"Steps to Becoming a More Informed Ally to Working-Class and Low-Income People" by Betsy Leondar-Wright
Read Howard Zinn'sThe People's History of the United Statesand other books about low-income revolts, labor struggles, and working-class life stories.
Join Jobs with Justice (www.jwi.org) and read their alerts about local labor struggles that need support. Act on them when you can.
Subscribe to the newsletter of a local low-income-led group. (If you can't find one locally, subscribe to Survival News [102 Anawan Ave., West Roxbury, MA 02121].) (www.survivorsinc.org).
Attend Conferences where working-class and low-income people speak, for example Labor Notes (www.labornotes.org).
Don't cross picket lines. Stop and ask why they're picketing.
Donate money to organizations working for a stronger social safety net and decent wages, for example Kensington Welfare Rights Union (www.kwru.org) and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (www.ciw-online.org).
Be a loyal and supportive friend to low-income and working-class people in your personal life. Ask them how they see various political and interpersonal situations. (Remember, people who work for you in any capacity may never tell you their honest opinions.)
In organizations you're associated with, ask the lowest people on the totem pole, and anyone from a working-class background, how they see the organization. Keep asking and listening, as the first answer you hear may not be their whole story.