The City Different had all the classic Labor Day goodies Monday at the Railyard, such as free hot dogs, relish, and air-filled tents where children could bounce off their energy. The Joe West Trio on guitar, fiddle and banjo entertained the crowd gathered in the hot afternoon sun with songs about workers, bosses and the turkey shuffle.

And, marking an election year, the park was lined with campaign posters for Democratic candidates. A few Democratic politicos, such as New Mexico Congressman Ben Ray Luján and his dad, state Legislator Ben Luján Sr., pumped up the crowd talking about jobs, a higher minimum wage and defeating Republicans. Absent were any Republican candidates.

The first official federal Labor Day was in 1894, though it originated in New York City a dozen years earlier.

Like a lot of Americans, Labor Day for me has been largely a reminder of summer's end and sometimes, when I'm not working, a three-day weekend. But this year, as I watched Santa Fe celebrate workers, I thought about one person in my family devoted to a union: my grandfather.

Union man

Steve Matlock was a solidly built man, over 6 feet tall until his later years, when a degenerating spine shrunk him. His hands were thick and calloused, those of a man who had scaled logs as a teenager working for a sawmill and later climbed poles to string and repair electric lines for the Southern Pacific Railroad.

He worked more than 40 years with the company and was a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. "He was a devoted company man and union man," my dad said, when I called him Monday morning to ask what he remembered.

But my dad doesn't know much about my grandfather's experiences with the union. We realized, sadly, how little we knew or had asked my grandfather before it was too late.

Yet he was part of a union at a time when workers fought hard to make working conditions better.

Some of those fights continue today, including in New Mexico.

Early days

My grandfather joined the IBEW union in 1921 or '22. By then, it had been around for almost three decades, fighting for better wages, better working conditions and an eight-hour work day.

When the crash came in 1929 and the Depression left one in 10 or more out of work, electrical workers like my grandfather had job security. Electricity was the rage and linemen were needed to bring power across the country, to developing cities and rural communities.

World War II made my grandfather's job even more imperative. Railroads, and the linemen who kept open communication lines between stations, were essential to moving soldiers and equipment across the country. The IBEW membership almost doubled to 361,000 members by the end of the war. Unions for ironworkers, carpenters, engineers, letter carriers, miners and other workers continued to grow as well.

In 1951, zinc miners in Bayard, N.M., went on strike against the New Jersey Zinc Co. over working conditions. Their strike was turned into the 1954 film Salt of the Earth, about the time Sen. Joseph McCarthy was accusing union organizers of conspiring with communists.

My grandfather retired from the railroad and the union in the mid-1960s, even as the United States entered a new era of battles over civil and workers rights.

Tough times

Unions couldn't protect some workers during the economic collapse of the last three years. But they've survived. And as the outlook improves for companies, the unions are back to fighting for the workers' rights.

United Food Commercial Workers Local 1564 members were handing out fliers at the Railyard asking for support of Smith's employees. "Cuts aren't needed when sales and profits have exceeded one billion dollars," the flier read. The employees are seeking a 2.5 percent pay increase, 4.5 percent in additional health care funding and to prevent reduced work hours.

A need still there

Unions have had their share of problems in the last century with corruption, infighting and accusations of strong-arming nonmembers.

Mary Waite, whose husband is a union member, said she thinks unions in New Mexico continue fighting for the right things. "They've kept the price of health insurance down and they try to make the workplace fair," Waite said.

The need for collective bargaining was represented by a handful of Los Alamos County firefighters at Monday's event. Their union, the International Association of Firefighters Local 3279, is at a standstill in a four-year contract negotiation with Los Alamos County, according to firefighter Cari Mace. "This year a third party federal mediator stepped in and reviewed information from both sides," Mace said. "The mediator agreed with the firefighters."

The union represents almost all of the 120 firefighters with the department. But it is not a "closed shop union," so membership is optional. The firefighters receive specialized training to handle the multitude of hazardous materials they might have to deal with at Los Alamos National Laboratory. It is one reason their union is fighting for higher pay.

Mace said the union is considering legal action against the county, but it will be up to members to decide if that's the route they want to pursue.

Even nonunion people like myself have benefited from the work of labor organizers through the years, probably in ways we no longer recognize or remember.

It is likely my grandfather's four decades with the railroad would have been even harder and less well-paid if it had not been for his union. Its strides to improve conditions meant he could provide for his family and ensure his labor did not go unrewarded.

Contact Staci Matlock at 986-3055 or smatlock@sfnewmexican.com.