Going through my collection of photos a couple of weeks ago, I realized that I was a couple of stickers short of making the theme for the entire month. So I ended up doing a quick search during my lunch break to see what I could find. While I did find quite a few interesting ones, I didn't find many more political ones. Luckily I did manage to come across this one near Market Square. I have to admit that I wasn't terribly thrilled with the idea of having two Clinton stickers during this experiment but I was intrigued by the group that was supporting her.
The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO is a state group that was created and run by a variety of local, state, and federal unions. They meet every two years, alternating between Philly and Pittsburgh, to work on the various goals and policies that the collective unions hope to pursue. Reading up on the group, I was particularly captured by one line in their description on the website: "We shall combat resolutely the forces which seek to undermine democratic institutions and to enslave the human soul." I understand a goal of a group of unions to be the prevention of lost policies in the government but the enslavement of the human soul seems like a odd thing to work against. I get that it's a metaphor for terrible working conditions and why unions were created in the first place, it's just quite the inflammatory statement. I know that unions have typically supported Democratic candidates, so I decided to do a little research into why this is. While many other countries have political parties that were based around the union, the US parties were not. Looking at a short blurb on the Scholars Strategy Network, it seems like after the New Deal happened unions were now given a reason to throw their support behind the Democrats. It became a beneficial give and take between the two groups, the unions providing the votes and the party creating new policies to help the workers. Even though the unions have shrunk in enrollment over the years, their support is still a crucial part in the Democratic campaign game plan. There is a much larger story here, especially considering the switch in Democratic ideals and party members over the years, but I know that would be better for others.
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Maggie Ondrey
An amateur photographer and writer capturing a small portion of the city. Archives
August 2017
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