As I See It
An occasional opinion piece by an Officer of the Georgia AFL-CIO or guest author
Opinions on this page are individual and not necessarily the opinions or position of the Georgia AFL-CIO
Updated: Friday April 11, 2008
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Posted February 27, 2008
Country singer George Jones addresses the loss of many great Country singers with the question, ““Who’s Gonna Fill Those Shoes?” In just one week in February Georgia Labor lost two of its most vocal and active warriors for workers, Brother James Orange and Brother Herb Butler. At the services for these champions of working Georgians and their families that refrain was on almost everyone’s mind and lips;
I have not been able to get that song or that question off my mind. By writing this maybe I can do so.
So, who is going to fill their shoes? Will it be you or someone we have yet to know and recognize? That is not as important as it is to know that those shoes will not be filled; no one can. But that does not mean we shouldn’t try. These Brothers were unique individuals with unique characteristics as we all are. I am sure that the part of the reason for James’s and Herb’s success is that they were trying to fill their own hero’s shoes.
Today’s generation of Country music fans would be hard pressed to name more than one of the singers that George Jones sings about but they can name many great singers of today.
The best way I know to honor our great warriors and to attempt to fill their shoes is to follow the path they created and to attempt to avoid any missteps they may have made; by doing so you honor their life and legacy. Then with hard work and luck when you have left some one with a tear in their eye and sorrow in their heart will ask, Who's gonna give their heart and soul to get to me and you; Lord I wonder, who's gonna fill their shoes’
As one of the speakers at Brother Orange’s Home Going Service stated, “…all it takes To be great is to be in the right place at the right time and do the right thing”.
Posted February 7, 2008
Tariffs Uphold the
Constitution:
Article 1, section 8 paragraph 3; “It is the duty of Congress to regulate
trade with foreign nations and between the states”
The primary, if not the only purpose of government is to protect the people,
not just in macro terms but as individuals. A factory worker in Detroit or
Philadelphia is no less entitled to protection against economic assault by
foreign aggressors than is an American citizen who may be taken hostage because
he went to a foreign country. When our government imposes tax and regulatory
cost burdens on American firms and their working people, it has a Constitutional
and moral responsibility to protect them against any producer, foreign or
domestic, who is not required to abide by the same laws and their cost
consequences.
The failure of U.S. federal officials to fulfill their oath of office to
uphold these Constitutional principals has caused unimaginable injury to
millions of innocent individual men, women and children, through job loss,
income, homes, families, health, life savings and even their lives; and an
immoral legacy of debt for our children and their children. The Constitution
says nothing about “Free Trade” but it does say a lot about protecting its
citizens, especially those who honor our laws and contribute to building a
better nation.
If tariffs to ensure uniform and equal application of our laws and for the
protection of our industries are deemed “protectionism” there need be no
apologies. That is what the Constitution was all about in the first place.
Production is the key to all real income, wealth and higher living standards.
If people do not produce and earn satisfactory incomes, they do not enhance
their economic status as consumers. If they earn less, they spend less and pay
less tax to support desired government. The failure of our political leaders to
stop “Free Trade” and illegal immigration is transferring poverty from
low-living-standard nations to the USA; pitting US workers against the lowest
common wage denominator in poverty-stricken nations.
James R McClean
IAM Local Lodge 971
Posted February 11, 2008
NLRA Weak and Near Premature Death
The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) which created the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), was conceived almost 75 years ago to defend and promote collective bargaining and working men and women. For its entire life it has received no life improving or sustaining changes. The Law performed admirably for many years even though from its inception it had only false teeth.
In fact the opposite has happened. In 1947 a botched and unnecessary surgery was performed (The Taft-Hartley Act) that removed it’s Spleen and a good bit of it’s backbone. This surgery was performed despite the strenuous objections of its dependents and supporters, (Veto by President Truman was over rode). This surgery severely limited rights under the act and required organizations protected by the Act to extend their benefits even to people that refused to support the work of the organization. It took away the rights the organizations previously had to exert pressure on third parties that were involved in their battles.
After this surgery the NLRB instead of helping struggling labor organizations allowed the life blood to be permanently replaced with a watered down, often dangerous substitute and it required the body to provide support for all organs whether they contributed or not.
In 1957 a huge appendage (the Landrum-Griffin Act) was hung over the heads of those the NLRB was supposed to protect; further weakening the Act. It still today drags down workers and their organizations..
An attempt in 1973 to implant a heart and graft some backbone was thwarted at the last minute by President Richard Nixon' veto even though he had publicly stated the surgery was needed and he was committed to seeing it done.
In recent years the (read since Bush II) the Act has come under constant attacks some included torture. For instance the Act was almost drowned in a water boarding incident called the Kentucky River decision. This severely injured the act and caused it to be unable to protect thousands of workers that it had previously protected.
In September of 2007 the NLRB cut, beat and tortured the NLRA in 61 separate attacks on it’s body leaving it weak and unable to carry out any of its normal functions and in need of immediate and serious life support. Even though it was conceived as a protector of workers; today due to these continued attacks in it’s confused dementia it clings to the opponents of workers.
In fact recent attacks by Bush appointed overseers has left the Act so ill that only major treatment will restore it’s health.
Today treatment is available (the Employee Free Choice Act) that would extend the life of the act indefinitely and could make it stronger and more robust than in it’s youth. This treatment will restore the Acts backbone and also give the act some teeth for the first time. This new strength and robust spirit would let the act really protect workers. The possibility of a strong and vibrant labor act with a backbone and teeth scares the hell out of those that mistreat, underpay and abuse workers.
Even though a large majority of the Congress and Senate believe the treatment should be administered to save the life of the ACT; President Bush claims that only he is the “decider” and only he will decide if life saving treatment is to be administered.
It is not yet too late to save the NLRA. The majorities in Congress and the Senate stand ready to start the treatment process again if the voters will send someone to the Whitehouse that will allow the treatment to be completed. So when you go to the polls in November; just remember the NLRA needs your help to survive and to continue that for which it was conceived; protecting the rights of working men and women to associate with one another for their mutual benefit. (One recent attempted torture of the act would have prohibited workers from associating with one another even off the jobsite and in non work hours).
You need the NLRA and today the NLRA needs you.
Help the NLRA regain its vitality Vote for a President that is committed to sign the EFCA and for a Congress that is committed to pass it.
This is a response to an op-ed on Friday March 2, 2007 Pg. a11 titled “Labor move could backfire—on workers”
To the writer and all these new found friends of working people that are all of a sudden concerned about a workers “right” to vote for or against a union; I have a few questions.
1. Where have you been all my 45 years of working? I did not see you there when I was working 55 feet above a concrete floor on a single 2inch by 14 inch board and many other times when my coworkers and I worked in extremely hazardous conditions.
2. Where were you when the workers at Smithfield in Tar Heel, North Carolina exercised their “Right” to a secret ballot? You do know these workers had to run a gauntlet of armed security to just get to the ballot box. Who would you vote for in that case, someone that had encouraged you to vote for the union or the folks that had the power to bring out the equivalent of a military force?
3. Where were you all when the factory worker in North Carolina was forced off the road by the County Sheriff and detained in a mental facility? You know what insane act he committed? At a captive audience meeting he dared to speak up in defense of the union. Now some might say that being pro union under current organizing conditions is a form of insanity but no worker should be arrested for being union.
The writer also expressed “fear” that the arbitration clause in the “Employee Free Choice Act” could harm employees. So once again where was he when the 42 workers at a South Atlanta construction site were fired for daring to ask for pay that they were due?
Where was he when workers building the Georgia Dome were denied the right to a secret ballot, by the National Labor Relations Board at the company’s request? The Alabama Construction firm told the Board they were only doing the one job in Georgia and that it would be complete before there could be an election and a contract. That Company is still building buildings in Atlanta.
There are enough examples like these to fill every edition of your news paper for several days, maybe even several weeks but these are a few I was involved in or know about.
Oh yes, one more question for the writer and all the workers new found friends; why don’t you tell the whole truth about the EFCA and current law? The EFCA does not eliminate the secret ballot. Workers will still be able to petition for a secret vote the way they do now just with out so much fear of reprisal. The current law does not offer protection against unfair or unlawful dismissal during an organizing campaign. Employers can fire a pro union worker and the only penalty is they “may” have to put them back to work and pay what ever wages they lost due to being fired. Do any of our new found friends care about the workers fired every day fro union activity and how they will feed their families.
Workers don’t get to comfortable with all the management attorneys and Chamber of Commerce spokesmen’s sudden interest in your welfare. Their concern will disappear immediately if our new friends defeat this legislation just like the bosses new interest in the welfare of workers disappears immediately after a union organizing drive is defeated. .
Charlie Key
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