Marching
Yesterday I joined a protest at the university where I am a part-time instructor. The protest was organized by the union representing the cafeteria workers, some of whom have worked at the university for years and years. A new food service company that was recently brought in is refusing to honor the provisions for health benefits and pension in the workers' previous contracts. An e-mail went out last week announcing the protest and asking for the support of faculty and students, and I decided to go.
I am not a consistently politically active person, but I grew up in an activist family. In fact, as I wrote to my supervisor in the e-mail asking to take some personal time off from my full-time job to go the protest, my parents met each other in a campaign to organize the workers at the cafeteria where they both worked in the 1930s. So, something about this cause called to me.
When I got there, just before the protest was to start, people were milling about and I wasn't sure what to do or who was in charge. Then I saw a former student, who immediately hugged me and asked me how things were going and told me how much she had loved my class. She was there to march, too. There were police barricades around a small area in front of the building, and the policemen were very politely ushering people toward that area. "It's better over there," they said.
Then someone thrust a handmade banner at me and asked me to sign a petition, and it all began to seem familiar. I grinned at my student. We started marching in a circle, about 200 of us. People started chanting--the kinds of chants that I remembered from my childhood going to anti-Vietnam War demonstrations: "What do we want?" "Peace!" "When do we want it?" "Now!" Only this time we wanted health benefits and pensions. Then there were other familiar chants: "Hey hey! Ho ho! [Name of food service] has go to go!" I was feeling a little sheepish at first, as one does in these situations in front of curious onlookers. Also, I felt somewhat imposterish--was this really my struggle? Then a young woman's clear voice sang out, "What's disgusting? Union-busting!" and for some reason that one gave me the chills and I was really there.
I am not a consistently politically active person, but I grew up in an activist family. In fact, as I wrote to my supervisor in the e-mail asking to take some personal time off from my full-time job to go the protest, my parents met each other in a campaign to organize the workers at the cafeteria where they both worked in the 1930s. So, something about this cause called to me.
When I got there, just before the protest was to start, people were milling about and I wasn't sure what to do or who was in charge. Then I saw a former student, who immediately hugged me and asked me how things were going and told me how much she had loved my class. She was there to march, too. There were police barricades around a small area in front of the building, and the policemen were very politely ushering people toward that area. "It's better over there," they said.
Then someone thrust a handmade banner at me and asked me to sign a petition, and it all began to seem familiar. I grinned at my student. We started marching in a circle, about 200 of us. People started chanting--the kinds of chants that I remembered from my childhood going to anti-Vietnam War demonstrations: "What do we want?" "Peace!" "When do we want it?" "Now!" Only this time we wanted health benefits and pensions. Then there were other familiar chants: "Hey hey! Ho ho! [Name of food service] has go to go!" I was feeling a little sheepish at first, as one does in these situations in front of curious onlookers. Also, I felt somewhat imposterish--was this really my struggle? Then a young woman's clear voice sang out, "What's disgusting? Union-busting!" and for some reason that one gave me the chills and I was really there.
posted by Sarah Sometimes at 4:26 PM
3 Comments:
That's well written. I like how you enter into the event in the last sentence - I entered into it with you.
Plus, that "what's disgusting, union busting" chant is pretty catchy.
Clowncar--thanks for the comment, glad you liked the post. And yes, it's a catchy chant!
It gave me the chills too, Sarah. Great post.
T.
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