Labor & Employment Law

Street Dogs Combine Music and Activism in AFL-CIO Concert

By admin

Jennifer Angarita, AFL-CIO Media fellow, talked with lead singer Mike McColgan from the punk rock band, Street Dogs, about punk and politics

Greeted by a packed crowd of young activists, local union members and punk rock fans, the Street Dogs held a charity performance at the AFL-CIO building in Washington, D.C., this week. The event (see video) helped raise more than $1,000 for Capital Area Food Bank.

With songs like “Unions and the Law,” “Common People” and ?There is power in the Union,? this gritty punk rock band, originally from Boston, has emerged as a powerful voice for working people.

Members of the Street Dogs, who formed the band in 2002, see themselves not only as musicians and political activists, but also agents for social progress. Lead singer, Mike McColgan, said the Street Dogs

try to sing about substantive things, about the common man and woman, and their struggle for a good, fair and equitable life. We see ourselves as promoting a message that people can latch on to and identify with.

For many years, McColgan worked as a Boston union firefighter and as a shop steward at Engine 10 and 16.

I was born into the union. I came from a union family. I?ve always been involved been involved politically and had my toes dipped in activism? A progressive ideology, mindset and sense of inclusion [is critical to] the labor movement.

Before starting the Street Dogs, McColgan was the frontman of the punk band, the Dropkick Murphys. In 1998, McColgan took a brief hiatus from music to work for the Boston Fire Department. After working as a union firefighter and a shop steward at engine 10 and 16, McColgan returned to the Boston music scene to form Street Dogs. In the recent years, they have toured with groups such as Flogging Molly and Bad Religion.

AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler hosted the event, part of the AFL-CIO?s ongoing young worker outreach effort. Across the United States, local and international unions are hosting events and summits, such as this performance, to connect with young workers and build a more inclusive labor movement.

As Boston-bred punk rock heroes, the band looks up to progressive artists likes Woody Guthrie, The Clash and U2. Using music as a way to promote a message of unity for working people, the Street Dogs and their music is driven by their working class politics.

McColgan understands the transformative power of music, its role as an instrument for social change and the importance of promoting worker?s rights, especially for younger generations.

I think it?s important for young people to realize that no matter what occupation they aspire to that within their workplaces there must be a voice of advocacy for fair wages, benefits and sound and safe treatment [at the workplace]?

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on December 15, 2010 (boomark / email).