Here in the US, today is Labor Day, a federal holiday which means most people have it off. It’s a holiday famous for parades, picnics, and parties and though it was designated to celebrate organized labor, for many it’s become a way to say goodbye to summer as well. (It is also the unofficial end to Hot Dog Season.)
Thinking about the holiday made me try and recall books I’ve loved that feature organized labor. I adore Madeline Hunter’s medievals, By Design and By Arrangement. Organized labor also shows up in her Secrets of Surrender, another excellent read. Courtney Milan, Sherry Thomas, and many other stellar historical romance authors incorporate labor unrest in their works as well. I have a hard time thinking of contemps although we do have a tag for that! Do you have books that feature unionizing that you love?
And will you be celebrating today? If so, what will you do? And to all, enjoy the day!
Although almost all (civilian) first responders (police officers, fire fighters), professional athletes in major sports (football, basketball, baseball, hockey), and many of our nation’s teachers are both in a union and often figure as MCs in romance novels, I really can’t recall any contemporary romances where the union played a major role. Right after Tr*mp was elected, there were some romance anthologies that focused on romances involving political organizing, voter registration, mobilizing volunteers, etc. I think a couple of those short stories might have focused on efforts to unionize a workplace, but other than that, I’m drawing a blank.
My sense is that people may BE in unions, but it rarely figures into the story in most contemp.
I can’t add any titles, but unions are slowly making a comeback in the US, with some Amazon warehouses, and Starbucks (if the company will quit closing stores that unionize), and the 3000 Cafeteria contract workers for Google who unionized recently as examples. Maybe the time is right for some writers of CR to use it as a trope. I could see someone helping employees to unionize their workplace getting involved with a person in management. Kind of a tweak of the opposites attract trope, or enemies to lover, or both.
The hero of Kathleen Gilles Seidel’s Don’t Forget to Smile is a union organizer in a logging community in Oregon!