Our Members Be Unlimited

a comic about workers and their unions
Sam Wallman

‘In a narrative that moves from trade-union history to his own efforts organising in an Amazon warehouse, Sam Wallman draws honest, unsentimental portraits of the working class that was and the working class that is. Most of all, he shares a vision of the working class that could be, depicting the everyday decency of ordinary people as the only hope for a world in crisis. Funny, tender, and wise, this book both delights and inspires.’

Jeff Sparrow, author of Crimes Against Nature

‘Unionism is about more than your rights at work. It is something greater even than a form of politics at the point of production: union struggle is composed of those mundane moments of perseverance and ingenuity in daily life that are all too easy to pass over in retrospect. This is the history that Sam Wallman uncovers in his magnificent new longform comic, Our Members Be Unlimited… With his unmistakable animated and intricate graphic style, Wallman is skilled at stitching these quotidian details into a broader narrative of working-class history … Learned and extensively researched, this book is also practical, ending with a sizeable glossary of useful union terms, from ‘black cat’ to ‘ultra’. Wallman’s activist energy, familiar to anyone who has read his shorter comics or seen his posters pasted up around their city, makes this graphic history urgent and invigorating reading.’

Joshua Barnes, Books+Publishing

View all reviews

‘Sam Wallman’s comic is history and argument, it is celebration and reflection, and with every turn of its beautiful, vivid pages it is a reminder of the galvanising power of radical solidarity and of radical love. This book is a gift, it’s exhilarating.’

Christos Tsiolkas, author of The Slap

Reprinting due to popular demand.

Copies available in all good book shops. Orders through Scribe will be delivered when new stock arrives in August.

An original and visually powerful exploration of unionism.

In our current political climate, people are looking for answers — and alternatives. The promise of unions is that their ‘members be unlimited’: that they don’t belong to the rich, the powerful, or special interests, but to all workers.

How did the idea of unionism arise? Where has it flourished? And what are its challenges in the 21st century? From Britain to Bangladesh, from the first union of the 18th century to today, from solidarity in Walmart China to his own experiences in an Amazon warehouse in Melbourne, comics journalist Sam Wallman explores the urge to come together and cooperate that arises again and again in workers and workplaces everywhere.

With a dynamic and distinctive art style, and writing that’s both thoughtful and down to earth, Our Members Be Unlimited serves as an entry point for young people or those new to these notions of collective action, but also as an invigorating read to those already engaged in the struggle for better working conditions — and a better world.

Jeff Sparrow, author of Crimes Against Nature

Joshua Barnes, Books+Publishing

View all reviews

BUY EBOOK

Details

Format:Paperback

Size: 230mm × 190mm

Extent:256pp with full colour throughout

ISBN (13):9781925713053

RRP:$39.99

Pub date:8 Aug 2022

Rights Held: World

High-res cover:Download Image

AWARDS

CATEGORIES / tags

AUTHOR

Sam Wallman

Sam Wallman is a comics journalist and cartoonist based in Melbourne, Australia. His drawings have been published in The Guardian, The New York Times, The Age, the ABC, and SBS.

HOME

Books

Authors

Blog

Events

About Us

Contact Us

Books

Authors

Blog

Events

About Us

Contact Us

We publish books that matter — narrative and literary nonfiction on important topics, and the best of local, international, and translated fiction.

NO ITEMS

LOG IN