Airline Local 1833 set up housekeeping at the 12-day Minnesota State Fair held August 27 through Labor Day, September 7.
The Local has participated in the fair for more than 40 years, manning booths and giving out IAM merchandise and information. This year, the volunteers also educated visitors on the IAM’s “JOBS Now” campaign to help build and keep jobs in the U.S.
“We had a great response from the public,” said Local 1833 Recording Secretary Mary Sansom. “And it was great to see our young people come out to volunteer. They were knowledgeable about the issues, and in the end, had collected over 2,300 ‘JOBS Now’ postcards to send to Congress.”
Spread out over 320 acres midway between Minneapolis and St. Paul, the Minnesota State Fair has been held almost every year since 1859, the year after Minnesota was granted statehood. This year’s fair attracted over 1,790,000 people, setting a new record.