"Excuse me,"I politely asked when no one looked up, "but do you have any 'Union Yes' buttons?"

       It seemed to be a reasonable request since the AFL-CIO had begun a multi-million dollar "Union Yes"campaign, I was at a booth for the regional labor council, and this was one of the largest local fairs in the country, one that would record more than 650,000 admissions in eight days.

       I learned there were no buttons, there never were buttons, and there probably never will be buttons at the booth. "We just don't get them,"I was told.

       "Have you tried?"I asked, but the response seemed to tell me there was no all-out effort made.

       "How about some literature?"I asked, figuring that a labor council would certainly have flyers.

       "We don't get them either,"I was told.

       "But you do have some literature, don't you?"I asked, trying to figure out why there was a booth at a fair if the only thing the workers were doing was to stuff bags, which they seemed to be doing quite well.

       That's when I learned there were flyers, but they were put into plastic bags, along with American-made food items, to be distributed on the hour, every hour. It was 3:20, and I didn't plan to wait another 40 minutes to receive a can of ravioli, a snack bag of potato chips, some assorted other goodies, and a couple of flyers that directed me to "Buy American."

       "Why don't you have literature about the value of unions?"I asked. "How about some of the issues affecting the people in this area?"The products were from union shops in the local area, and the image the union seemed to be promoting was that of local business rather than the unions.

       "We're stressing 'Buy American' products,"I was told. The "Buy American"campaign has always been a little confusing to me. Mitsubishis are produced in Tennessee, and Chevies in Mexico; Nikes in Thailand, and Mama Leone's in Pennsylvania. Besides, just because something is American-made doesn't mean it was made in an American union shop.

       Nevertheless, for at least 40 minutes there was no literature on why I should even buy American, let alone why I should understand the need for unions or the crucial issues. And certainly there was no information to help me better understand a bill about to be introduced the following week that would ban teacher strikes and require mandatory arbitration.

       Nevertheless, I was asked to sign a petition supporting Pennsylvania Power & Light Co. against its bid not to be taken over by the Pennsylvania Electric Co. I asked why the Labor Council was engaged in a utilities battle, and was told there were union workers at PP&L and PECO didn't have any unions. I saw my opportunity.

       "Do you have any literature about any of the pro-labor candidates running in November?"I asked. I should have known better.

       "You could stop by the Democrats' booth,"I was told.

       I had previously stopped by the Democratic party booth. It looked like any other crafts booth, with Halloween gourds, miniature pumpkins, dish cloths, and some terrycloth thing to hold grocery store plastic bags. When neither of the two ladies in the booth initiated the conversation, I asked if they had any campaign literature. One lady reached around to the side of the booth, a side away from the traffic, and from a small basket handed me two emery boards and a wallet-card of a candidate running for county commissioner. I asked if she had anything else, and learned there was no other information--not about candidates, not about issues or political platforms. But I was welcome to buy any of the inexpensive crafts.

       In contrast, at the Republicans' booth across from the Labor Council, two friendly sorts told me about candidates, and gave me all kinds of printed information.

       Fifty years ago, when Sidney Hillman established a unified political action committee for the AFL-CIO, more than one-third of Americans belonged to unions. Today, fewer than one-eighth of the work force is unionized. A year ago, with the country still in a recession and unemployment high, a TIME/CNN poll revealed that only 42 percent of Americans even thought unions were good for the American economy.

       Part of the problem is a nation that believes it is more "professional class"than worker class and, therefore, fallaciously believes it doesn't need union protection. But, a large part of the problem is the unions themselves. They have taken on many of the worst characteristics of "Big Business,"neglected their own members, and largely refused or failed to hire staff who were professionally trained, staff who might be able to deal better with member problems and with the public.

       Newspapers have business sections; they don't have labor sections. Public schools teach corporate history; they don't teach about the rise and struggles of the working class. It's doubtful if many people know who Sidney Hillman, Samuel Gompers, Bill Haywood, Heywood Broun, or Mother Jones are; it's doubtful they have heard about Latimer, Avondale, or Homestead. If the media and the schools don't tell us about "why unions,"then the unions must--and they're doing a very poor job.