Some may ask, what does the AFSCME Council 13 Master Agreement have to do with anything? I’ll tell you. When you look at the ways music is written, recorded, and performed, you see many of the same themes present in the creation of labor contracts negotiated by labor unions. The AFSCME Council 13 Master Agreement is one such contract that is sometimes overlooked when needed most.
As we know, music can be an eloquent expression of social injustice. This has been the case for many generations of artists and social activists, often releasing music that is directly addressing social issues. Disparity in wealth, social injustice, racism, sexism, this list goes on. Many artists have taken difficult stances on social issues and have been vilified for it. So, why exactly is this relevant to the AFSCME Council 13 Master Agreement? I tell you.
Throughout history, when unions have worked together to collectively bargain on behalf of the workers, music has been there to serve as a rallying point, and has often served to bring people together more so than the union meeting or rally speech. It has served as a catalyst for change. For example, the Great Strike of 1877 saw railroads across America close down and unite workers of all trades. Anarchists and labor organizers took to the streets and held massive rallies to express their dissent. On July 26, a railroad worker started a strike against the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in West Virginia. In almost no time at all, workers in both Missouri and Pennsylvania heard about the strike and began to respond. It wasn’t long before workers were protesting in Maryland, Illinois, and as far afield as California.
A group of workers went on strike against the railroads. In response, a group of US Army soldiers fired into a crowd of non-striking workers. The attack killed 10 and injured almost 30. The massacre brought the attention of musicians to the controversy. Both the Haymarket Square incident and the Homestead Strike were ultimately the reason that labor music became popular. Songs like the Haymarket Affair and the Ballad of Homestead Steel: Oh, the steel and the cars and the company’s gold, Once were a blue place, oh once were a bold, Now they’re all gone now, only the sound, Of the night sticks tapping, in their own little sound.
Once were a blue place, oh once were a bold, Now they’re all gone now, only the sound, Of the night sticks tapping, in their own little sound. You see, the interests of labor unions and the music industry have walked hand in hand throughout history. From this history, we see the importance of labor contracts. Be they private contracts negotiated between the employer and a labor union, or public contracts, negotiated by labor unions on behalf of public employees. Such contracts serve to establish a basic set of rules that will be used when dealing with labor-related disputes that could arise between a labor union and its employer. They are crucial to protecting the rights of all parties involved. The words used within a labor contract can have different meanings and implications to different people. So, keep this in mind.
The AFSCME Council 13 Master Agreement, for example, covers many different agreements entered into by various labor unions that represent a wide array of workers, from sanitation workers to food safety inspectors. These workers are afforded the right to collectively bargain for benefits, wages, job security, and a safe work environment. Sometimes, those benefits will include other labor union privileges, such as rotating on and off the bargaining team.
Many labor unions also have their own form of “song-writing.” The creation of slogans are a huge part of the labor movement, and are often the driving force behind successful collection bargaining campaigns. The wordplay is often used as a tool to summarize the overall purpose of the labor union and the ideas that the union represents. These slogans can be generated online from labor union websites.
Music that has been inspired by these agreements can also be found on any major music service, including iTunes and Pandora. A rebellious nature has always been a part of the labor movement, and collections of songs that have been inspired by such contracts are often rebellious in nature. Still, some artists like Billy Bragg have stayed true to the message of the agreement and have only used melodies taken from classic protest songs. Bragg emphasizes that many things have changed in labor agreements, for the better, but the song will remain just as relevant today as it was when it was first written in 1997.
Independently out of necessity perhaps, the music industry has exerted the efforts to break past tradition so successfully, that commercial success is almost assured, exacting an influence on the marketing of even labor union agreements. The art of musical storytelling is brought to the forefront. When labor agrees to divide itself into factions again and again over minutia, true artistry will be required to translate those subjects into a language comprehensible to the masses.
