“I hope no one draws from this the conclusion that my views are shaped by nostalgia for an age that cannot be recaptured,” Harry Braverman, one of the twentieth century’s leading Marxist political economists, once described the inspiration behind his life’s work. “Rather, my views about work are governed by nostalgia for an age that has not yet come into being.”

It’s a message that would hopefully sound familiar to the audience of trade unionists, activists, and socialists who turned out for the recent launch of Our Members Be Unlimited, a new long-form comic book by radical cartoonist and journalist Sam Wallman.

The launch took place at Victoria’s Trades Hall in Melbourne, the oldest still-functioning union building in the world. Among the speakers were leftist writer Jeff Sparrow and Elizabeth Lim, a union delegate who had recently participated in a wildcat strike. They both chose Braverman’s words to describe Our Members  — and not just because Wallman dedicates a chapter to him. By connecting the history of working-class solidarity with the everyday realities of work and organizing, Wallman’s book both reflects and encourages trade unionism today. Given decades of declining wages and union density, it’s an urgent message.