September 02, 2019 By: Juanita Jean Herownself Category: Uncategorized
Welcome to The World's Most Dangerous Beauty Salon, Inc.
My name is Susan DuQuesnay Bankston. I live in Richmond, Texas, in the heart of Tom DeLay's old district. It's nuttier than squirrel poop here.
I am honored and privileged to know Miss Juanita Jean Herownself, hairdresser extraordinary and political maven. Since she does not have time to fiddle with this internet stuff, I type her website for her and you can read it if you want to. If you don't, she truly does not give a big bear's butt.
A lot of what I post here has to do with local politics, but you probably have the same folks in your local government.
This ain't a blog. Blogs are way too trendy for me. This is a professional political organization.
I went diving off the Conception a dozen or more times back in the 80’s so it wasn’t a new boat. Then it was a well thought of/run diving/boating operation. We never considered being trapped below deck by fire.
1Unions made the middle class by fighting for a living wage for the workers. Of course, the owners of the companies want to hire non-union because they can pay less and who cares if the worker earns enough to feed and house his/her family? After all, the owner is doing well enough!
I support unions.
2I do. Belonged to three unions, helped me enjoy a reasonably comfortable [partial] career and retirement. The UAW [Local 600- Rouge], UMW, CWA.
3Obama could have done a lot more for unions, WJC too, we’ll never know with HRC. It’s beyond obvious what every damned Rethug does visavis unions and anyone working.
I am also a 100% union supporter. I would have had to raise my kids on low (aka women’s) wages if I hadn’t ended up in a solid union (IBU and MM&P in Alaska) that gave me a decent way to support my family. As it was, I didn’t have that benefit in their early years, and I was pretty grateful when I did.
4I celebrated my creaky old self by completing the dying project and mowing a half acre of lawn. Yahoo Labor Day! And tomorrow I go back to work!
5I was lucky enough to be in the first teacher’s strike in Pittsburgh, Pa. We were striking for the right to unionize.
6We won that right and went right out on strike for improved class sizes, healthcare and decent salaries. Things started to improve for students and teachers. Yeah unions!
When the unions decided to follow the jimmy Hoffa model of I got mine who cares about you they became nothing more then another player in the corporate sweepstakes.
7The Walter Ruether model of the unions as a pillar of the community fighting not just for better wages for a select few but for the improvement of all citizens would have been a formula for healthier unions and communities.
Labor made its greatest successes and membership when they made themselves part of the community and fought for the community.
When they became nothing more then another “power” player they cut their own throat.
When teamsters endorsed tricky dick in exchange for a hoffa pardon and a foothold in despoiling the north with pipelines they sacrificed any right to claim support from the community.
Or the construction unions joyous participation as the “muscle” in hippy bashing and continued resistence against minorities and women.
Or when Washington state employees unions would not support the push for state wide universal health care programs (late 1990’s early 2000’s) for fear that it “might” cut some of their benefits they lost support. ( a SEIU supported initiative)
When construction unions come out against environmental laws and building codes for fear that it would cut into construction jobs they lost support.
At one time in Wa. state it was proposed that state inspectors be cross trained and authorized to inspect not just for workers abuse and illegal hiring but also for environmental issues it was quickly shot down by construction unions including the teamsters. Well that cost them support in the progressive communities.
Not to mention the police unions protecting murderers and criminals in blue rather then supporting the citizens cost the entire union movement support in minority communities.
So cheers for UAW, SEIU and others who have tried to stay close to their roots as part of a healthy body politic and thumbs down on police unions, teamsters and construction unions whose only concern is grabbing as much as they can irregardless of the damage it does to others and the environment.
In general I support Unions.
Like large organizations of all sorts, large Unions become hide bound and self-serving, intent on protecting their own existence and less intent on protecting those to whom they owe their existence.
But historically, the things that make working for another suck less, overtime pay, mostly work-free week-ends, the end of child labor, employer sponsored health insurance, safer working conditions, retirement bennies, etc came because Unions saw a need and worked toward a solution for their membership.
Larger Texas cities have CLEAT, FoP, and maybe one or two other unions representing them. Smaller city department representation is non-existent. I suspect a strong police union would help all officers, whether they wished to stay with one department for a career or wanted to move from smaller to larger departments while living a career.
8@Micr # 8
May I add a some edit to your post
Your words in quotes and 3 dot abbreviations
“I suspect a strong police union would help all officers, whether” they committed theft, murder, rape or any other arbitary abuse of citizens.
Look at cases in New York, Baltimore, Fergusen and other locales where police unions ( by any other name) protect criminals wearing the blue no matter what the crime.
9That behavior besmirches all unions and weakens any Unions appeal to minority voters since they see a “union” protecting those who abuse them.