Choose Union: Raise a Glass for the Working Class
When you’re out with friends on a beautiful summer Thursday night in Minneapolis, supporting good union jobs might not be the first thing that comes to mind. At the Netroots Nation conference, we’re working to change that. One glass of beer at a time.
Here at the conference, all you have to do is take actions that support workers’ rights, like signing up for Working America, the AFL-CIO’s community affiliate, and taking our Real or Not quiz, to get free union-made beer to wash down your union-made Pop-Tarts (distributed at the Alliance for American Manufacturing booth).
Today, I washed down my frosted brown sugar cinnamon Pop-Tarts (made by the United Steelworkers) with two excellent union-made beers: Schell’s Zommerfest from New Ulm, Minn., a local farming community just under two hours from Minneapolis, and Leinenkugel’s, from Chippewa Falls, Wis.
Wish you were here? Well, you’ll soon be able to sign up for Netroots Nation 2012. But until then, I’d recommend you sample these great union-made beers.
Union and Progressive Activists Join Forces at Netroots Nation
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Netroots Nation, the annual conference for online activists, is on next week, June 16-19, in Minneapolis. The union movement has a big presence there, as we seek to work more closely with our progressive allies in the netroots community. Here are some highlights:
• AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler is taking part in a June 17 lunch panel to talk about breaking down economic barriers that keep many Americans from moving ahead, especially young people, women and communities of color. She is joined by communications consultant Anat Shenker-Osorio and hip-hop artist Rha Goddess.
• Minnesota local labor and progressive activists will showcase how they created strong coalitions to elect a Democratic governor in 2010 and move key progressive priorities, including Tax the Rich legislation. ”Working Together: How Coalition Campaigns Saved the Day in Minnesota,” The panel offers a spot of sun in this ugly state legislation session and an opportunity to meet local activists.
• A group of stellar bloggers are joining on a panel, “Countering Hate Speak that Villainizes Workers and Unions,” and offer suggestions for proactive strategies to build a new understanding of unions and collective power. Panelists are Read the rest of this entry »
Netroots Nation: Vote on a Union Beer
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By popular demand, Working America and the AFL-CIO are bringing back last year’s “Raise a glass for the working class” booth—otherwise known as the beer booth—at Netroots Nation. If you come by our booth anytime the exhibit hall is open and take an action for working families, you’re entitled to come back and sample union beer during the happy hours we’ll be holding next week on Thursday and Friday of the convention.
We’ll have updates coming soon about what actions you can take and exactly when beer will be served. (Last year the actions included writing to your members of Congress about health care reform or the Employee Free Choice Act, or joining Working America.) But right now, the big question is: What beer should we serve?
Raise a Glass for the Working Class
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A couple months ago, Mike Elk at the Campaign for America’s Future wrote a piece about why he had stopped drinking Yuengling beer. Titled “Union Busting Ended My Love Affair with a Beer,” it got some other people thinking about responsible beer-drinking. (Responsible beyond obvious stuff like not drinking and driving, that is.)
The AFL-CIO and Working America have joined together to move that discussion forward at Netroots Nation. And, since it’s Netroots Nation, it’s got to be fun as well as educational. That’s why we’re, literally, raising a glass (or a few hundred of them) for the working class.
During Netroots Nation, stop by our booth any time the exhibit hall is open, and take action for working families—sign on to support health care reform or the freedom to join a union, or join Working America (if you’re not already a member). We’ll also have wallet-sized info cards to carry as a reminder of which beers are union made.
Then, each afternoon, come back to the booth and (if you’re older than 21), sample some union beer. We’ll have locally brewed Iron City, Leinenkugel Sunset Wheat and Classic Amber, and either Miller High Life or Budweiser American Ale. If you’re not an alcohol drinker, you can taste some Sharp’s.
We hope we see you there!
