"Out There in the Jaws of the Lion”
Joanie Parker, International Liberation Reference Person for Union Activists
I am proud to be doing this work. RC union members are fighting for the rights of workers, for decent wages and working conditions. At the same time, we’re figuring out how to use Co-Counseling to take charge of our lives.
How many of you are union members? Oh, my gosh! I should know all of you! So if you don’t know me, please be in touch.
One of the things I’m doing is encouraging RC Communities to make more visible what’s happening in unions. We should know what is happening in the unions near us. We should be tracking the people who are in unions and finding out what it is like for them. Are they reaching out to their unions? What are their unions like?
Unions are out there fighting many social injustices. They are fighting for immigration rights, decent and affordable housing, the end to climate change—so we all need to make unions central to our work. Union activists are out there in the jaws of the lion [in direct contact with the oppressive forces], trying to stand up against capitalism and feeling alone, overworked, and as if jobs don’t matter.
We can back [support] those who are doing this amazing and exciting work. I often say that closeness and connection are the enemy of oppression. Getting close to a union activist is key to all of our liberation.
Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, USA