With nursing school coming up in the fall, Thompson left her job at a fast-food restaurant and spent most of August living in a youth hostel and volunteering for the labor movement. Union Summer provided the room and a small stipend. After a three-day orientation, Thompson joined the Chicago Jobs and Living Wage Campaign, lobbying Mayor Richard Daley and other public officials to require employers receiving money from the city to pay their workers enough per hour to support a family of four above the poverty line. Ill.-but Thompson liked the work she was doing. I'm into living wage because I've made the minimum wage.
People have to pay rent and utilities.
When Thompson left for Minneapolis and nursing school in September, she felt good about the work she'd done. We made people think again. She said she might just have to start one herself. Volunteers spoke of how the program had given them a clearer understanding of the labor movement and its ability to help a broad spectrum of people. They're welcome here anytime.