There is a stereotype in this country that union organizers are thugs whose hairy knuckles would drag on the ground if not for the ill-fitting, out-of-fashion jackets holding their arms in. Those of us who have actually met these folks have found that the stereotype is, of course, false. So, to help put a human face on the passionate, intelligent people that put in long hours for a cause they believe in, the eight ball invites you to...

Meet the Goon-- Bridget Gilhool



Bridget Gilhool has nurtured several Borders campaigns- - the favorable Bryn Mawr election, the Dec.'96 loss at the Harrisburg warehouse, plus ongoing efforts at Philadelphia, Lancaster, and again the warehouse. Her local, UFCW 1776, covers most of eastern Pennsylvania and has been especially successful securing lucrative contracts at Acme, Superfresh, and other grocery stores.

Gilhool was born & raised in Philadelphia and attended the Univ. of Wisconsin, majoring in History & Political Science. After taking a class entitled The Economics of Black America at Wisconsin, Bridget decided that the labor movement was for her and she's been "badgering" employers ever since.

While studying for her Master's Degree in Labor & Industrial Relations, she met Local 1776 President Wendell Young and Recording Secretary Peter Huegel during a class at Rutgers on employment law. The three were the only "labor people" in the class. Before her employment at Local 1776, she worked in D.C. for the National Archives and as a research assistant for a small low-income housing law firm. She's also done corporate campaign research for the United Mine Workers and the Oil, Chemical, & Atomic workers. And she's organized Texas state employees for the Communication Workers of America in Austin, Dallas, and (get this!) Lubbock.

Gilhool's done a month of Eurrailing, spent a semester in Dublin, and observed the Mexican presidential election for Solidarity Summer, a NAFTA-watchdog event.

Her first organizing effort for Local 1776 was at an Encore Bookstore with 12 employees. The vote was 3 yes & 5 no, but we have reason to suspect that 3 employees were led to believe that they would each get the same assistant manager position after the election.

She's also leafletted supermarkets about the California strawberry workers campaign (check out the United Farm Worker's colorful web site) and was involved in the successful effort to stop the privatization of Pennsylvania's state liquor stores. She & other unionists were able to convince our legislators that converting thousands of middle class jobs into Borders-style transient employment was a bad idea.

Like every union organizer we've met, Bridget has no spare time for hobbies or a social life, but instead spends long hours doing what she loves (and coincidentally what her BIG LABOR BOSS asks her to do). She's a tireless pursuer of union authorization cards and relentless about going over that damned employee list to make sure we've talked to everyone. For these reasons, she is our thuggish, cigar- chomping union Goon of the Month. (JW)

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