On My Honor…I Won't Cross a Picket Line

Western N.Y. scouts working on American labor merit badges

On Sept. 7, the Region 9 headquarters in Buffalo, N.Y., was busy with Boy Scouts from throughout western New York learning about the labor movement.

More than 40 scouts representing the greater Niagara Frontier and Allegany/Highlands councils attended the daylong session. All of the scouts were working to earn their American labor merit badge.

Ed McGowan, a Region 9 international representative, conducted the class. The class meets one of ten requirements the scouts need to earn their badges.

Other requirements include a 500-word essay on the founders of the labor movement, exhibits or scrapbooks on three major achievements of labor, rights of unions and the importance of good labor/management relations.

Once completed the American labor merit badge can be used by the scouts to earn Eagle rank.

In 2001, 619 Boy Scout merit badges in American labor were issued nationally compared to 608 for American business. The top merit badge issued in 2001 by the Boy Scouts of America was for first aid (96,965). The next four highest were for environmental science (70,974), swimming (70,626), camping (68,997) and citizenship in the world (68,626).