DANIEL GROSS
Director, Brandworkers International
Brandworkers has been a North Star grantee since 2007
T-shirt printed with an image of Frank Little
My vision for the future:
All working people live with dignity and hard work is rewarded. And we need to take this idea of democracy to the next logical conclusion and extend it into the workplace.
Frank Little was an organizer--a great one-- in the copper mines of Montana and elsewhere. In 1917, a mob dragged him out of his bed in the middle of the night and lynched him from a railroad trestle. He's a martyr who has inspired many in the labor movement. I wore this favorite t-shirt during an Occupy Wall Street march when the cops jumped me and wrongfully arrested me. That's why it's torn. People should be able to protest peacefully in New York and not be harassed by the police, but that's not the case.
We started Brandworkers in 2007 to create space for workers in the food and retail industries to develop as leaders and protect their fundamental rights. Many of our members are recent immigrants. My contact with North Star was my first contact with the foundation world. I was pretty surprised that a rough and tumble group of rank and filers would be able to write a foundation grant and have someone believe in our vision.
