September 16, 2024
TEAM.
I'm a week removed from the IAM's Grand Lodge Convention, and wow. I can't stop thinking about it.
It was such a privilege to be there in the first place, let alone as a first-time delegate representing my Local that did not exist at the time of the 40th convention. It was not lost on me that I was the only library worker in the room, and definitely one of the youngest people there. There were two delegates that were still 22, including one that I befriended at a training -- he's out in Seattle right now on Boeing's picket line. 15,000 people voted in Boeing's strike authorization. 99.1% in favor of striking. 33,000 workers went on strike at midnight on the 12th; this is their first strike in 16 years. That's MY UNION.
Not only was I the only library worker in the room, but I also served as a representative for the first unionized Apple retail store in the United States, who ratified their first contract with Apple a few weeks before the convention met. They'll be joining my Local; though I hadn't met a single Apple worker at the time of the convention, it felt important for me to tell everyone I met that they'd be with us. They're represented in the delegate body. Even though I'm upset none of the Apple organizers were invited as guests, but that decision wasn't up to me.
It's surreal to find yourself in the front row in a room of 1100 delegates, staring up at the president of the AFL-CIO, at Hakeem Jeffries, at AOC. Craning your neck at Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz video-calling in to the convention. I had no idea that signing a membership card not even two years ago I'd find myself in such company. It's a real "how did I get here" moment.
AND, on top of it all, I was appointed to serve as the secretary of the convention's education committee, meaning I got up on stage and gave a report to the delegate body. If I had to guess, with staff and guests, I'd approximate, like, 1300 people? Maybe?
And it was terrifying. Of course it was terrifying. But I know that I'm strong and powerful and capable of things that scare the shit out of me. And, in a room of conventional Machinists, it was especially empowering for me to stand behind a microphone and assert I belong here just as much as you do. I'm an IAM member, too.
At the end of it all, I didn't have nearly as much time to explore NYC as I would have liked, so, oh no, I'll just have to go back.
I still think I'd enjoy living in a city with comprehensive public transit, but I'm starting to think that I'd end up being late to everything. Also, are there not public restrooms in metro stations? Maybe I'm just not seeing them, but there should be.
Also, I got to see Porter Robinson live on the 14th... team.
I've been listening to Porter for roughly a decade -- I don't think I was there right when Worlds dropped, because that was right before I turned 14, but I was on the scene pretty soon thereafter. It was a SIGNIFICANT album for me, and seeing Porter live has been on my bucket list ever since.
It was transcendent. Porter's brilliant. His music is rife for interpretation, especially as a narrative of Porter's own skyrocket into fame at a young age and his subsequent navigation, especially being so young (Worlds came out when he was 22). SMILE! :D, his latest, tunnels through his relationship with both fame, conceptually, and the balancing act of his own ego and his having a parasocial relationship with his fans -- in both directions.
Personally, I latch onto his commentary on the role of nostalgia (often derogatory). I'll save that one for another blog post, I think.
Brilliant. Excellently staged and choreographed. So much fun.
Looking ahead, I'm going to see Streetlight Manifesto this upcoming weekend, then I'm going to see Hozier and Chappell Roan at a festival the following weekend -- it's a big weekend for concerts. If you're reading this to track my every move, please don't show up to said show to kill me. That would be pretty uncool.
Life can be so wonderful. I love life and living, man. There are so many wonderful things to do and see and experience.