I saw a letter to the editor referring to the Unions as a bunch of thugs. Now that is a good way to get my blood boiling. Half my family worked and died in the mines in WV before there were unions. They joined up the moment they could. My Uncles were truckers before unions. Their children are union. My Uncle-in-law belonged to the railroad union. My other uncle-in-law belonged to the Steel Mill Workers' Union.
I remember the steel mill going on strike over safety issues. My uncle-in-law was a little man, around 5'8" and 130 lbs dripping wet. His car was vandalized at the Mill, so he asked my father to pick him up at a local bar he could get a lift to rather than driving all the way out to the mill to pick him up. It was quite a drive out there.
A few hours later they returned home. My uncle-in-law was beat to a pulp and my father had taken him to the hospital to be patched up. It seems some real thugs were laying in wait for the union members to show up at the bar to be picked up by their family members since they were the ones who had vandalized their cars. My father was a little beat up and my mother asked him what his excuse was being an Irishman and a really big Irishman at that and a little tipsy. He looked at my mother and said...and I will never forget this even though I was only around 5, "When my friend here could not explain the value of joining a union to them I thought it appropriate to explain to them the value of having union subsidized health insurance," and he put five of them in the hospital. With that he plopped down in the kitchen chair and winced and we realised he wasn't drunk, they had given him something for the pain of a couple of broken ribs. So, he looked at me and said, "And you remember never to pick on someone smaller than you. Oh hell, there isn't anyone smaller than you. Remind me to teach you how to fight and run fast." He made good on his word. I can run really fast.
Many years later I am working for one of the Fascist, I mean Fortune Five Hundred Companies when the manufacturing part went out on strike. I really needed that job and as I approached the picket line I knew George would kill me if I lost that job. My friend and coworker from NY was scared to death as she had never crossed a picket line in her life. On one hand, I had the need for that money and on the other, a family tradition going back generations. The Cuban girl next to me asked what a union was. That was when a representative from my boss said that if we didn't cross the picket line we would be fired because we were not union.
That was a really bad choice of words because my answer was: "Not today but I can be union tomorrow. Give me a sign." Then we explained unions to my Cuban friend and she and all her friends joined us and we were all picketing downstairs now in English and Spanish and a couple of hours later they caved and we all went back to work. That was when my coworker who was already upstairs and a bit of a drama queen told me they fully intended to fire me when he did his best hysterics and said "Don't be stupid. She'll organize the office workers and all the Cubans. This whole place with be union. Haven't you read her writing? She can convince you anything." They looked out a few minutes later and saw signs in Spanish and figured things were about to go to a really bad place for them. We didn't get fired. I know thugs and the union bosses may play the part, but they are nothing compared to the people the corporations hired to use against them.
Yes, I am a proud supporter of the Unions in every country. When I was told that to say Union at Wartmart would get me fired, I wore a union T-shirt and dared them. Admittedly, it was hand made that afternoon with a magic marker. Don't mess with a redhead. As Mark Twain said, "Red heads and cats are a different species from man and will never be understood by him." or something to that effect. He was a wise man.
Today's Tarot Card is the Hierophant reversed. This will be a very unconventional day when rules and regulations are flaunted.
The Moon is void of Course from 11:04 AM EST to 12:52 PM EST when she enters Taurus. Taurus makes people possessive, territorial and stingy. So be respectful of personal space and don't try to borrow anything.
The morning is very psychic and slightly dreamy. Unfortunately this aspect can also cause fires from electrical shorts. In the afternoon, teacher finds more allies than they thought they had. The lesson is finally getting through.
At the Cosmic Salamander, we proudly stand with Wisconsin's workers in their fight against tyranny and the union busting GOP/Tea Party.
Now on to a practical matter. Bank Atlantic is a local bank. They are fighting hard for survival against the big guys who took your tax dollars, paid themselves million dollar bonuses with it and haven't paid a dime in taxes in years. If you are with BOA, Chase, Wellsfargo or the rest of the robber barons, take your money out and put it in Bank Atlantic. They support our community and they need to increase their assets to stay in business. They are FDIC insured and some on that list up there: AREN'T. Vote with you wallet.
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