Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Cailtlin Schwartz at WIN
My job this year is at the Workers Interfaith Network (WIN) as an apprentice organizer. At WIN, we work to unite religious leaders with workers and labor leaders to address issues of economic injustice in our community.
I feel personally compelled to this work as someone who comes from a working-class family. My dad worked for over 30 years at the SuperValu grocery warehouse, over half of those being overnight shifts. It was a union job, and one that paid better than many and provided solid benefits for my family. I’ve been blessed with so many opportunities in my life, and most stem from that union job. It changed my parent’s lives and it greatly affected the way that I’ve been able to live mine. Most subsequent experiences that I’ve had in my life were able to happen because of the sacrifices both of my parents made for me and because my dad worked that job – especially going to college and being able to start my own journey of involvement and analysis of justice issues. I come from a family with over 50 cousins, and my sisters and I are among the few who have been able to attend college. Because this privilege has been granted to me, I want and need to be part of the work being done to organize around these issues.
A question I’ve been asking many of the religious folks that I’ve been meeting with is, “What drives you in this work?” It’s a question that we should all constantly be asking ourselves and those around us, and it’s something that we should continue to struggle with – why do we work for social and economic justice, and what does that really mean and look like in our lives?
I’ve had to discover much more clarity around this question myself, and I find myself always going back to my family. I know that work can pay, I’ve seen in my family how it can. I see workers today sacrificing so much for their children, like my parents did for me, but their work is not paying like my dad’s did. The reality has changed drastically. Because of this, to me, worker justice is not just another issue on the progressive plate.
We all have our own unique story to why we are committed to working for change. I urge you to reach inside of yourself and discover what yours is. It’s a powerful story, no doubt, and one that should be proclaimed.
Written by Caitlin Schwartz, SJW 07-08
| 