By Guest Blogger Ashley Beard-Fosnow

A couple of nasty bugs are going around in our neck of the woods. I was awoken one night last week by the sentence I dread hearing most, “Mommy, I feel sick.” — followed by 24 hours of vomiting. I try to keep the medicine cabinet stocked for just this occasion. The following is a great list of Union Made products from the Labor 411 Directory to cure whatever ails you:

Advil
Afrin
Aleve
AlkaSeltzer
Bayer
Claritin
Dimetapp
Midol
Milk of Magnesia
PeptoBismol
Robitussin
St. Joseph’s Asprin

We are also big believers in Sprite, Tropicana Orange Juice, fuzzy Carhartt socks, and Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup on sick days. I try to buy these products ahead of time (when I have a coupon and find them on sale), as to avoid midnight runs to CVS. It’s also nice to have Union Made products on hand to share. My friend down the street was under the weather, so I threw together a little “Get Well” basket. I added my copy of Why Unions Matter by Micheal D. Yates for her to borrow for a little light reading while she’s down and out. (I hope she returns it, because it is one of my favorites!) When one of us is ill, I am reminded how fortunate we are to have health insurance through my husband’s union and the importance of federal laws like FMLA that protect workers who must care for family members. Let me conclude by wishing you and your family the best of health — especially during the upcoming cold and flu season.

Stay tuned for more posts about Ashley’s ideas for teaching Union values to children and running a labor friendly household on Labor 411 Blog. Ashley Beard-Fosnow is a Missouri housewife and mother of three who also writes a Union-themed family blog at www.myunionfamily.com.