My professional career began as a musician in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I played for theater companies, recruited and hired musicians for gigs, worked weddings, and had a small role with the musician's union. The American Federation of Musicians' (affiliated with the AFL-CIO) Milwaukee chapter, the Milwaukee Musicians' Association, hired me as an office worker a few days a week. For an aspiring businessman, this was a great experience.
In my time working for a labor union, I learned to appreciate the work that goes into advocating the rights of workers. It's a business, a cause, and it takes effort. I learned the value of being a brother with someone that also believed what I believe - to help and advocate for those in need.
I participated in organizing memos, preparing for negotiations with management, handling membership inquiries, being a friendly face to those that called in with questions, and playing a small in a much bigger cause. At the time, I didn't think my contributions mattered all that much. It wasn't until years later, as a Manager for a leading cruise line, that I appreciated my previous experience.
As a Leader, it's easy to think about yourself as being "the top" or "important." I've heard stories of leaders being too busy ever to take calls from their teams. We see countless stories on social media of employees feeling like a number, like a face that is occasionally chatted up, or a resource to be moved. That's not supportive leadership. That's not treating someone the way we would treat ourselves. When I worked in labor, I had firsthand experiences of challenges employees experienced and how the best management teams took the time to listen and support.
To me, celebrating "Labor Day" is not honoring the historical work and effort of labor organizers and workers. To me, the celebration is for those that do something meaningful, that connect with customers/fans/guests, that side-by-side actively engage in something bigger than themselves.
I've always said, and with some criticism, that the teams I support were the most important people in the organization. They don't work for me; I support them. Happy Labor Day. That was a true story.
