The Unionist Review YouTube Channel

So I started a YouTube Channel that has various videos I've taken and some of my favorite Union videos. I'll try to update it on a weekly basis. The Unionist Review Channel

Stealing Our Future

As we move further into the 21st century, it feels like we're being shoved back into the 19th. Constant boom and bust economic cycles, stagnant or shrinking wages, disappearing pensions, workers rights and safety being thrown out the window. For what? So the wealthy can make a little bit more money. We should be moving forward, not back into the darkness. We should have maintained and expanded our own social and economic justice, not let the modern day Robber Barons destroy our and our children's future. Good hard working people swallow the gruel they're fed and ask for seconds. They blame everyone but themselves and the unethical Corporate backed scum they elect into office.

We have a crisis in this country, yet people do and say nothing. Our very way of life and path to prosperity is being swapped out and downgraded for hardship and great uncertainty. These Corporate shills were not preordained by the almighty or given anymore intelligence than you or I, they're just evil enough to slit their own neighbor's throat. Time and time again the "Right" has voted against the Middle and Working class. Be it against the extension for Unemployment which kept good people from losing their homes, the Small Business Bill which has already resulted in 2000 SBA loans in just a week, oh and don't forget the Stimulus that kept our Nation from slipping into a second Great Depression. But we Progressives are the evil, godless, lefty, pinko, fascist SOBs.

This country needs to wake up and realize who has our best interest in mind! So your Congressman says he's a "Good Christian." OK, well why did he vote against the bill that would have made it more difficult to outsource your job? Why did he vote against bank reform to keep the financial sector from gambling away your retirement? Why does he continue to wage a cultural and class war against his own people? Why does he restrict and block the rights of the citizenry to appease a bigoted, spiteful minority? Choosing greed over charity and hate over love is neither good...nor Christian.

I get really irritated when people say to me, why should I have to vote for the lesser of two evils? That's such bull, if the Republicans had their way in the past, we would have no Unions who have and continue to fight for all workers rights and wages, there would be no civil rights, no OSHA, no Medicare or any Social programs for that matter. And a slue of other reforms. When you're in that voting booth on Nov. 2nd, you have a choice. You can choose the people that voted against you and your family at every turn or you can vote for the party that has wanted nothing but to give the people of this nation a secure and happy life. Don't let them steal the future.... Vote.

This Blog was originally published on The Beer Party Website.

Our Internal Struggle

I haven’t written anything in the past few weeks, I’ve been converting our spare bedroom to a nursery for our little one due in late September. While going through this process, a lot flows through one’s mind about the future for one’s children. I look at what’s happening in our great nation and feel quite melancholy. How far have we really grown? We had a chance to do something truly great…and it was squandered. Much good has been done in the last nineteen months, but too much was compromised and great legislation was whittled down to something that paled in comparison. I still believe in the Progressive Movement and all that it encompasses, to be a Unionist is to be a Progressive. So, when I hear someone putting down progressives and social justice, I know it won’t be too long before they start trashing the Labor Movement, attempting to place a wedge between workers and the very thing that pulled those that came before us out of the dirt to stand on their own two feet with pride and dignity.

Something that bruises me to the very core is when a Union brother or sister attacks everything we stand for, usually because they’ve hit hard times. I understand their frustration; I walk in their shoes every day. But listening to the talking heads on certain news outlets and regurgitating that poison upon your brothers and sisters isn’t helping things. Not to say the state we find our economy in right now isn’t bad, but things could be much worse. The Labor Movement in this country was not of great monetary means when it started out. It all started with an idea and a hand full of people with integrity and determination to see it through. They were beaten, bloodied, bashed and even died for what they believed in…a better world for all of us and our families. They sacrificed so that we could take up the torch and continue on down the path to true Industrial Democracy.

We’re all struggling and scraping by, but think how it was for our grandparents and great grandparents…and those that came before them. Things were much harder; they didn’t have the social system that we have that has kept many of us from losing our homes. We don’t have the soup lines and tent cities and shanty towns also known as “Hoovervilles” as there was in the past. If it wasn’t for Unions, Progressive Thinkers and Social Justice we would be left in the darkness fighting over the crumbs from Industry’s Table.

As Labor Day approaches, we should all reflect on what we wouldn’t have if Organized Labor never existed. If we’re ever going to truly win this fight for equality, we must first stop battling each other. As Abraham Lincoln said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Those words are just as true today as they were in 1858 when first spoken by Lincoln. I plead to those that have given up hope, don’t turn away. By spreading the lies of our opposition you’re falling right into their hands and you weaken all of us. We still have time; all is not lost my friends.

Europe Has The Right Idea

I was recently at a social function that takes place at my Union Hall twice a year, and I found myself in a discussion about the fate of Unions in America. I brought up the point that for a true Union renaissance to take place the American psyche has to change first. I also brought up how most of Western Europe is fairing much better after the near global market collapse and perhaps some of what they're doing is one way of solving that problem. My cousin who was sitting next to me was skeptical of the idea. I don't recall the exact words he uttered...we all had a couple drinks in us. Now an apprentice sitting with us at the table did have a interesting theory of why there is some animosity toward the labor movement. I don't know if these were his own observations or perhaps someone enlightened him to them. He went on to say, there are a lot of people out there that spend tens of thousands of dollars for a Bachelors degree, Masters, PhD...etc. To enter their field making 80,000 dollars a year (roughly). Now they see us (our particular local) getting paid to go to school for free and when we finish our apprenticeship after four and a half years, we make 80,000 dollars a year (roughly). And some are a little upset by that. He made a very good point and I applauded him for it, that was an excellent observation. Now...how do we fix this?

Well, this isn't exactly a fix that I have here, but rather another observation, if you want to change anything you must make an observation first, right? Let's go back to when I mentioned Western Europe and how their systems are set up. For the most part Universities in Europe are either free to the student or very inexpensive, you have to test into them though. Now what do those people who aren't exactly college material or don't particularly like a traditional type of learning environment do in Europe? Are they thrown to the streets to fend for themselves? No, they join a Union and learn a trade. This completely nullifies the issue of professionals vs the Unionized working class that was stated earlier. Can we do this here? Probably not with out a major fight.

There would be crowds of people marching in the streets waving the Star Spangled Banner and holding their signs that would have words like "Socialism", "Communism" and don't forget "Fascism"...because giving students a good education for free or at a lower cost is evil...yeah ok.

OK, I'll get back on point now... If you look at Western Europe, manufacturing in those counties is not on life support, in fact its thriving. Germany and France two of the strongest, if you combine their exports they overshadow even China. Oh yeah, and workers wages are higher than the American worker...yes even the American Union worker. Japan (who follows a similar path as western Europe) and Germany have the highest wages in the world, yet their manufacturing sectors are doing just fine...they compete with the rest of the world. So anyone that says we can't compete in the Global Market is for lack of a better term...Full of shit.

Western Europe's economy is Capitalist, many call it "Socialist" (Oh Noes!!!). Its actually "Social Democracy", but Neocons prefer "Socialist", I suppose because its easier to say..less syllables. Anyway, Social Democracy is essentially what was set up here in our country by FDR and the "New Deal". Many of the systems in Europe are modeled after it, but sadly the second the New Deal was set in place conservatives started chipping away at it. Social Democracy is responsible Capitalism, it ensures that the haves cannot exploit the have-nots. Social Justice is at the core of Social Democracy, how can anyone say its evil? I know they do...some because they want to keep the status quo, they don't care if the working class have anything, just as long as they can stuff more and more money in their wallet. But then you have the misguided souls, the ones who've been manipulated by those few that have more to gain by the working class not getting a leg up, I really feel bad for them...they don't see it and its right in front of their faces.

Also the economies of most first world nations are worker based, they know that if they invest in their workforce that investment will come back to them ten fold. Our neighbor to the north Canada is well on its way out of the hole (if not already out) because of these very practices. If you have a strong working class with good Union wages and benefits, those workers will pay back into the economy. There must also be Fair (not free) Trade agreements in place as well. As I've said before if you have a strong working class as the foundation of your economy, the house will not fall. Right now our nation's economy is a house of cards and even worse it has a foundation of sand. I seem to be constantly going back to the same theme in many of my blogs, but the more research I do, the more validated those themes become.

The 800lbs Gorilla in the Room.

There's an issue in the Labor Movement that we've had for some time now staring us right in the face and we haven't been able to remedy it yet. That is our Image. Everyone knows about it and its been discussed and debated to no end, but we haven't fixed it. To paraphrase Mark Breslin, people have a 1960's view of the 21st century Labor Movement. That's a problem. The AFL-CIO and pretty much every Trade Union recognizes this and have been actively addressing it. Part of the problem is the conservative PR machine that's filled to the brim with cash and just rolls right over our efforts, they want people to keep thinking that way. Using words like "Union Thugs", I hate that term! Labor wants to help the workers, raise them up to a better standard of living for them and their families. But no, the union buster says we want to come in and tell you how to live your life and run the company into the ground...that's a bunch of Bull! It doesn't benefit a Union to run a company into the ground and Unions don't tell people how to live their lives, not one bit. But they exploit people's fear of the unknown. They pit the working class against itself time and time again. By using fear, religion, racism and lies. They want us fighting each other as they steal the shirts off our backs and the food out of our children's mouths.

I feel that there's a way to combat this PR Blitzkrieg and without having to match them dollar for dollar. Our numbers. Remember we are Union, our numbers are our strength. How about every time one of us hears a friend, neighbor, relative, hell even a perfect stranger speak badly of Unions we ask, why do you feel that way? Nine times out of ten its usually because of some misinformation that they were given by employers or coworkers. I admittedly have been know to jump down people's throats sometimes when they spoke disparagingly of Unionism, this is something I'm trying to change. Some of these lies: the Unions are greedy, I'm sure you've heard that one before. All we want is to provide a good secure life for our families and retire with dignity. I see nothing greedy about that. Unions run companies into the ground. Oh do they? Many companies that I know that were organized have gone on to be more profitable than ever...there are those silly facts and numbers lying again. And my personal favorite, I don't want Unions telling me how to vote. Yes, because a Union official will be in the voting booth with you watching over how you vote. That one to me is the most asinine, Unions inform the membership on whom they're supporting and suggest that you vote for those candidates. If you want to be a moron and vote against your own economic interests, that's up to you. Debunking these lies should be on every members mind. Use whatever you can, be it the internet or a conversation to spread positive knowledge about Unionism. Remember this, the Labor Movement's greatest asset is it's membership.

Senatorial Negligence

There is one number that I can't get off my mind...1.2 million. That is the number of American people that will lose their Unemployment Benefits by the end of the month. Every single Republican in the Senate, plus one lone Democrat Ben Nelson (D-NE) voted to kill the American Workers, State, and Business Relief Act of 2010 or Measure H.R. 4213. This was not motivated by any idealogical principle, or common sense for that matter, even though they would lead you to believe that. The motivation on killing this bill is the election in November. They are either still trying to appeal to their wacked out right-wing nutjob base. Or they're trying to make the economy a complete catastrophe and then point the finger at the Democrats.

Here are some of the excuses they came up with: They feel that they have to be tough on taxes...even though this bill provided needed tax cuts to small businesses. Also they feel that if Unemployment is taken away it'll better motivate people to really get out there and find a job...even though currently there are six unemployed people to every one job opening. Oh and the ever popular, we can't take on anymore debt...it doesn't matter to them that this would be almost completely paid for anyway. They won't recognize that...they need to appear tough on people who are already down on their luck in a job market that doesn't seem to be getting any better...that'll show 'em! This is a direct attack on Working Americans!

We have created a welfare state...a welfare state??? I'm pretty sure that I and the millions of other Americans who are out of work right now paid our Unemployment Insurance for many years...yet they see it as we're taking something from them. How dare we pay for something then expect to receive it when we need it! My favorite is that this bill would be a greater drag on our economy. You want to know what'll be a real drag on our economy...1.2 Million people not having any money!!!!! Also the mass amounts of homeless this will create...but they won't see any of that in their plush Ivory Tower.

All that matters to them is getting re-elected and gaining more seats. They must have zero unemployment in their states...fat chance. So, taking the risk of sending us even further into the depths of this recession; or perhaps even into a depression is better than sustaining our economy and giving needed tax breaks to small business so that jobs could be created? That makes perfect sense! And all the people that lose their homes...well they can just go to hell as far as the Republican Senators are concerned. This is not governance, this is negligence! Plain and simple.

Bought and Paid...

So this past week has given me so many reasons to be infuriated at elected officials. The jobs bill not passing in the Senate, the White House removal of a certain provision in the Bank reform bill that gave control of CEO salaries to all stock holders, not just the ones that have controlling stakes. And then there's Congressman Joe Barton (R-TX)... Another reminder that many of our leaders who are supposed to be working for their constituents are in actuality working for the "Corporate Machine." In this case BP, if you haven't seen it yet, here's the video: http://www.dailykos.com/tv/w/002738/

OK, when I first watched this video, I had to watch it twice because I could not believe what was coming out of his mouth. You apologize to BP for making them clean up the mess that they caused by not following proper safety regulations and for constantly prizing production over all else??? Now in the congressman's defense...he is their dancing monkey. Bought and paid for ladies and gents by "Big Oil." Mr. Barton spelled it out perfectly, he wants things to go exactly how they did for the Exxon Valdez spill. Today, over twenty years later there is still litigation over that particular spill. Barton wants it all to go through the court system on a case by case basis...I CALL BULLSHIT!!! For one a company the size of BP can keep cases in court for years until the people suing them run out of money. Secondly the taxpayer would be paying for it as well, this would be completely unacceptable. I hope that the people of his congressional district take serious note of this and vote his ass out when the time comes.

Now also this week as mentioned above...the Jobs Bill. Here's a link for that story: http://blog.aflcio.org/2010/06/18/senate-republicans-kill-jobs-bill-block-jobless-aid/ Oh lord why do we elect such bastards? 250,000 unemployed workers a week are losing their unemployment insurance...do you grasp the gravity of that? And that's per week people! That is 250,000 American families, with those numbers in four weeks it equates roughly to one million American families. You think we're in a recession now?!? Let's see how things are when there are even more foreclosures, people won't be able to pay their bills because they have to feed their kids. This is not the America we were raised in...as I stated on the review's Facebook page when this article was first posted: This isn't a Democrat or Republican issue, it isn't even a Union issue...this is a Human issue. If you can sit up on Capitol Hill and look down on your fellow Americans and tell them their kids don't deserve to eat tonight, or to have a roof over their head...well my friend there's a special place in hell for you...

Been a While

It's been a while since my last entry and quite a bit has happened, oil is still spewing into the Gulf of Mexico (day 49), there is still tension over Arizona and it's new immigration law, and the toxic ultra bipartisanship still festers at the core of our great nation. There has always been a "us against them" sort of thing going on inside each party, but never really to this degree. Because at the end of the day each elected official realized that they had a job to do, and they represented their constituents whether they're Democrat or Republican. For every elected official out there that takes time out of their day to be an obstructionist solely to oppose the other side, I say this to you...DO YOUR FUCKING JOB!!!

They get paid for this shit? I say put them on an hourly wage like a large portion of the population (myself included) and when they aren't working on the job...they get docked! We have so many problems in this country and they're bickering over the details. There's also the politicians that speak out of both sides of their mouth. One moment there they are preaching small government, the next they're asking where the federal government was during the oil spill. Seriously!? Most intelligent people would see right through that as an opportunistic jab at the Obama administration...and they'd be right.

Now I believe in a strong military, it is essential. But again you have the people that say "Small Government" but "Big Military"...I wonder if they realize that the military is the government. And throughout the world and the history of man the single most used tool by kings, emperors, and dictators alike to oppress the people is...you guessed it, the military. I don't fear military oppression in our nation, our founding fathers saw it important to include checks and balances within our system of government so one branch cannot have more power than the other. Back to the point though, the Arizona Immigration law took effect and a lot of people were saying that protecting the borders should be left to the states themselves. Jan Brewer the governor of AZ said this many times...but then a couple of weeks ago she complained that they weren't getting enough federal support...she even asked for predator drones. Come on, don't scream States rights then in the same breath rail at the Feds for not giving enough support. And they get away with it...

People are very quick to harshly criticize President Obama, I think considering what he was left with, he's doing a good job. I do have my own criticisms though, I thought that the Healthcare bill should have had a public option available and that the Bank reform bill doesn't have the "teeth" it should have, but in both cases it is a start. I do feel that after the bank reform was passed the Employee Free Choice Act should have been put back on the table. That bill is so important to working families of this country, it should not be ignored any longer. Also the next job bill that comes through, how about we don't send a bunch of jobs over to China, when we can do them right here in America. Just Saying... What bothers me is as I stated before people criticizing the President for not doing more for the oil spill. What is he supposed to do? Placing blame on him is just idiotic, his administration didn't loosen safety restrictions on the industry and give them a free pass. But guess who's administration did???? Our nation was lead down the road to slaughter and was at the brink of economic collapse, and you're going to blame the guy that has to clean up the bloody mess...Priceless.

"The Plan"

So my wife and I were watching a dvr recording of the Colbert Report from two days ago and part of the show was dedicated to Glenn Beck and his ridiculous comparison of himself to Dr. Martin King Jr. Saying that Dr. King and himself were so alike in ideology...yeah, I threw up a little in my mouth too. Now for those of you that have never seen The Colbert Report, it's a satire of all the Glenn Becks and Bill O'Reillys out there, and is damn funny. But this last show...I wasn't laughing.

Apparently, Beck has "The Plan", he says that god is giving the plan to him...hmmm. Who else in history said that god or gods spoke to them, guided them and essentially consecrated them? Let's see, Caesar, The Pharaohs of Egypt, many dictators in history...and yes I'm going there...Adolf Hitler. Beck says he has a "100 year plan (for America) that will provide specific policies, principles and most importantly action steps that each of us can take to play a role in America's refounding." These words are direct from his website. First off, refounding? I think our nation doesn't need to be "refound", that isn't even a word...go ahead look it up in Merriam-Webster online...not there. Also I see 100 year plan and a certain phrase keeps going through my mind..."1000 year reich." More than likely this is a scheme for him to fleece more money from his brainwashed minions, but it doesn't hurt to keep an eye on this type of behavior.

But, the largest display of his arrogance is yet to come. On August 28th, 2010; Beck asked his followers to join him at the feet of Abraham Lincoln in Washington D.C. for the unveiling of..."The Plan." Think for a second, August 28th, Lincoln Memorial...yes he has the audacity to hold this spectacle on the same day and on the very ground where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech. I was absolutely infuriated! He dares to hold himself up with the great Dr. King, one of the most selfless human beings that ever walked this earth? His ideologies couldn't be any further from those of Dr. King's...yet people eat up Beck's bullshit by the spoonful. Again, more than likely this is just a ploy to pettle his poison to the masses. That still doesn't make it right...

Blood for Money

The greed of man knows no bounds, April was one of the bloodiest months that labor had seen for some time. Twenty nine miners dead at the Massey Upper Big Branch mine after an explosion on April 5th 2010. Eleven oil rig workers dead after the explosion on Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico on the night of April 20th 2010. Those are the two major accidents that have been on the front page of papers all over the country. Seven deaths were not on the national stage; one on April 19th the day before the Deepwater explosion, a worker was killed in a crane accident in Port Arthur, Texas. Six other deaths in an explosion and fire on April 2nd 2010, at a refinery in Washington State. The death count for April is forty seven... When will Industry prize the safety of others over production and profit?

One man personifies greed and corruption in our modern industrial times; his name...Don Blankenship. He is the face of the modern "fat cat", he cares not for working families, only about how much dirty money he can make for himself and his shareholders. In 2009, he was the highest paid executive in the Mining Industry, totaling 27.2 million. Massey is only the sixth largest mining company in the U.S., yet Blankenship is the highest paid executive industry wide...interesting. This man has a reputation for a resistance to spend money, production supersedes all safety measures in this man's eyes. He has been known to personally go into mines to coerce workers into abandoning Union organizing efforts. In 2005, Blankenship wrote a memo stating that coal production was more important than taking the time constructing support beams and ventilation shafts. In 2009, at an anti-union rally on Labor day of all days, Blankenship railed against federal and state authorities for trying to improve health and safety conditions in the mining industry. What kind of human being thinks like this???

He is a terrible excuse for a human being, in 2004 Blankenship created a tax-deductible group called "And for the Sake of the Kids" which ran ads against WV State Supreme Court Justice Warren McGraw. These ads attacked McGraw because he was part of a 3-2 majority in ruling to free a mentally disturbed child molester, who ended up working at a school. McGraw lost the election to a conservative that was sympathetic to Massey and big business. Blankenship did not create this group out of any moral obligation that's for sure. He wanted McGraw out because Judge McGraw sided with the workers, that is the reason why "And for the Sake of the Kids" was started. Don Blankenship doesn't give a rat's ass about the "kids", if he did safety would be top priority, and he would pay the people working in his mines better and would stop blocking Union organizing efforts.

Why is this man not charged with 29 counts of negligent homicide?!? His policies of skirting safety regulations for more production has destroyed 29 lives...29 families. Where is the workers' justice?!? If corporations have the same rights as individuals, then aren't their policy makers subject to the same punishments? Their blood is on his hands! If hell exists, there's a special place for Don Blankenship, one can only hope...

American Dream

Sometimes I think this country is so backwards, we preach the “American Dream”, yet so many are quick to disparage Unionism. Many of my generation don’t even know how the labor protections we have came to be, or why we have weekends and the eight hour day, etc. The answer is UNIONS! Where I grew up if you told some people that your dad was in a Union, they would sneer and respond in a derogatory tone “Union?” Yeah, I dealt with that kind of stuff all the time, and I’m sure many people reading this have had the same experience. These people would stare down their noses at you as if you were a thief and they weren’t always well to do people either. Pretty much the only argument against Organized Labor as it always had been is money; this is hollow and superficial reasoning. We don’t want the whole pie, just a slice, and to give our families a good life. So what’s wrong with that? Absolutely not a damn thing!

“It’s bad for business”, is a common phrase thrown around by some against the movement. The problem with that statement is that we have history on our side, and they don’t. Go back into American economic history and you will see that our nation’s economy was the strongest when Organized Labor was at the forefront. Also the past holds a very dark period in Labor, from child labor to men and women working sixteen to twenty grueling hours a day for a wage that could barely feed their families. The history books don’t really touch on that, it’s been swept under the rug. They also don’t talk about the atrocities that company thugs, militias, and even some police have committed toward men, women and children. Why was fighting for a better life punishable by death?

It seems to be in our country the thought process is that if you don’t go to college, you don’t deserve to make a living wage with benefits to provide for your family. Why? College isn’t for everyone and why should anyone be punished for that? As Union members, we are educated; in my Union (SMWIA) we serve a four and a half year apprenticeship. I’d bet money that our math skills are better than the average college graduate. We are not brutes, or second class citizens, we are proud of what we do for a living. We raise families, pay taxes, teach your children, bag your groceries, police your street, save your house from burning down, pick up your trash; take care of you when you’re sick, we built America. What we don’t have to do, is take anymore SHIT!

The American Crossroad

Yesterday I'm aimlessly walking the aisles of Costco, which I tend to do while my wife is off looking at produce or the book section. And I start to examine the products to find where they're manufactured. So it takes me two and a half aisles and dozens of products before I find one made in America, a Wahl Clipper set. My wife and I own one, they are superior to their Chinese counterparts produced by other companies. Now this begs the question, why do people buy inferior products that costs only slightly less than one made in America? Think about that question. Now for every dollar put out, we only get back roughly .61 cents, that's not good ladies and gents. Our economy is losing money every day, and most don't seem to notice....or care.

I've said this before, but I'm saying it again; we're at a crossroad in our history , things can change for the better for our nation, we just have to work together. I believe the first way to truly start in this endeavor, is to make people aware. I'm not saying plaster it up on a billboard or take out an ad in the paper. Have a conversation with a friend or relative, instill in your child the value of buying an American made product. It could also be a simple click of the mouse, you see an article on the subject, share it on Facebook, just get the word out. If everyone was aware, that would certainly be a step in the right direction.

Someone once said to me, "If we didn't send most of our manufacturing overseas, we would never be able to afford anything." That is a bold faced lie that big corporations have spread for decades. Yes, things would probably cost a little more, but if there are a large number of good paying manufacturing jobs with benefits, then people would be able to afford these products. And on top of that, when people make a higher wage, more money is taken out in taxes, which in turn is put into our own communities. For fixing roads and bridges, larger budgets for local Police and Fire Companies, public parks and recreation centers. This is something that a lot of people don't understand, if we make less money; that's less money for our community. So our town has busted roads, rusting and cracking bridges, our Police and Fire Departments have less than adequate equipment, and because the recreation center closed, the park turned into a haven for drug dealers and punk kids with nothing better to do than cause trouble. Awesome...

How do we fix this problem? How about giving tax breaks to companies that create or bring jobs back to the U.S., I don't think that's a bad idea. Impose tariffs on cheap imported goods to make them cost as much or more than American products. Give American companies a shot to compete in the market. Place more regulations on free trade agreements to make them fair trade agreements. The only ones who benefit from a free trade agreement are company executives with their multi-million dollar bonuses, and we all love hearing about those, right?

Right now, we have the largest economy in the world, but China is knocking on the door. If something is not done soon, we will be left behind. And we Americans hate not being number one! A strong working middle class is the foundation of a strong economy, period. I still believe that our nation is the greatest in the world, with a strong diverse, people that strive to make a better life. It's not too late.

Vote Lou Agre on May 18th!

Well, with the primary season in full swing, I decided to focus on a heated local race to my area (Philadelphia, Pa). This race is for the Democratic nomination for State Representative of the 194th District. Which covers the Manayunk-Roxborough neighborhoods along with Wissahickon, East Falls, Wynnefield Heights, and West Parkside in Philadelphia County. The District also includes Bala Cynwyd, Bellmont Hills, Lower Merion, Merion, and part of Merion Station in Montgomery County. So, on top of the fact that this is a very heated race with five candidates running for the same nomination, it's a very diverse district, with people from all walks of life. Just like the district is full of people from all walks of life, the candidates in the race are as well.

Now, I want to focus on one of the candidates though, Lou Agre. I met Lou for the first time about two weeks ago at his campaign office located at 6210 Ridge Avenue in Philadelphia. Prior to stopping in I did a bit research into the candidates and Lou is the only one that I felt really shared my views on the issues. After graduating from Cornell University with a degree in Industrial and Labor Relations and later Temple Law School, he began to help those who had no one to fight for them. Lou has been a constant advocate for working families throughout our country, from organizing textile mills in the south to running his own law practice protecting worker's rights. Currently Lou is and has been for several years now an Organizer and Legal counsel for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 542 here in the Philadelphia area, and continues to fight for working families.

Throughout all of this, Lou has been a champion of the Manayunk-Roxborough area, from helping in securing $800,000 in federal highway funds for streetscape projects, to most recently $20,000 dollars for the 21st Ward Athletic Association. Lou brings people together for the common good of the community. Lou has been on the 21st Ward Democratic Committee for many years, being elected Ward Leader 8 years ago. These are positions that are not paid positions within the party, Lou has taken countless hours of his own time to help his neighbors and the community at large.

After researching the candidates and concluding that Lou was getting my vote, I decided to stop up at the campaign office to get a yard sign to show my support. I'm certainly glad I did, it gave me a chance to meet Lou face to face and talk for a bit about the community and certain issues my neighbors and I were concerned about on our block. The meeting lasted a half hour to forty five minutes and Lou was happy to answer any question I had on my mind. I feel that Lou is one of those people who really care about his community and isn't running for himself, but for the good of the District.

These are many of the reasons why I'm voting for Lou Agre on May 18th, 2010, but I'm not the only one that knows he's the best man for the job. His endorsements say it all, most of the Labor Organizations in the city are backing him. Also, many prominent local leaders here in Philadelphia, Congressman Chaka Fattah, Congressman Bob Brady, Councilman Curtis Jones Jr, and District Attorney Seth Williams just to name a few. For more information about Lou Agre I recommend visiting his website at louagreforstaterep.com and you can see for yourself why Lou deserves your vote on May 18th.

Bank Reform Now!

Alright! Bank-o-rama Debate 2010 Begins!!! Here we go again, republicans screaming "big government" and "free market". Well, not all of them, I think that some do recognize that they walk a very slippery slope with this issue. If they take a hands off approach to Wall Street as some repubs have said, then they risk looking like they think business as usual (exorbitant bonuses and the like) is just fine in their book. Which in turn pisses off their constituents and they possibly don't get reelected. Now, this creates something very positive in my eyes, I don't think that there will be as much trouble passing this bill as with healthcare. Simple reasons, America is very unhappy with the banking industry right now, bail outs, bonuses, difficulty for business to procure the necessary loans needed to keep going. And with all of this, there are still people saying, "Whoah, slow down a minute, who better to police the industry than the industry itself!" Yes...because they've done such a great job prior to this. Give me a break!

One myth going around is that there is going to be a 50 Billion dollar fund created to bail out failing businesses. This is partially true, there is going to be a 50 Billion dollar fund, but it's not for bail outs...it is in fact going to be used to shut those businesses down, so not to burden the rest of the market. And by the way, it's being funded by the banks, not the taxpayer. Also, the myth of government is going to run American business. False again, by making it illegal to peddle unethical, dangerous investments is not controlling business, its making it safe for investors. So they don't have to fear if the brokerage firm they're with is giving them an above board investment or poison.

Every investment has some sort of risk that comes along with it, but when the firm you're a client of is purposely selling you something they know is going to fail...and to add insult to injury are betting against you at the same time. Damn, that's just messed up. I don't remember learning that in business ethics class. And what's wrong with giving shareholders more voting power in the companies that they buy stock in? I don't understand why you wouldn't want reform in this industry, no wait, yes I do! Good old fashioned American GREED! The attitude of "Screw em all, I got mine!" Yeah...I can't get on board with that.

Ludlow Massacre

I offer this piece taken from the United Mine Worker's website.

Ludlow Massacre

The date April 20, 1914 will forever be a day of infamy for American workers. On that day, 20 innocent men, women and children were killed in the Ludlow Massacre. The coal miners in Colorado and other western states had been trying to join the UMWA for many years. They were bitterly opposed by the coal operators, led by the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company. Upon striking, the miners and their families had been evicted from their company-owned houses and had set up a tent colony on public property. The massacre occurred in a carefully planned attack on the tent colony by Colorado militiamen, coal company guards, and thugs hired as private detectives and strike breakers. They shot and burned to death 20 people, including a dozen women and small children. Later investigations revealed that kerosene had intentionally been poured on the tents to set them ablaze. The miners had dug foxholes in the tents so the women and children could avoid the bullets that randomly were shot through the tent colony by company thugs. The women and children were found huddled together at the bottoms of their tents. The Baldwin Felts Detective Agency had been brought in to suppress the Colorado miners. They brought with them an armored car mounted with a machine gun-the Death Special-that roamed the area spraying bullets. The day of the massacre, the miners were celebrating Greek Easter. At 10:00 AM the militia ringed the camp and began firing into the tents upon a signal from the commander, Lt. Karl E. Lindenfelter. Not one of the perpetrators were ever punished, but scores of miners and their leaders were arrested and black-balled from the coal industry.--A monument erected by the United Mine Workers of America stands today in Ludlow, Colorado in remembrance of the brave and innocent souls who died for freedom and human dignity.

96 years have come and gone...may they rest in peace.

Stronger Working Class = A Strong Economy

To start off, I'm not an economist, nor have I ever claimed to be one. Right now in our history we are at a crossroad. There are people out there that will tell you the structure our economy has been running on for the last decade or so is just fine...I call Bullshit! Whatever you want to call it, be it trickle-down, supply-side, voodoo or the ever popular reaganomics, they are all the same thing. Giving to the wealthy, be it through tax breaks or incentives, allowing outsourcing, and deregulation to just name a few. The theory is that with all this extra or freed up capital wealthy individuals or businesses would reinvest by creating more jobs and opportunity. This has been proven time and time again that it just doesn't work. As my father used to say, "Trickle-down economics doesn't trickle down to us." What most people don't realize is that one of the ways the rich stay rich is by being incredibly cheap and stingy. So, if they get a huge tax break do you really think they're going to put it into a business? In most cases, no.

There is also another economic policy that has been practiced in this country traditionally known as "Laissez-faire", which translates into "Let it be". Meaning, let industry be free from government intervention of any kind. This is a "Hands-Off" system that has failed time and time again, most recently in 2008 with our economic meltdown, which we are still feeling today...at least I know I am. We can not trust that industry will do the right thing, ethics in business is dead. It is up to the american people and our government to become the stewards of our economy through regulation. Because, if it was up to "Big Business" we'd all be in chains, working 16 hour shifts, for pennies a day.

Now, there is another way of thinking, I'm not exactly sure what it is classified as, but I like to call it "common sense." Think of a house, for a house to be able to stand the test of time there must be a strong foundation, if you build your house on the sand, it will surely sink and fall. Our economy is like a house, the working class is its foundation, if you have a poorly treated and meagerly paid working class it is just like building your house on sand...the economy will sink and fall. If you look back in history, our economy is strongest when the working class has strong Union representation. When people make a higher wage they are more likely to buy back into our economy, meaning spend money on goods and services, hence creating a stronger economy. And the rich will still make lots and lots of money. This is one reason why The Employee Free Choice Act must pass.

There are other factors to consider as well, our manufacturing sector has been decimated by the hands-off policies and free trade agreements of the past. 2.4 million jobs lost to China since the year 2000, that is unacceptable. And some of it has to do with China lowering the worth of its currency, which makes our American goods very expensive and Chinese goods very cheap. Our government has been trying to convince the Chinese to stop this practice to make things fair again. I doubt China will change the way it does business. What may have to happen for things to balance out is the government should impose heavy tariffs on Chinese imports to equalize the pricing with american goods. There by making it a level playing field for American manufacturers to compete in the market. This could quite possibly create a boom for the american manufacturing industry, and we may get many of our jobs back that we lost.

Some people take the loss of our manufacturing sector way too lightly. There are the obvious effects of hurting working families and local economies. But, there is another very damaging effect of losing manufacturing in this country. Our country is becoming a nation of consumers, we buy this, we buy that...but what do we make? If we are ever caught in an economic blockade or embargo, we would be, for lack of a better term...FUCKED.

So, we're at a crossroad in our economic history. Do we keep running things as we have been, or do we choose to create something better for those we leave behind.

America's Toxic Political Landscape

Last night I made a certain immortal phrase my status on Facebook, "A House Divided Against itself Cannot Stand". A very well known quote from Abraham Lincoln in June of 1858, this speech propelled Lincoln into the national spotlight. When speaking these words he was referring to the nation divided on the issue of slavery. Slave states vs Free states, what to do with the new territories in the west...our nation was bitterly divided.

As the day wore on, those words kept finding me, I could not get them out of my mind. Right now, we as a nation are divided. Whichever side you hail from, if you don't see this, then perhaps you should go to the eye doctor for a check up. I myself am a Moderate, I feel any extreme can be dangerous. But, we the American people are so polarized right now and to a degree I blame our rapid transference of information. And I say "information" not knowledge, perhaps if it was a transference of knowledge we would all be in a better place. The fact is you have to wade through the muck to find the truth. But people don't want to do that.....they will just take any pundit's word for it. If I hear someone ranting and raving about some outlandish claim (from the right or the left), I will research it to see if it's true or not, I urge others to do so as well.

One of the most recent is that Healthcare reform is unconstitutional. When first hearing this, my first thought was, "I don't think it is". But, I wasn't sure, so I found a copy of the constitution with all attached articles and proceeded to study it.....and do you know what I found? Nothing that can repeal Healthcare Reform. So, I now have a constitution app for my iPod Touch that has the entire document and all articles. If someone tells me it's unconstitutional, I will hand them my iPod and say, "here, you show me where." Not trying to be a smart-ass, I just want to prove a point. If you are going to make a statement, you damn sure better be able to back it up if I'm around.

And either way you feel about the healthcare debate, I say let's see where this thing takes us, it might surprise many people out there. We need to all come back together and look at what has been said and done in the last three weeks. Spitting acid at each other isn't going to solve any of our countries problems. What has to happen in this country for us to throw away this toxic "ultra-partisanship"? I hope nothing too drastic....

And so it begins....

Well, this is my first ever blog......so here goes.....2:00am

I sit in a hotel room near our nation's capital and stare at the glowing monitor. I have my headphones on with the iPod set to shuffle so not to wake my wife's slumber. I'm not sure what this blog will contain, most likely politics and the state of our world as we all travel through.

I suppose I should start with what I know. I know that we live in one of the greatest countries in the world. I know that Americans are tough, hard working and always harness their ingenuity to tackle seemingly insurmountable odds. I know that if you're a worker, unions are the way to go, and something you will never regret.

You may ask how I'm so sure about the last statement, well I've been a union member for over seven years. Also my family has been in the Labor Movement for three generations. There have been tough and lean times, but we always came out on the other side ready to go to work, just like so many others. What pisses me off is when something goes wrong who is blamed....the Unions. Don't blame the men and women up in their ivory towers who mismanaged these companies, blame working people. Because the worker made these decisions that ran the company to the brink. And these people get rewarded with severance packages.....while working families receive a swift kick in the ass....

People act outraged about acts such as these, for about five minutes.....but then something else captures their attention. Why that scumbag Blankenship isn't in jail is beyond me....those worker's blood is on his hands!!! And we're outraged......and nothing happens, he is allowed to continue to mistreat the worker. The latest slap in the face is telling his workers that if they take time off to go to their friend's funerals, they will be fired...disgusting. And certain commentators ask, "Where were the unions during all this?" They asked the question, but what they didn't do is research the fact that the Union was forced out in 1982. If they were union, this more than likely wouldn't have happened and those men would still be alive.

I love this country, but our priorities are so skewed. So many refuse to fight for what is right and just. Yet if Conan O'Brien gets wronged, a Facebook group is formed and over a million people join it. And they have rallies over why it was wrong...Don't get me wrong I think it was a load of bull what happened to Conan, but the point is that people will rally and get behind something like this, but when it comes to what really matters. Most would rather put their blinders back on and continue to watch American Idol.

I suppose that's all for now....