Diary of a Philadelphia Photographer (Part 34)
Art, Labor, and the Fight for Respect in Philly
Philadelphia’s largest union of city workers—AFSCME District Council 33—is on strike. That doesn’t just include sanitation workers, though that’s what’s making the headlines right now. It also includes 911 dispatchers, airport workers, police radio staff, water department employees, and so many others whose jobs most people take for granted… until they don’t show up.
A thought came to me recently: The folks walking off the job right now are the same kinds of people who support my work. They’re not billionaires. They’re not in back rooms cutting sweetheart deals with developers. They’re everyday Philadelphians who see value in what I do. They are the ones who come out in full force to the cultural events and festivals. They are the ones who hit me up for books and merch and prints of my work. They are the ones who tell me my work matters because it reflects them.
For the most part (and I will admit that there are a few exceptions), politicians of this country don’t support artists like me. Neither do the billionaires.
But working people? They’ve always held me down.
So when the City turns its back on those workers, they’re turning their back on me too. When wages are stagnant, healthcare is out of reach, and folks are forced to do more with less, the first thing to go is spending on wants, not needs. All of us - from the billionaire class on down - rely on the working class to survive, and those of us who are artists, are also (an important part of the) working class ourselves.
According to the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, arts and culture is a $4.1 billion (!!!) economic engine for the region. This economic engine fuels 55,000 full-time equivalent jobs, from “independent artists, designers and musicians (to) marketers, accountants and consultants; construction workers and contractors; and chefs, bartenders and hotel managers.” (Read more at https://www.philaculture.org/why-arts-culture/prosperity)
Long story short:
If you care about art, culture, creativity…
If you care about your neighborhood looking and feeling like home…
…then you should care about the people who literally make this city work for the betterment of us all.
Long story short: I stand with AFSCME District Council 33 and its workers. Because they’ve always stood with me.