Cross posted to my PurpleOcean.org Journal.

That sign hung in my garage all throughout my childhood. It wasn't until I was 9 or 10 before I knew it was from the teacher strike my dad lead when he was President of the Holly (MI) Education Association (an MEA-NEA affiliate). They striked in 1978 (a year before I was even born!) for higher wages and better health insurance.

And, boy, was I lucky for that new insurance. In 1980, I was diagnosed with a cancer of the kidneys called Wilms' Tumor. An operation and 3 months of chemo and radiation later, and I was a pretty healthy little boy. Because our union had secured high quality health insurance, my parents didn't have to worry about the family finances going down the tubes.

That's a lesson that has stuck with me. As you might imagine I have to be particularly concerned with my health and my health care. That's why I've been certain to work for two employers who offer world-class coverage to their employees. Neither of those jobs have been in union shops, but make no mistake that I owe my top-notch benefits to the long work of the labor movement setting high expectations for employee benefits. That, and overtime pay, the 40-hour workweek, and . . . you know . . . the weekend.

In a very fundamental way, I owe my good health to unions. Heck, if you've got health insurance, you do, too.