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Rick Mercer, J.K. Rowling, and "The Boss" all sing unions' praises in latest edition of Unions Matter: A Reader

“It’s not just members who benefit from unions, it’s their entire community,” says NUPGE National President James Clancy. “Our goal with the Reader is to remind everyone of all the beautiful ways that unions matter.”

Ottawa (03 Mar. 2015) — Unions matter to many different people for many different reasons. For some, it’s a matter of basic survival. “My name is Mike Pond,” writes the member of the Health Sciences Association of B.C. (HSABC/NUPGE. “I’m five years sober this week and your union helped save my life.”

Suffering from alcoholism, Mike had hit rock bottom. But HSABC/NUPGE refused to give up on him and helped him resolve not to give up on himself. He recently wrote a book about his recovery, and an excerpt from it is just one of the many heartfelt, graceful and inspiring odes to unions in the second edition of Unions Matter: A Reader, produced by the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE).

Unions Matter: A Reader shares stories about how labour unions make the world a better place

The 40-page booklet is available now and pulls together a diverse range of quotes, quips, essays and images about the myriad ways in which unions make the world a better place.

“It’s not just members who benefit from unions, it’s their entire community,” says NUPGE National President James Clancy. “By giving everyday people a voice, unions reduce income inequality, strengthen the economy, promote democracy, spread fairness, defend dignity, and make sure that everybody has a shot at prosperity and contentment.

“Our goal with the reader is to remind everyone of all these beautiful ways that unions matter.”

The first edition of the reader was published in 2014 and featured the voices of Homer Simpson, Ken Dryden, Martin Luther King Jr., and Matt Damon. This second edition features Bruce (The Boss) Springsteen, J.K. Rowling, Linda McQuaig, and Rick Mercer.

More information: 

Unions Matter: A Reader Volume 1

NUPGE

The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE