIO Blog Team |
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We’ve got lots of great union-made items in the AFL-CIO Union Shop Online™ that are perfect for holiday gift giving—CDs, DVDs, books and more. Our blog team has assembled our favorites here. Items ordered no later than Dec. 15 are guaranteed for delivery in time to be wrapped and ready.
Politics the Wellstone Way/Working Families Vote 2008 T-Shirt—One of my first political heroes was Sen. Paul Wellstone, a progressive leader who built a grassroots movement in Minnesota based on the novel concept that political power wasn’t incompatible with principles. Earlier this year, I had the privilege of attending Camp Wellstone, a weekend of in-depth training by and for community activists, inspired by the late senator. The lessons I learned there are also available in a book, Politics the Wellstone Way. It’s a practical guide to fighting for social justice. It’s a perfect gift for anyone who wants to make a difference.
And if you’d like to show off your passion for progressive politics, what better way than by sporting a handsome Working Families Vote 2008 T-shirt?
—Seth Michaels
Pride at Work T-Shirt—The dazzling and wild graphics on the Pride at Work T-Shirt make this the absolutely most creative T-shirt in the union movement. It has enough interesting characters on it to populate a small village, and the bright colors will knock your socks off (for those who wear such things). It’s like a hip-hop version of the most fantastical Marc Chagall painting. Whether you’re LGBT or straight—in fact, especially if you’re straight—this T-shirt is for you.
—Our anonymous staff blogger
“From Wharf Rats to Lords of the Docks,” DVD—The only thing better than seeing a live performance of “From Wharf Rats to Lords of the Docks,” a one-man play dramatizing the life of legendary Longshore union leader Harry Bridges, is seeing it on DVD. Both are the creation of The Harry Bridges Project, spearheaded by Ian Ruskin, actor, producer and brains behind the traveling performance and DVD. Bridges, a tough, colorful labor leader whose legend lives large in the San Francisco Bay and across the nation, was guided by a philosophy we all should live by:
Do the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people.
—Tula Connell
“10,000 Black Men Named George,” DVD/Going Down Jericho Road: The Memphis Strike, Martin Luther King’s Last Campaign—My favorites are two great stories of the opportunity that unions offer to people of color to have a better life. One is the DVD “10,000 Black Men Named George,” which tells the story of how the Pullman Porters union was formed. The other is a great book, Going Down Jericho Road: The Memphis Strike, Martin Luther King’s Last Campaign, by Michael Honey. If you want to read a story of how ordinary people can do extraordinary things—this is it.
—James Parks
Union Made Hoodie—Of all my Union Shop gear, I think my favorite is my acid green Union Made hoodie, which I bought extra large so it’s like a cozy security blanket—a very bright one. One of my Christmas gifts to myself is going to be a set of these incredibly cute miniature Fiesta pitchers that are brand new to the shop. Bet you didn’t know that delightfully retro Fiesta ware is proudly union-made by members of Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastic and Allied Workers (GMP) Local 419 at Homer Laughlin China on the Kentucky-West Virginia border.
—Donna Jablonski
The Conscience of a Liberal—New York Times columnist and economist Paul Krugman recently published The Conscience of a Liberal, a necessary book describing the causes of, and possible solutions to, today’s growing income inequality. Krugman rightly argues that “revitalizing unions should be a key progressive goal” because a strengthened labor movement will lead to greater economic fairness. It should be required reading for anyone interested in politics and working family issues.
—Payson Schwin
“If I Had a Song: The Songs of Peter Seeger, Vol. II”—For the music lovers on your list, check out the Union Shop’s CD selection. From well-known progressive artists such as Billy Bragg, Steve Earle and Dave Alvin, to collections of union, working calls and civil rights anthems and classics, there’s bound to be something to get your foot—likely the left foot—tapping. But my new favorite is from a old hero of mine and many of his friends: “If I Had A Song: The Songs of Peter Seeger Vol. II.” In this 16-song set, a bevy of artists cover some of Seeger’s best known tunes including: If I Had a Hammer by Billy Bragg and Eliza Carthy; Talking Union by John McCutcheon and Corey Harris; Guantanamera by Jackson Browne and Joan Baez; Oh, I Had a Golden Thread by Dar Williams and Toshi Reagon and many more. I could go on and on about Peter’s music and his integrity, and I did this past summer. But let me pass on these words from Jack Pugh of Cheyenne, Wyo., who posted this his review of the CD on Amazon.com.
For 45 years I’ve loaded a lunch bucket and hauled myself off to work at one job or another. Most of that time I’ve had a Pete Seeger song or two running around my brain, helping me remember who the good guys are. Pete Seeger somehow knows what that’s like.
This album is a fine tribute to a good man, one who never wavered in the good but futile fight for social and economic justice. Carry it on, Pete.
—Mike Hall
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