Why can’t I sell a labor story?

Another one came over the transom Thursday morning. 

It was a press release, well-written and urgent. I don’t mind press releases anymore. As a staff reporter at small newspapers in New Mexico and Ohio, they used to annoy the living bejesus out of me, except for the ones written by hopeful incompetents slavering for press coverage who neglected to include their phone numbers. Those were ripe for mockery, and therefore fun. But for a freelancer, press releases can be a source of story ideas, and stories are a source of rent. So I read the e-mail.

Arise Chicago, the local arm of the national workers rights organization Interfaith Worker Justice, would be holding a protest at noon on Thursday, Nov. 19 at Lerner Park in West Rogers Park. Three construction workers were trying to recover more than $70,000 in wage claims. The employer was refusing to meet with the workers.

 I closed the e-mail and filed it. I knew I’d never be able to sell the story.

 The press releases from labor unions and workers rights groups always make me feel guilty. (I was raised Catholic. Guilt is a reflex.) They bear news of people overworked and underpaid, but it’s a rare day when any of it tempts an editor. I can’t say why; maybe my pitching could improve. All I know is that labor stories are a damned hard sell. 

So I’m writing this blog. Don’t expect Sturm und Snark. I make my living as a reporter, not a pontificator, and I’d like to keep making it. But here, at last, will be the stories I’ve wanted to tell.