The Dropkick Murphys are most known for their hit song “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” featured on the soundtrack of The Departed. Tonight, they’re backing up their Boston neighbors in a labor campaign. Also supported by Ben Affleck, Local 1199 of the Service Employees International Union is demanding higher wages for its hospital workers. The Dropkick Murphys are giving away 10,000 CDs before the Red Sox game at Fenway Park and around the Longwood Medical Area where many of Boston’s hospitals are located.
It’s the first time in history that rockers have promoted a working wage campaign in their music video. The “Tomorrow’s Industry” video features footage of low-paid hospital staff who are the backbone of the world-class health care system in Boston.
“Thousands of health care workers who care for us when we need it most cannot afford health care themselves,” the video script says.
“It shows Dropkick Murphys are a band that’s true to their roots. It shows they’re willing to stand up for the working families of their city. And many of those families have at least one person doing a job in healthcare where they’re underpaid and barely able to scrape by,” said Bill Timmons, an area hospital worker featured in the film, along with Dropkick Murphys bagpiper Scruffy Wallace and bassist Ken Casey.
Photo by thisisbossi via Flickr.