Kylie Christianson is a 21-year old UW-Madison senior from Wausau, Wisconsin. She’s a  history major, who skipped classes in order to witness firsthand contemporary labor history, in the making.

Kylie’s own words:

“I’m from a family in which almost every member is an employee of a union factory, which has contributed to my academic and personal interest in the labor movement.

Because of the protests, I was offered (and accepted) a position as a community organizer for a hospitality workers’ union in Indianapolis. Over a period of 2 months, I worked on a project that drew political and community attention to the plight of hotel workers in the city and got over 700 people to sign pledges to “adopt” a worker and take on the cause as their own. Of those 700, over 500 community members (not associated with hospitality industry in any way) showed up to a city council meeting to protest the mistreatment of the workers and demand change.

Being involved in the protests was a monumental experience for me as an individual. It contributed to my understanding of the labor movement and the political process, while simultaneously challenging the way that I identified myself and my place in society. “