Commie Interview
I'm VERY excited about the call-back I got today: legal work at a firm that does labor advocacy! Not only is this great because I got my foot in the door all on my own - something I despaired of doing at this stage of work experience - but it's also perfect because I can actually act like I care about this cause. The reason my old dreams were crushed was because I was just the little guy up against a monolithic, uncompromising System.
By the way, if you're more versed in commie lingo than me, I'd really appreciate some pointers (eg buzz words for "little guy" and "system") between now and 2pm tomorrow. Nothing says comaraderie like the right street slang.
I should have paid more attention to the commie movement that used to go down at Leopolds with the grad students union. It was such sweet access to the underground, one I fell ass-backwards in, and I'll probably never see its peer! UM was hella unionized. But how could I have known that I might be called upon to bust out some credibility?
By the way, if you're more versed in commie lingo than me, I'd really appreciate some pointers (eg buzz words for "little guy" and "system") between now and 2pm tomorrow. Nothing says comaraderie like the right street slang.
I should have paid more attention to the commie movement that used to go down at Leopolds with the grad students union. It was such sweet access to the underground, one I fell ass-backwards in, and I'll probably never see its peer! UM was hella unionized. But how could I have known that I might be called upon to bust out some credibility?
posted by Rex at 8:28 PM
2 Comments:
Hey there,
I think maybe for the interview, you should talk about "living wage", "healthcare", and "retirement with dignity", because those have been the big labor issues that have come up recently, especially in CA. If you remember the supermarket strike a few years back, that was about the supermarket workers being able to have affordable healthcare and a wage increase. Also, there were scabs hired during the lockout of workers. That is also why Walmart is so unpopular, because they (like McDonalds) forbid unionization of their workers, because then they'll actually demand living wages and drive prices up. In fact, Walmart has fired people who try to unionize, and McDonalds will close a franchise rather than unionize. That is borderline illegal. The LA Times did a good series about unions and Walmart a few years ago. There have been recent developments involving major corporations, including airlines and I think IBM and Verizon, about what happens to workers' pension packages, and whether or not the corporation can basically reneg on workers' pensions in order not only to avoid bankruptcy, but also just to maximize profits. Both cases depressingly yes. You might want to check out the new stories about these things, and about the GM healthcare and pensions thing that's been going on. I think labor law is less about the lingo (that rests with the unions themselves), and more about keeping an eye out on new laws and loopholes. The Bush dept. of Labor has been breaking unions' backs. Good luck!
Thanks! I wish I were more up on...well, having a clue in general. Maybe I'll get a second interview and have another chance to prove myself. Scabs is a good word to rotate into my vocab.
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