Labor Front Honors Carrie Smith for Black History Month 2023

Labor Front would like to recognize Carrie Smith for 2023’s Black History Month.  When I first heard her name I thought she was an actress or singer.  She’s neither, she was a middle aged African American nut sheller who became a labor leader who in 1933, armed with a brick and a Bible lead 2,500 mostly black women on strike agains’t the R.E. Funsten Nut Company over horrible pay and working conditions.

At the time of the strike, Funsten Nut Company had sixteen plants around the St. Louis area and was the largest employer of black women in the city.  The black women were tasked with shelling 25 pound bags of pecan nuts and separating the nut meat from the shell, then the shells and nut meat were weighed to make sure no one was stealing. 

White women would separate the nuts by halves and pieces and were paid $3.00 per week while the black women were paid by the pound earning up to $2.00 per week. Not only was there a disparity in pay but the white women were allowed to come in fifteen minutes later and leave fifteen minutes before the black women. The women worked in poorly lit basements where the air was so dusty they opened the doors for ventilation even in the winter.  Their hands were cracked and full of cuts from the work and the dust caused chronic respiratory illness similar to the coal miners.

Carrie Smith and a few women met with known communist labor activist William Sentner and a joined the Food Workers Industrial Union where they started having monthly meetings.  It was at one of those meetings where Carrie Smith coined the phrase “10 and four” demanding ten cents per pound for pecan halves and four cents for pecan pieces.  The meetings began to gain in popularity with the workers and Carrie Smith became known as the “heart and soul of the strike”.  On April 24th a group of 12 women marched into Funsten’s office and made their demands; equal pay for all, 10 cents per pound for half nuts, four cents per pound for pieces and union recognition.  On May 13th, three weeks and no response from management Carrie Smith, holding a brick in one hand and a Bible in the other addressed the crowd and told them “girls, we can’t lose” and everyone in attendance voted to strike.  The next day the group met with management only to be rejected.

On May 15th the strike began when some women walked out of the Delmar plant and proceeded to march to plants located around the city urging the workers to join them.  While most black women joined the strike only a few white women left their jobs.  On the second day more white women joined the strike effectively shutting down all the Funsten plants.  A few days into the strike the Mayor of St. Louis met with the striking workers where Carrie Smith told the Mayor “We believe we are entitled to live as well as other folks live, and should be entitled to a wage that will provide us with ample food and clothing.”  The women’s meeting with the mayor provoked him to get involved and nine days after the strike began Funsten made a counter offer to the strikers.

On May 24th, Carrie Smith presented Funsten’s offer of eight cents for pecan halves and four cents for pecan pieces to the striking workers which while not the ten-four the strikers initially requested the raise doubled their current pay.  The offer was overwhelmingly accepted by the strikers.

The nutpickers success at Funsten sent shockwaves around the country.  A journalist for Working Women wrote “the strike should be followed in every section of the country against the slavery imposted on women” and that the women had “aroused the masses of St. Louis like no other strike in years” and had gained the “full sympathy and solidarity of the St. Louis working class…One would think the Negro women had been for years trained in the working class movement”.

All of this was made possible because Carrie Smith stepped up with her brick and Bible to lead these women to strike.  Carrie Smith’s name should be recognized as one of the great union activists and leaders of the 20th century.

Excerpts taken from Walter Johnson’s The Broken Heart of America and The Funsten Nut Strike by Myrna Fichtenbaum

Child Labor in the USA?

The consistent attacks on organized labor are paying huge dividends for corporations.  Corporate owned politicians are passing anti worker laws at the state and federal levels, then cut the budget of the Federal Department of Labor tasked with labor oversight.

Last month a KIA plant in Alabama was found to be using child labor. More children as young as 14 have been found working at Packers Sanitation Services Inc., (PSSI) in Nebraska.  According to the Regional Administrator for the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division child labor violations up are 50%.

“The resolution comes about a month after the Department of Labor accused the company of employing at least 31 children on graveyard shifts in slaughterhouses in three states, where they were tasked with cleaning the killing floors and various machines — including meat and bone cutting saws and a grinding machine — according to the complaint, which noted that several children began their shifts at the facilities at 11 p.m. and worked until 5, 6 or 7 a.m, with some working up to six or seven days a week. At least three chiildren suffered chemical burns as a result of working in the slaughterhouses, according to that complaint.”

It's no coincidence that Republicans are trying to raise the retirement age to collect Social Security and defund the IRS. On September 28th, 2018, Trump signed a “minibus” appropriations package that includes a 21% cut to the Department of Labor.  These cuts hamper the DOL’s ability to investigate and enforce the laws protecting workers from exploitation by the corporate masters that own our legislators.

Right to Strike!

The Supreme Court is currently hearing oral arguments on Glacier Northwest, Inc. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters.  After months of failed negotiations Teamsters Local 174 was forced to go on strike for a fair and equitable contract.

Glacier Northwest claims that when the Teamsters walked off the job in August, 2017 their actions ruined concrete that had been loaded on trucks and scheduled for delivery and the lost a contract worth $100,000.00.  In court documents filed by the union they claim that when the strike began at 7:00 am, 16 drivers returned their loaded trucks and left them running to allow management to deliver the loads.

Strikes are always a last resort but sometimes necessary to get stalled negotiations moving again.  Glacier Northwest had ample time to settle the contract had they bargained in good faith.  Their actions and failure to negotiate with the Teamsters led to the week long strike.

Depending on how the SCOTUS rules could have major ramifications on a union’s ability to strike for a fair and equitable contract.

This is a perfect example of what happens when union workers vote for anti worker politicians.   

CALL TO ACTION

The Economic Policy Institute has issued a call to action.  In an effort to save  money and shift the burden of paying taxes, skirt minimum wage and unemployment, , overtime and workmen’s compensation, employers have been reclassifying workers as “independent contractors”.  It is estimated that as many as 30% of employers misclassify their workers with some of the most misclassified workers being in construction, landscaping, home healthcare, housekeeping etc.

In an order to correct this the Department of Labor is attempting to update regulations and define whether a workers is an employee or an independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  The FLSA offers protections for employees that are not enjoyed by independent contractors.

Please make your voice heard by filling out the linked Action Network form.  It will be automatically emailed to the Department of Labor.

Dear Mr. President

12-02-2022

Dear Mr. President,

Please let me begin by telling you that I have been a fan of yours for many years and was a delegate for you and President Obama in deep red Missouri during the 2008 election.  I’m also a former union official and have been an activist for social and economic justice for as long as I can remember.  It was for those reasons that I knocked doors, phone banked and spoke for you and then Senator Obama here in Missouri.

President Biden, I have been a staunch supporter and ally of your administration through out your first two years in office and have blogged and engaged in numerous discussions about you and your commitment to organized labor and your support of working families.

I find myself very frustrated with your decision to support the intervention by the US Congress into the contractual dispute between the rail workers and their companies.  I recognize the impact that a strike would have on our nation’s already fragile economy and the problems it would create in the supply chain.  I also recognize how hard you have worked to slow inflation and end most supply chain issues.  You have done a tremendous job as president and I appreciate your hard work and dedication.

I understand that the Railroad Workers have been working under the terms of a contract that expired three years ago and that while they have received no pay increases the CEO’s have been paid over $200 million dollars over the same three year period and the companies have had stock buybacks of $200 billion dollars.  With wage disparity and stock buy backs like that it is no surprise that the companies have been hesitant to meet with the unions representing the workers.  Why would they?  Now you are forcing a contract that while it does offer some good benefits it neglects the one thing the members need most and that’s sick days.

Mr. President, in an effort to maximize their profits the railroad companies have cut their workforce by thousands, increased the car length per train and have cut back on investing in safety checks and preventive maintenance on their engines, cars, rails and switch yards.  All of this increases the workloads of their employees and more importantly their stress levels.  At Warren Buffet’s BNSF they have altered their attendance policy and created a situation where their workers have very little free time when not on call. Things have gotten so bad that 700 union members have quit their jobs.

Men and women are quitting career jobs that union members are quitting and you had the ability to lock management and the union leadership in a room and told them not to come out until they had a contract that was fair and equitable to everyone.  Instead you allowed, no, you encouraged the US Congress to step in and resolve the issue and in doing so you hurt the very people that helped get you elected and counted on you to have their backs.

I love ya Joe, and I hate to say it Chief, but you fumbled at the one yard line and as far as us union folks go that fumble cost us the game.

Glenn Kage Jr.

Labor Front

Railroad Strike!

No one denies the fact that a strike by the four unions representing the railroad workers would have a horrible impact on the economy of the United States.  In fact, a railroad strike would almost immediately idle more than three quarters of a million workers.

The US Congress is currently in discussion on imposing the agreement brokered by President Biden and his Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh.  The agreement was already voted down by the unions because it the agreement does not offer sick or personal days for the workers.

US Senator Bernie Sanders has vowed to block the bill unless it includes sick pay for the railroad workers and believes there is bi-partisan support for the plan.  “What we are fighting for, and I think we stand a reasonable chance to succeed, is too take the agreement the president and the Labor Secretary negotiated and add seven days of paid guaranteed leave to that.”

According to Senator Sanders the railroad industry has made $21 billion dollars in the first three quarters of 2022 and used those profits to buy back $25 million in stock buybacks and dividends all while paying their CEO’s more than ten million dollars.

These companies could not be profitable without their workers.  I encourage everyone to call their US Congressmen and Senators at (202) 224-3121 and encourage them to support the addition of strike pay to the agreement for the railroad workers. You can also call the White House at 202-456-1111 and leave a (respectful) message for President Biden.

Anti-worker Congress

By Glenn Kage Jr.

This is what 40% of union membership voted for when they vote republican.  They vote for politicians that are intent on serving their corporate masters by eliminating card check recognition, changing overtime laws, delay tactics for union recognition, FMLA etc.

I find this ironic because most of the time you republican voting "union" members are the first to whine about how weak unions have become.  YOU put politicians in place that do everything in their power to limit the impact your union has on your workplace.  YOU did this.  Thankfully, the Democrats held the Senate and President Biden will veto any anti labor legislation that may get to his desk.

Brothers and sisters, we have the ability to take the power away from these corporate shills if we vote for worker friendly politicians.

"The “anti-PRO Act.” Slow-walking union recognition elections. No card check. Comp time instead of overtime. Convoluted requirements bosses can impose on workers seeking paid family and medical leave. And partisan investigations, especially of Biden-named NLRB members Gwynne Wilcox and David Prouty, coming out of our ears.

Welcome to the forecast, leaked from the self-proclaimed leading “union avoidance” law firm, a.k.a. union-buster, Littler Mendelson, plus other sources, of what the House Republican-run Education and Labor—whoops, Education and the Workforce—Committee will try to impose on workers and their allies in the upcoming 118th Congress."

Henry Ford and the 40 Hour Work Week

By Nicholas Livick

Henry Ford was a jack-ass opportunist. Here's an article I wrote in 2019, it's worth noting, In 1914, Henry Ford announced a minimum five dollar salary for all elegible employees working eight-hour days.

So yes, everyone boo this man

We're not taught real labor history in school. We're taught the pro-business history where boss man is always the good guy, Henry was anything but.

"I could not possibly do the same thing day in and day out but to other minds, perhaps, I might say to the majority of minds, repetitive operations hold no terrors. In fact, to some minds thought is absolutely appalling. The average worker, I'm sorry to say, wants a job where they don't have to think."--Henry Ford

So why Did Ford offer the 5 dollar day?

Turn over rate was high and costly. Turnover rate at Ford was 370% in the 1913s, each day averaging 10.5% by 1928 5% quit every month.

Why was turnover high? Jobs were readily available, work was brutal, management was horrible.

Management was oppressive and had contempt for its workforce. Ford management described their workers as 'animate machines' who were trained to do their work like a 'marvelous engine'. Or as a 10 year veteran remarked, 'workers cease to be human beings the moment they enter the gates of the shop. They become automatons and cease to think. They move their arms spontaneously too and fro stopping only long enough to eat in order to keep the human machine in working order for the next 4 hours of exploitation. Many healthy workers have gone to work for Fords and have come out human wrecks.' An author of the time after visiting a plant published a 1929 essay and said, 'no where in the world did men seem so automatized, submissive and monotonous.'

1914 Ford annouced his 5 dollar a day.

The new wage structure consisted of two parts: every worker continue to get their base pay and if they qualified for 'profitsharing', as Ford called it, their wage would rise to 5 dollars.

From a pro business view it was great! Ford got his pick of the workforce, absenteeism dropped and Ford cranked out more cars per dollar paid than any other automaker.

Now for the part they dont want you to know:

In 1914 Ford also created the Sociological Department staffed with 150 investigators who's job was to investigate workers to see if their lifestyles would qualify them for the 5 dollar day. They would call on workers and spouses in the home to come and inspect and photograph their homes and their contents. The investigators were looking for answers to a long list of questions including: martial status, nationality, religion, citizenship, home ownership, health, recreation, debt and savings. A Ford worker remarked, 'It was kind of a funny idea in a free state.

But how exactly did workers qualify for Fords 'profit sharing'?(5 dollar day)

Just some of the asinine requirements:

Ford required a min age of 21 years as well as a 6 month residency in Detroit FOLLOWED by an additional 6 months of probationary period in the plant.

Young men were warned they would not be able to spend their new found riches on 'riotous living', whatever that vague statement might mean.

Female workers and office workers were EXCLUDED. After 2 years they were included.

It was entirely possible to still work side by side on the same job and earn different wages due to a Formans favoritism.

Ford workers could not rent out a room to another man in their home, a common process at the time, because Ford saw it as detrimental to Marriage.

Ford workers were also disqualified for the wage on grounds of harmful habits such as: excessive drinking, gambling or any malicious practice derogatory to good physical manhood or moral character.

Fords Sociological Department also distributed booklets with titles like 'Helpful tips and advice to employees' that urged cleanliness, raising of vegetable gardens, proper care and rearing of children, thrift, crude in spending and purchase of life and fire insurance.

A worker who failed to meet Fords standards was given 6 months to come into compliance or they were fired.

Management became disillusioned with the results and abandoned the program after a few years and turned to coercive action.

This is where Fords Service Department comes into existence in the 1920s. The service department was a private army thinly disguised as a plant protection force. They enforced an oppressive set of plant rules. Employees were kept under constant surveillance, bathrooms were checked to prevent people from lingering, no smoking was permitted, employees were forbidden to sit in the plant and they couldn't talk on the job about matters that didn't pertain to work. Ford workers had to master the art of ventriloquism to talk to each other at work.

This oppressive, terrible, demeaning work environment was only removed after the UAW came into existence and successfully unionized Ford.

Yes, Ford created the 5 hour day and Capitalism and Competition allowed him to exploit and submit his workers to a humiliating process that combed through every aspect of their personal life. Leading to an even more oppressive regime called the Service Department.

Our union came in and said: workers deserve dignity, respect and rights in the workplace. Workers deserve a decent wage with decent benefits and paid time off. They deserve to have seniority rights so management couldn't play favorites any more. Then they set out to build the middle class of this nation fighting for workers rights everywhere and raising the wages for millions of people across this nation.

Capitalism and Competition didn't do that.

The UAW and unions did.

Vote November 8th!

On November 8th, the voters will head to the polls to vote in the midterm elections where their vote will decide who will control the US Congress and Senate.  This election could determine the future of organized labor not just in Missouri but nationwide as well. 

The disconnect of Missouri politics was never more evident than when on November 6th, 2018, 67% of Missouri voters once again defeated Proposition “A” (Right to Work) at the ballot box overriding the will of the republican super majority in the Missouri House and Senate and performed a citizen’s veto of then Republican Governor Greiten’s signature legislation.  Undeterred by the landslide loss in December of 2018, Senate-elect Eric Burleson of Springfield then pre-filed Right to Work legislation in the Missouri legislature to override the people’s vote proving the republicans do not care about the will of the people.  Candidate for Missouri US Senate Attorney General Eric Schmitt and the rest of the republican party supported Right to Work, ignoring the will of the people and the welfare of their families. 

In the 2022 midterms, Pro-labor democratic candidates from all over Missouri are running for office.  These candidates not only support working men and women and their right to collectively bargain for better wages and benefits but oppose union busting legislation like Right to Work.  The republicans want to eliminate unions and will continue pushing legislation that will weaken unions and their ability to organize workers and bargain for good contracts. 

The roots of organized labor are buried deep in social movements where we recognize that while a rising tide floats all boats not everyone has a boat.  In the richest nation in the world where corporate profits are skyrocketing there are working men and women who struggle every day to make ends meet.  Infant mortality has been on the rise and life expectancy and quality of life for older folks is declining.  Tax cuts always benefit the wealthy and safety nets for the poor and the elderly are always on the chopping block. 

On November 8th vote for labor friendly candidates to protect your jobs and wages, improve your quality of life, and support your families.

Thoughts on Labor Day

When you ask people what the most prosperous time in our country was, they typically say the 50’s or 60’s.  In the 50’s and 60’s more than 30% of our nation’s workers belonged to unions, corporate taxes were 91% for those with incomes over $200,000, the US enjoyed a trade surplus and the economy was humming.

Our economy was strongest when General Motors was the number one private employer, not it’s either Walmart or Amazon.  When you take all those $60,000 per year auto assembler jobs out of the economy and replace them with $20,000 per year Walmart/Amazon jobs you lose $40,000 in economic stimulus and income taxes.  People earn less and buy less and the lost revenues from income taxes affects our school districts, infrastructure, first responders etc. 

Today only 10% of the nation’s workers belong to unions, good manufacturing jobs have been outsourced, forcing American workers to compete with third world nation’s paying pennies per hour, many of whom employ children and ignore the environment, trade deficits are soaring and corporate profits are at near all-time highs.  

If we want a strong economy, we need to go back to a nation that builds things again.  We need labor laws that protect a workers’ right to organize.  We need to elect politicians that understand and respect the role labor unions play in our economy and write and support laws that protect all workers.  

Folks the best way to celebrate Labor Day is to remember

Buy American or BYE America!

SOLIDARITY

The word SOLIDARITY means different things to different people and changes with an individual’s allegiances.  Merriam-Webster defines solidarity as “unity (as a group or class) that produces or is based on community of interests, objectives, and standards.”

Solidarity is just a word, a word we all know and sometimes use ourselves.  But words without actions mean nothing.  We all have witnessed first hand how some candidates for office use solidarity on their campaign literature or in some cases as part of their campaign slogan while at the same time spreading negativity and disinformation on social media or passing out “shit” sheets on the plant floor.  

I find it ironic that corporations always have money to hire union busting firms when their employees attempt to join or form a union.  Yet, they never have money when the same employees ask for a raise or better benefits.  America’s workers appear to finally have had enough and the union movement expanding throughout the United States and it’s doing it in the face of increased union busting programs instilled by corporations.

In 1937 then U.S. Senator Harry S. Truman made a speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate and talked about how wealth has been built on the backs of workers.  I took this paragraph from his speech; “It is a pity that Wall Street, with it’s ability to control all the wealth of the nation and to hire the best law brains in the country, has no produced some statesmen, some men who could see the dangers of bigness and the concentration of the control wealth.  Instead of working to meet the situation, they are still employing the best law brains to serve greed and self-interest.  People can only stand so much and one of these days there will be a settlement….”

Brothers and sisters if ever there was a time for true “solidarity” it’s now.  Now when the younger generations are embracing the labor movement and breaking new ground in organizing.   

Suppression of Health Care Workers Rights

Frustrated with being overworked and underpaid, seven nurses at nonprofit healthcare provider ThedaCare, who has medical care facilities in northeast and central Wisconsin accepted positions at competitor Ascension Wisconsin. Instead of offering better pay and a more compatible work/life balance ThedaCare filed sued to prevent them from leaving.  

This brings up a few questionsWhat benefit is it to have underpaid and unhappy employees?  Why is it wrong for workers to capitalize on their skills?  Why would ThedaCare spend money on legal processes that prevent their workers from moving than offering a better wage and benefit package? 

The healthcare crisis created by the pandemic is no excuse to abuse workers or their rights. I guess “freedom to choose” only counts when the choice is to join a union not seek employment elsewhere.  

“We understand and respect that people have choices in the current highly competitive job market. The decision by Ascension Wisconsin to hire away such a significant portion of ThedaCare’s interventional radiology specialty support team all at once, and at the height of a pandemic surge, will disrupt access to critical care for the people in our region. While we have tried to work with Ascension Wisconsin for additional time to execute a plan for staffing coverage that will provide the longterm continuation of services that support trauma, stroke and other essential areas of care, Ascension Wisconsin was unwilling to collaborate with us. We are essentially asking the Court to grant the injunction to maintain the status quo until ThedaCare can hire replacement staff for this vital department in order to protect access to the critical care services supported by the team, which are considered community assets.”

https://www.wearegreenbay.com/news/local-news/thedacare-files-lawsuit-to-keep-employees-from-leaving-for-ascension/

Union Greed? Nope

I can’t count how many times I have heard that union greed is why we have lost so many auto manufacturing jobs and that is the reason plants were outsourced? I was having a conversation with a friend and he pointed to the high labor costs as the key factor.  He was shocked to learn that the labor costs to assemble a vehicle in the US is actually a very small part of the total cost of the vehicle.  It’s true, the average labor cost to assemble a vehicle is actually less today than it was pre bankruptcy.  

The UAW has always worked to keep the labor costs below 10% and it typically hovered around 7% to 8% of the total cost of the vehicle.  The same 7% to 8% when the Big Three was making record profits in the early 1990’s as it was when GM and Chrysler went into bankruptcy in the late 2000’s. Due to major concessions by the UAW the labor cost per vehicle post bankruptcy was around 2.5% and even after the 2019 UAW/GM 40 day strike the cost is still under 5%.  

Let me explain, the average auto assembler’s salary plus fringe benefits is approximately $60 per hour (including legacy costs).  Depending on the size of the vehicle some estimates are that it takes an average of approximately 15 to 30 hours to assemble a vehicle.  So, assuming these numbers are correct, and going with the highest estimate of 30 hours, the total hourly costs times hours to build would be $1,800.00. Granted labor is not the only costs, there is research and development, materials, building overhead, equipment etc.  

I found myself wondering what the impact of union wages were a generation ago and how it affected the profitability of GM, so I googled ‘GM profits in the 60’s’ and ran across an article from the NY Times in 1964.  According to the article in 1963 General Motors earned more than $1.5 billion on record sales, employment and dividend payouts. Which, at the time was more money than had ever been earned by any corporation in the USA.  

In 1963 General Motors accounted for 53.7% of new car sales which was nearly double Ford at 26.3% followed by Chrysler’s 13.1, American Motors Corporation at 5.6 and lastly Studebakers 0.9%.  Foreign cars were not even mentioned.  It wasn’t until the 70’s and 80’s that new foreign cars sales started having an impact on sales of the Big 3.  

The bottom line?  Outsourcing has nothing to do with paying union wages and all to do with corporate greed.  

Tax Cuts vs Build Back Better Act

Were the effects of the Trump tax cuts noticeable in your state?  Did you see an insurgence in new construction of factories, office buildings etc?  Did your unemployment numbers go down?

What effect did the tax cuts help you personally?  Did you notice an increase on your pay check?  Did you get more of your taxes back in the form of refunds at the end of the year?  Were you able to deduct more things than before?

How did the US Congressmen and Senators from your state vote on the Trump tax cuts?  According to data 70% of the tax cuts went to the top 1% of tax payers while the tax cuts for the working class expires in 2025.  

The Build Back Better Act which was passed this week will invest over one trillion dollars in a wide variety of projects including roads, bridges, electric grids, clean water and the list goes on.  All of these projects will benefit every state in the union.  

How did the US Congressmen and Senators from your state vote on the Build Back Better Act?  I’m curious to know why one political party never has a problem voting for tax cuts for the wealthy but seems to struggle when it comes to voting for investing in things like the Build Back Better Act which will put money back into the economy?

Republican spending vs Democratic spending

Let me start by saying, I’m not an economist but I’m having a hard time understanding why it seems that tax cuts for the wealthy seem to sail through the political process and spending for infrastructure always hits roadblocks. 

Ronald Reagan increased spending when he promised that his tax cuts would pay for themselves and the benefits of those tax cuts would “trickle down” to “we the people”.  It wasn’t true then and four decades later we know that tax cuts for the wealthy do not pay for themselves.  That hasn’t stopped republicans from increasing the debt by pushing for more tax cuts for the wealthy.

Democrats are proposing to spend trillions on an infrastructure plan that would upgrade many of our nation’s crumbling roads, bridges, electric grids, etc. Studies have proven that money invested into infrastructure over the last 25 years have a return on public investment between 15 and 45 percent and creates good paying jobs.

I look at it like this; republicans giving tax breaks to wealthy is like borrowing money to gamble with in the hopes of getting a return for their tax cuts.  Democrats want to borrow money to invest in the nation’s infrastructure, similar to investing into your home.  Not only does it provide jobs for someone but it also increases the property value.  

Pass the infrastructure bill now, create thousands of jobs and increase America’s value. 

Stop the Voter Suppression!

I have ran for numerous offices both public and union and I’ve won some and lost some.  I considered every election to be a job interview of sorts.  When I ran for school board I met with parents of students and heard their issues, thoughts, and ideas about the school district and how it could be better.  When I ran for Crawford County Clerk I met with hundreds of voters and listened to their concerns about the job I was “applying” for and discussed my ideas for the job.  Running for office in the union was no different.  I met with members and discussed their concerns and my ideas on how to make things better for our members.  In every election there were some spirited conversations with potential voters.  That’s how job interviews go! 

I wonder how many elections I could have won if I rigged the system so the only people that could vote were supporters of mine? Even though I would be elected to represent every member or citizen of my district or county.  Or if I made it so that voters that were not likely to support me, had to wait for hours in lines regardless of the weather?  As a white voter in rural Missouri, it has never taken me more than twenty minutes to vote.  Over the last few decades polling places in poorer neighborhoods have been cut back or eliminated creating longer lines and making it harder for poorer people to vote.  Some voters must choose between being late for or missing work just to exercise their constitutionally protected right to vote. 

On February 26th, 1869 the United States Congress passed the 15th Amendment which under Section 1 clearly states “The right of the citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged b the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”

It should never take anyone any longer to vote than anyone else.  Regardless of race, color or previous condition of servitude…this my friends is “VOTER SUPPRESSION” AND is an abridgement of the Constitution.

Section 2 states “The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”  The U.S. Constitution clearly grants the Congress the authority to enforce Section 1 by “appropriate legislation”. 

The right to vote is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and any suppression for legal voters should never be allowed.  Congress needs to step up and stop the games being played by the states passing legislation to suppress the vote. 

If that’s the only way they can win?  They shouldn’t be running.  Period!

American Made Union Made Spotlight

In August 2019, I purchased an American/Union made pair of Carolina boots from Hampton Shoe. I wear these boots every day at work and walk five to six miles per day and could not be happier with them! They are durable, stylish, and most importantly comfortable! My boots were proudly made by the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776 KS (Keystone State) in Martinsburg, Pennsylvania.  

I wanted to learn more about Carolina Boots, so I called UFCW Local 1776 and shortly after I received a call from their North-Central Director Chris Snyder.  Chris was very helpful and even took time out of his very busy schedule to talk to then send me a short bio about Local 1776. UFCW Local 1776 is the largest private sector union in Pennsylvania representing more than 25,000 workers, two hundred workers employed by the Cove Shoe Company in Martinsburg where they assemble a variety of world class, high quality boots for Matterheron, Double-H, Carolina, and Chippewa boots.  They also have contracts with the United States Department of Defense where they proudly make boots for our men and women in the military!  The UFCW Local 1776 logo is proudly displayed on their American made UNION made boots. 

UFCW Local 1776 not only represents boot makers but they also represent workers at grocery chains Giant Eagle, Acme, Ship Rite, Tops Friendly Markets and Kroger.  They also represent workers at Hershey Company where they make Kit Kats, Cadbury and Hershey’s Cookies ‘n Crème, Citterio USA (Italian Specialty Meats, Wise Potato Chips, Cargill Meat Solutions, JBS Souderton Beef, Knouse Lucky Leave and Musselman’s Juice, pie fillings and applesauce, Hanover beans and Vegetables, Mission foods and Empire Kosher poultry.  Which means there’s a very good chance that you support our brothers and sisters at UFCW Local 1776!

It is my hopes that this will be my first American made Union made spotlight.  I think it’s very important to support our brothers and sisters in other unions and I intend to use this website to spotlight a product each month.  Brothers and sisters if we don’t support each other we won’t survive.  Remember…Buy American or BYE America!

Support the PRO ACT!

I have been saying it for years and still believe that I my statement is correct.  There are distinct differences between the republicans and democrats.  Sometimes the differences may not be as much as we want but there are most certainly differences.  A fair example of where some democrats (not all but some) are too closely aligned with the republicans in the U.S. Senate is on the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (Pro Act).  Currently the bill has 47 sponsors with 3 democrats holding the legislation up in the Senate. 

The PRO Act will not only level the playing field for workers attempting to join a union, but it will also protect the employees that educate their co-workers on the benefits of joining a union from being disciplined.  For far too many years corporate America has enjoyed an unfair advantage over unions and spend approximately $500 million per year on union busting firms.  It will come as no surprise to anyone reading this that the same corporations donate tens of thousands of dollars to politicians to sway their votes.  Apparently, their money is having an affect on Senators John Kelly, Kirstin Sinema (AZ) and Mark Warner (VA).  help give working Americans a voice in their workplace.

Call today and ask them help give working Americans a voice in their workplace by supporting the Pro Act! 866-832-1560

Cancel Culture

I’m old, I’ve been around for a long time and thought I had heard and seen almost everything.  It seems I’m not as up to speed on things as I thought I was or at least on modern slang.  Cancel Culture…it’s a thing…really?  Merriam-Webster defines cancel culture as “the practice or tendency of engaging in mass canceling as a way of expressing disapproval and exerting social pressure.”  Ironically it seems I hear those on the right constantly talking about cancel culture. 

“Mass cancelling”.  In 2018 the citizens of Missouri exercised a “citizen’s veto” via Proposition A to override legislation passed and signed by the republicans in Jefferson City by a whopping 62% to 38% margin which would have made Missouri a Right to Work state.  The citizens also passed Clean Missouri which would have eliminated gerrymandering, influence of lobbyist and a handful of other issues to clean up Missouri politics.  That was the “will of the people”.  Since then, the republican legislators have cancelled the will of the people and are once again supporting Right to Work and have cancelled Clean Missouri. 

Nationally we have seen the republicans cancel President Obama’s appointment to the US Supreme Court only to support President Trump’s appointment in an election year.  On January 6th we witnessed a few thousand domestic terrorists storm the US Capitol in an attempt to cancel the election.  We have watched Corporations like Amazon cancel the rights of workers to meet with union organizers to hear what the union could offer their employees. 

I guess beauty like cancel culture is in the eye of the beholder. 

Stand With Amazon Workers!

The workers of Amazon have started voting in their quest to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, (RWDSU) affiliated with the United Food and Commercial Workers union.  Jeff Bezos and Amazon have pulled all stops to coerce their employees to vote against joining the union going so far as to pay Russel Brown head of the union busting firm RWP Labor $3,200 per day plus expenses for his anti-worker skills in preventing the workers to join a union.  Not only is Russel Brown head of a union busting firm, but he also heads up the Center for Independent Employees, a nonprofit 501 C 3 company whose mission statement reads; “The mission of the Center for Independent Employees (CIE) is to provide free legal aid to employees who oppose unions in their workplace.  CIE is the only organization whose legal team works on the ground alongside America’s independent employees.”  Union busting is big business!

Amazon and their union busters have taken extreme measures to intimidate their employees and smear the union.  After the union had gotten the required 1,800 signature cards from Amazon employees, Amazon hired thousands more to water down the vote.  The NLRB forced the union to collect more signatures…they did.  Amazon fought to delate the vote and opposed the union’s demands for mail in voting but due to the pandemic the NLRB rejected Amazon’s appeal.  When union supporters stood at the warehouse gates and pro-union workers began pushing for a “yes” vote on the shop floor they hired union busting consultants from notoriously anti-union Morgan Lewis and paid them more than $3,200 per day plus expenses to come up with a plan to thwart the union’s efforts.

While Amazon did everything they could to delay and prevent the union from meeting with employees they were in a huge rush to get them to vote.  When voting began on March 1st, Amazon encouraged workers to vote as fast as possible to avoid hearing the union’s proposals.  Amazon even went so far as to utilize their employee notification text message system to rush the workers to the poll, put up huge “VOTE” signs throughout the plant and bought billboards along the highway to the warehouse.  All to prevent the workers from hearing about the benefits the union would provide.

The anti-union push didn’t stop there, Amazon put out anti-union propaganda in breakrooms and even went so far as to plaster their anti-union notices in the stalls in the bathrooms.  They forced workers to attend anti-union meetings where they not only railed against the union but spread lies and misinformation to the workers.  Amazon even used their political clout to get the city of Bessemer to change the traffic light patters in front of the warehouse to give union organizers less time to talk to the workers coming to and from their shifts at the red light.

According to a study by the Economic Policy Institute 40% of all union organizing drives result in charges being filed against employers for violating laws that include threatening, firing, disciplining, or retaliating against workers that try to form a union.  The report cites DOL documentation that shows companies spending more than $340 million dollars per year on anti-union activities and prevent their workers from joining unions. 

Regardless of how the vote at Amazon goes, the unions will not give up.  We owe it to the generation that came before us, spilled blood, and lost life for the benefits we have to day to fight on.  We also owe it to the next generation to continue fighting for better and safe working conditions, pay and benefits. 

In the immortal words of Mother Jones…” Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living.”