Our Members Be Unlimited:
A Comic About Workers and Their Unions
Overview
A timely and inspiring work of comics journalism—the history of unions and why we need them (and a first-hand account of working in an Amazon warehouse).
Workers of the world, unite! From comics journalist Sam Wallman comes a thoughtful plunge into the history of unions. Through distinctive art and sharp-eyed reporting, Wallman ushers us into the hidden aisles of 21st-century labor conditions, and shows us recent labor movements and union triumphs—all while framing current conditions against the history of unions and the earliest rallying cries for worker rights.
It’s an entry point for younger generations, and a reminder for workers who have had their livelihood reduced by capitalist pressures. It’s also a primer for those new to the power of collective action.
From an Amazon warehouse in Melbourne (where Sam worked for a year), to Britain and Bangladesh, to Walmart in China and the New York Taxi Workers Alliance strike against the Trump-era refugee ban of 2017, this book is a highly original and visual exploration of the power of unions.
Details
- Format
- Size
- Extent
- ISBN
- RRP
- Pub date
- Rights held
- Paperback
- 7.5in x 9in
- 256 pages
- 9781950354993
- USD$24.95
- 6 September 2022
- WORLD
Awards
- Winner of the 2023 ABDA Award for Best Designed Fully Illustrated Book Under $50
- Shortlisted for the 2022 ALIA Notable Australian Graphic Novels for Adults
- Shortlisted for the 2023 The University of Queensland Non-Fiction Book Award
- Shortlisted for the 2023 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Non-Fiction
- Shortlisted for the 2023 The Small Press Network Book of the Year Award
- Commended for the 2023 The AGDA Design Awards
Praise
“In Our Members Be Unlimited, comics journalist Wallman achieves what many on the left struggle with: he makes history, theory, and organizing practice accessible and fun to read about … Deftly mixing personal experience, journalism, and history, he highlights not just the highs but also the lows of union history. Throughout, he makes extensive use of imaginative spreads that blend traditional comics layouts with artwork more commonly found on murals and activist posters … hits so powerfully you can’t help but want to share. Hand this to any reader interested in labor movements, comics fans or not.”
“Sam Wallman’s comic is history and argument, it is celebration and reflection, and with every turn of its beautiful, vivid pages it is a reminder of the galvanizing power of radical solidarity and of radical love. This book is a gift, it’s exhilarating.”
About the Author
Sam Wallman is a comics-journalist and cartoonist based in Melbourne, Australia. His work has been published by The Guardian and The New York Times, among others. In 2016, he visited the United States to draw everyday people’s responses to the presidential election for Australian, Italian, and American media outlets.
Sam is a committed unionist, having worked as an organizer for the National Union of Workers, and a delegate on the shop floor prior to that. He has drawn cartoons for over a hundred trade unions and worker organizations around the world, and is currently developing large-scale murals and banners. He works out of the Workers Art Collective studio in the Trades Hall, Melbourne, the oldest union building in the world.
