Science is a collaborative enterprise, spanning the generations. When it permits us to see the far side of some new horizon, we remember those who went before us, seeing for them also. – Carl Sagan, from the TV series, Cosmos) Whenever I meet a young person who wants to work in the union movement, I am gratified, but wonder silently whether they really know what they're letting themselves in for. This may seem surprising, coming from someone who has spent much of his adult life employed as a trade union official. But the truth is, my own desire to work for the union movement arose gradually, in response to a complex series of external and internal processes. I was not born into a "union" or "labour" family. When I first entered the workforce, I was largely ignorant of unions. It is ironic how time changes things. Certainly, my attitudes were shaped (and hardened) by my experiences as an employee working in a major financial institution. The "pillar of the community" mask behind which many white collar corporations hide was, through a series of hard knocks, stripped away to reveal the callous reality beneath. We all have moments of "awakening", uplifting or destructive. In my own case, it was both. Never being one to complain without doing something about it, I started getting involved in the union of which I had previously been a silent member. The realisation of hypocrisy and exploitation imbued me with a seething rage that threatened to colour my perceptions and cause me to unfairly cut all people from the same cloth. Making assumptions about people is a luxury you cannot afford as a union official. The unpalatable truth is that, sometimes, employees tell lies or omit facts. You have to ask questions and check facts, to avoid disastrous consequences. And "maintain the rage" is fine, but if you don't find a means of channelling that energy, of leeching out the destructiveness of anger and bending its ferment toward constructive ends, you will burn out very, very quickly. The union movement is littered with wrecked lives and relationships, the fallout from officials who didn't sufficiently protect themselves and their families from the stress and pressure that goes with the job. Working for a union means you have to give of yourself, you