Solidarity. For labor veterans, it's a term that invokes feelings of brotherhood, camaraderie and the sense that somebody's got your back—and vice versa. But what does it mean to a young worker just starting off in the trade?

San Mateo, Calif., Local 617 Vice President and JATC instructor Dan Pasini posed this question one night last spring to his classroom of third-year inside wiremen apprentices. Pasini asked the apprentices to expound on the principle of solidarity in short essay form—and he was impressed with the results.

"The students' observations and reflections were nothing less than insightful, discerning, honest and brilliant," Pasini said. "The perception and wisdom contained in those pages was encouraging."

Here's what some newer brothers and sisters of Local 617 think about the meaning of solidarity:

"Every time I run into a co-worker while I'm out, put on my Local 617 sweatshirt, go to class, go to work, complete a hard day's work, learn something new, meet a new co-worker or even celebrate a holiday (without pay), I feel proud. This sense of pride doesn't come with an ‘I.' It comes with a 'we.'"

– Justin Clark

"Solidarity is more than just sticking together for a common purpose. It's doing the right thing when it isn't easy. It's doing what is right even when you may end up on the short end of the stick. It's doing what is right even when nobody would ever know if you took the easy way out."

– Dave Wilson

"Growing up as the son of a union electrician, I would hear stories about how organized and united the IBEW was. For the most part, if one person walked, they all walked. If one demanded certain conditions to be met, everyone demanded them to be met. [It means] not leaving anyone behind to fight alone, because we are stronger together."

– Mike Perez

"Acts of compassion build solidarity. Being an apprentice, you are used to cleaning, moving and rounding up material—all the hard physical labor of the trade. But you feel solidarity when a journeyman wireman says, ‘I'll grab the material, you relax. Put up a piece of pipe or think about the next task.' This expression made me feel equal, made me feel important and made my belief in this union stronger."

– Abe Talakai Jr.

"We don't all have to have the same point of view on every issue, but we all have the same things that matter to us. Every person needs health care for their families. Everyone has to make a living to be able to live the way they want to. But we could all benefit from helping each other out to make our lives better."

– Leah Sachs

"It is not easy for us to change our attitudes to a ‘we' instead of ‘me' mentality. If we were able to start making solidarity a part of our lives on a small scale, I feel like we would be more willing to expand solidarity to other aspects of our lives as well."

– Eric Sloan

For Pasini, the class' writings signal growing union strength among the newer generation of workers.

"The younger people aren't just our future—they're our present," Pasini said. "To have them writing and thinking about solidarity in this way lets me know that the power of our movement is well-intact. "