By Jess Espinosa

   Julius Margolin is slim and small in stature, with thinning, wispy hair that he covers with a baseball cap; there is a certain shyness about him and he has the infectious laugh of a child. George Mann is tall and stocky, with shoulder-length hair and a booming voice that calls attention. Julius is 84, George is 38. What brought these two men with different personalities and generations between them is their passion for music, the labor movement and social issues.
   Julius was bon in New York but was raised in Newark, New Jersey. He was a teenager when the Depression hit. He did not have to go far to witness the misery that plagued the whole country, for his family had its big share of sufferings. The eldest of five children, he learned to be independent at an early age. In addition to caring for his siblings, he worked as busboy in a cafeteria, working long hours, including overtime without pay, and earning $10.50 a week. He saw how women, who worked just as hard, were paid less money, and he became aware of inequality in the workplace. When Julius learned that a counterman was secretly organizing a union, he got curious, got involved, and found his vocation. In his lifetime, he has been a merchant seaman, an electrician for the motion picture industry and a labor history teacher, but most of all, he has organized unions for steelworkers, seamen and electricians. He retired in 1982 but continues to be a delegate to the New York City Central Labor Council, an organization that encompasses more than a million workers.
   George grew up in the Stony Brook section of Long Island and obtained his Master’s degree in English from the SUNY school there. He was the editor of the school paper and a member of several rock and roll bands. His activities in the graduate student movement got him involved in the unionization of the SUNY system. As he matured, his taste in music changed from rock to folk music, which then led to labor folk music.
   Because of their common interest in union and labor issues, there were instances in the early to mid-90’s when Julius and George were under the same roof. It was only during a union meeting they attended in 1995 that they finally met. At that time, Julius had started writing songs and, without any previous training, picked up a guitar and began to play. George invited Julius to his 30-something parties, where they played together, jammed with other musicians, and had a lot of fun (there’s no generation gap, Julius insists). A friendship and a musical partnership developed. In the spring of 1998, Julius had a blood clot that almost killed him. When he came out of the hospital, with his mortality strongly in mind, he and George decided it was time to put together an album.
The result was their first album called “Young and Younger” (a wordplay on the title of a popular comedy, “Dumb and Dumber”), that was released in 1999. The album is a collection of songs that reflects Julius’ and George’s sympathy for the underdog as well as their zeal for the betterment of the world, with such titles as “We Are The Working Class,” “I Don’t Want Your Millions, Mister,” “Factory Blues,” and “Too Many Guns.” Although