Best Buys
Raising Our Voices...Making Gardens Grow... Singing Songs...of Working Stiffs and Union Maids
So You Want to Make a Difference: Advocacy is the Key. AFSCME members and their families made a difference in the 1996 elections. Now it's time to continue making a difference by speaking up about issues that face workers and their families every day: jobs, education, the environment, health care, fair taxes. This 64-page workbook by Nancy Amidei is filled with valuable tips on how to stand up for the rights of your family and your community -- and win. Amidei reviews issues and strategies in easy-to-understand chunks. Copies are available for $9.95 ($6.95 each if you order 10 or more) plus $1.50 shipping from: OMB Watch, 1731 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20009, (202) 234-8494.
A Patch of Eden: America's Inner-City Gardeners. About this time of year, most of us long for spring -- warmer days and things in bloom. That longing exists even in the cement and asphalt of the inner city. In this 208-page book, H. Patricia Hynes describes how individuals organized to create gardens in inner-city communities in Chicago, Harlem, Philadelphia and San Francisco. AFSCME members may want to pay special attention to the section on Harlem. New York Council 37 member Bernadette Cozart plays a leading role. The city's Parks Department assigned Cozart to Harlem in late 1989. She turned her assignment into a mission: the greening of Harlem. She was so successful that Pres. Bill Clinton invited her to Washington to join "The Greening of the White House," a project aimed at making his home a model for a clean environment. Read her story and those of others who have brought gardens to people who need them most. Look for copies in your library or bookstore, or order your own for $18.95 from Chelsea Green Publishing Co., P. O. Box 428, White River Junction, Vt. 05001, (800) 639-4099.
Working Stiffs, Union Maids, Reds, and Riffraff: An Organized Guide to Films About Labor. Ever wish you could find movies that give unions and their members a fair shake? Tom Zaniello has pulled together this 290-page review of more than 100 movies -- from Norma Rae to Modern Times -- about working people, their lives and their unions. Whether they are new or old, rare or popular, controversial or entertaining, the films are ideal for union organizing events or informal union gatherings. They also present resources union parents can use to teach their children -- and open the door for discussions -- about the world of unions and work. In addition to providing individual reviews, Zaniello has set up a "Thematic Index" that groups films under primary topics like positive images of unions, racism, strikes, and women. You should be able to find it in your library or bookstore. If not, order it for $18.95 from Cornell University Press, 750 Cascadilla St., P. O. Box 6525, Ithaca, N.Y. 14851, (607) 277-2211.
In Solidarity: 15 Songs of Labor, Social Protest and the Union Movement, the New York City Labor Chorus' most recent recording, is available on tape or CD. There is music for just about everyone: traditional songs of workers from different cultures and some songs that are brand new. The 5-year-old chorus now has 100 members from more than 24 New York local unions. Along with the CD or tape comes a 28-page booklet with the words to all the music and photos of Ralph Fasanella's concert posters that are also for sale. The tape is $10; the CD is $15 -- plus $3 for shipping. Make checks payable to Fund for Labor Education, and mail them to NYC Labor Chorus, c/o Fund for Labor Education, 2109 Broadway, Suite 206, New York, N.Y. 10023, (212) 595-6600. If you live in New York and are interested in joining the chorus, call Bobbie Rabinowitz at (212) 677-3900.
