When I opened up the recently arrived Washington State Voters’ Pamphlet (a hefty 136 pages, including the complete texts of various state and county initiatives), I was surprised to discover that there’s a typographer running for President of the United States. Or at least a labor leader with typographical connections. Gloria La Riva, the presidential candidate of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, lists her current occupation as “President, Typographical Sector, Media Workers Union, Local 39521, CWA (Communication Workers of America).” (Her running mate, Eugene Puryear, lists himself as a student and community organizer.) While I’m not about to vote for the La Riva/Puryear ticket, I am tickled to know that the long history of labor organizing in the typesetting and printing business has a place on the ballot this year.
