Organized labor has a thing or to to say to Governor Jay Nixon in support of a veto of HB 749:

The Greater Kansas City AFL-CIO is urging Governor Nixon to veto Senate Bill 749,

an attack on the rights of American workers.

Organized labor has struggled to extend and maintain workers’ rights, by fighting against many intrusive forms of legislation. One such piece of legislation, S.B. 749 is a violation of every American’s right to decide their health care. It gives employers the unchecked ability to force their own religious beliefs upon their employees. America was built on the idea that people can go to different places on Sunday, but come together on Monday. This principle has given us the freest and most productive economy in the world. Under S.B. 749, employees must check their religious freedom at the workplace door, and take their bosses’ religious beliefs home at the end of the day.

Passing this piece of legislation has seriously negative implications, which will lower the quality of life for Missouri. An employer who manages thousands of workers may refuse to cover the basic, sensible procedures, even when most or all of the employees’ religious views permit these procedures. An employer can impose one religion on all employees. This logic taken to extreme would allow employers to restrict any medical procedure. For instance, it is against the beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses to accept blood transfusions, and it is against the beliefs of the Church of Christ, Scientists to seek out any medical professional, using prayer as their only medicine. How would you like to have your boss tell you that they only provide prayers for your child in that case of serious illness or injury?

S.B. 749 also poses an internal conflict with other dumb legislation. For instance, House Bill 708 (anti-Sharia law) proposed this past session, would ban the application of any foreign law that does not provide identical protections to domestic law. S.B. 749 now provides governmental protection to foreign religious law in Missouri workplaces. This is not the direction we should be headed, and vetoing S.B. 749 is the only feasible solution. After all, neither the Catholic catechism nor Muslim sharia was created on American soil.

Using an employer’s religious convictions as a lens to establish health care coverage for employees is unquestionably dangerous, and illegal.  Once started on this path to restrict reproductive coverage, we will see an upsurge of employers using this law against medical coverage of any kind for their employees. Regardless of your personal beliefs about the issue of contraception and abortion, it comes down to protecting workers’ rights in our workplaces. What is done with the coverage thereafter is to each their own personal decision, but to be able to make that decision is strictly an American right. This bill is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It threatens the religious freedoms of every Missouri employee. We urge the Governor to veto S.B. 749.

Sincerely,

Patrick A. Dujakovich

President, Greater Kansas City AFL-CIO

Yes, there’s a certain lack of ironic awareness when the republican majority in the General Assembly uses government to impose one individual’s religious belief system on others. Nah, with them it’s a feature, not a bug.

On Monday, June 21st, local UAW 1887 rallied workers to picket Mallinckrodt’s pharmaceutical chemical plant located at 3601 North Broadway in St. Louis, Missouri. Mallinckrodt is a division of Covidien recently spun-off from Tyco International.  

The strike has been going on since May 1st after a non-resolvable impasse emerged as contracts expired.

At issue:

* Frozen pensions for current employees

* Elimination of overtime pay for holidays and Sundays

* Lower wages for new hires

* Elimination of medical coverage for retirees

Jim Wells, Director of UAW Region 5, excoriated Covidien for rolling back benefits and deal points while millions went to CEO Richard Meelia,

“Their CEO made over 15 million dollars last year–tell me that’s fair! Tell me that’s fair to working people! This strike is not only about 1887 (UAW local). It’s about all labor. It’s you standing up for labor and what’s right. We want justice! We want justice!”

The irony is that Covidien’s name insinuates co-equal consideration and collaboration as it’s drawn from the Latin, “co” for together, and “vi” for life. There’s nothing “together” about wages and benefits cut down for workers while Covidien’s 2008 net revenue — at the height of recession — was well over a billion dollars.

St. Louis Board of Alderman President, Lewis Reed, gave a stirring speech reminding folks that hard fought for protections were not won with a walk in the park,

“You know, this fight that you’re fighting today, is a fight for UAW, is a fight for the working men and women in this Union. But not just for UAW, it’s for America. When you think about some of the things we take for granted–you think about the 40 hour work week, you think about safe work environments, you think about vacation time and all those things that we take for granted today–those things were not brought to Americans on a bed of roses. They just weren’t. They were brought to men and women–and we take them for granted today–they were brought to us by the Unions through fights that we’re having just like here today!”

A strong economy not only involves business growth, opportunities and entrepreneurial investment, but it also means good quality Missouri jobs for lower and middle income wage earners — balance and diversification are key.

My granddad Walter was a charter member of the stagehands union and instilled in our family the value of working together. His motto? “Always use the right tool for the right job.” He made every hammer, saw, and chisel with his own hands. His values and work ethic have been a lifelong inspiration for me.

Having been a writing and publishing member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) for nearly two decades, I have seen how collective bargaining, organizing and legislative advocacy have provided opportunities to our members that would have never been possible without sticking together.

Today, many people express frustration with Union bureaucracy; but the reality is that organized labor provides critical and unsung positive influences on the entire marketplace in keeping management honest for Union and non-Union members alike. When pushing for good jobs and workplace rights in an era of decreasing wages, benefits and rampant outsourcing, organized labor is the “right tool for the right job.”

Recently in the US, free-market ideology has run amok threatening to topple important checks and balances in our economy. Unregulated mania in the banking and mortgage industries born of an overreaching free-market dogma has caused great suffering and cost our nation over 8 million jobs through the recent Great Recession.

We need to roll back some of these ill-conceived trends in economic theory brought to you by fiscal opportunists, paid-off and complicit legislators. I applaud those workers on the front lines, like those I was with yesterday at Covidien, fighting for their fair share.

Jim Wells ended his speech chanting with the crowd, “One more day. One more day.”

OBAMA ANNOUNCES 15 RECESS APPOINTMENTS, SCOLDS GOP

…..union lawyer Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board. Republicans had blocked his nomination on grounds he would bring a radical pro-union agenda to the job, and they called on Obama not to appoint Becker over the recess.

On Becker, Republicans have held up his confirmation for months, saying they fear he would circumvent Congress to make labor laws more union-friendly.

Labor unions were especially keen on getting Becker installed on the board that is responsible for certifying union elections and addressing unfair labor practices. Under a Democratic majority, the labor board could decide cases or make new rules that would make it easier for unions to organize workers. The board could allow speeded-up union elections that give employers less time to counter organizing drives

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/201…

Three events in three days.

Johnson County Democrats at the German American Club in Belton, Missouri for the Cass County Democrats’ Back to Blue Dinner – Tribute to Labor.

This year the annual Cass County Democrats fundraising dinner in Belton, Missouri (always a big event) is taking place among a sea of Democratic events across the state. The Missouri State Democratic Committee meeting also took place today in St. Louis – there will be various events tonight, too. Last night in Warrensburg Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan (D) was honored and spoke at a dinner event sponsored by Johnson County Democrats. This recent density of Democratic activity is a good thing. And Vice President Joe Biden spent the last few days in Missouri, promoting the administration’s good works and reminding the public at large why they voted for change.

It’s good to be a Democratic. It’s good to be busy. There’s still a lot of work to be done.

I’m here at the dinner with a borrowed broadband card. I’ll try to update and maybe post more photos as the evening progresses.

Ah yes, lazy media acting as a stenographer. So much work, so little time.

Yesterday’s Warrensburg Daily Star Journal published a lead editorial which perpetuates anti-labor myths:

4/1/2009 9:30:00 AM

Do not abandon secret ballot vote

Jack Miles

Editor

Unions and their friends in Congress are wrong to want to change the law so that union voting must be done publicly rather than by secret ballot…

…But, no, secret ballots are not the way to do so.

Democrats should abandon the idea of forced, public voting on union issues. The idea is unfair and repugnant to freedom-loving Americans.

Do you think the paper is hyperventilating some?

From the AFL-CIO:

The Employee Free Choice Act would allow workers, not corporations, to choose whether and how they want to form a union. It would give workers a fair chance to form unions to improve their lives by:

• Guaranteeing that if a majority of workers wants a union, they can have one, allowing them to form unions by signing cards authorizing union representation;

• Providing mediation and arbitration for first contract disputes; and

• Establishing stronger penalties for violation of employee rights when workers seek to form a union and during first contract negotiations.

[emphasis in original]

Do you wonder where the “destroy the secret ballot” meme comes from?

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce:

…Union Recognition – Secret Ballot Elections and Card Check Coercion

Organized labor is trying to deprive workers of the ability to choose whether or not to be recognized by a union through secret ballot elections.  Workers’ rights to make this important decision in private and free from coercion need to be strengthened, not weakened.  Read more about the Chamber’s efforts….

What’s organized labor’s view?

IBEW in 2004:

…Many unions prefer card-check to the NLRB process because it is usually faster. Also, during a representative election ampaign, one in four employers fire at least one worker for union activity and half of all companies threaten to close plants if workers choose union representation…

Labor Notes:

Card Check: Can It Organize the Unorganized?

Created Oct 23 2008 – 7:12pm

Kim Moody

Employers do everything in their power to make sure workers don’t get a chance to vote for a union. They flout labor law, making a joke of the familiar National Labor Relations Board procedures where the government’s job is to oversee a “fair fight” election between the union and the boss.

As a result, unions have embraced neutrality agreements and card check procedures as an alternative road to growth. Since the mid-1990s their use has accelerated.

Several studies say the win rate for card check is about 70 percent, compared with 55 to 60 percent for recent NLRB elections….

From The Newspaper Guild (CWA) (2004):

…Unions have criticized the board in the past for moving too slowly and for a management-oriented tilt. Scholars attribute much of the problem and delays to the Taft-Hartley and Landrum-Griffin Acts, pushed by the GOP in the 1940s and 1950s, and to the negligible penalties faced by companies that ignore the law. But this statement was more pointed, alleging that the Bush-appointed NLRB majority has compiled “a long list of offenses against workers’ rights.” Among them:

• The board’s June 15 party-line decision to consider the legality of immediate challenges to card-check certification of unions.  Unions now use card-check to get around the slow NLRB processes and management delays-and around provisions that restrict union, but not management, access to workers.

But the board, for 42 years, has said that once it certifies the union as the workers’ representative, the union has a year-after all appeals are exhausted-to bargain for a contract before the union’s legitimacy can be challenged. After that year, dissenters can push for a decertification election.  The Bush GOP majority, at the request of the anti-worker National Right to Work Committee, asked for briefs on killing that one-year grace period, called a “recognition bar,” the AFL-CIO said.

“The Republican majority on the Bush NLRB seems intent on undermining voluntary recognition (card-check) agreements and the important rights they protect,” the executive council added…

It would appear that card check already happens, it’s just a matter of at who’s discretion. Is the current discretion “democratic”? Just asking.

The bill amends 29 U.S.C. § 159.

Here’s what’s in the bill as proposed:

111th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 1409

…To amend the National Labor Relations Act to establish an efficient system to enable employees to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to provide for mandatory injunctions for unfair labor practices during organizing efforts, and for other purposes…

…SEC. 2. STREAMLINING UNION CERTIFICATION.

     (a) In General- Section 9(c) of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 159(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

     `(6) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, whenever a petition shall have been filed by an employee or group of employees or any individual or labor organization acting in their behalf alleging that a majority of employees in a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining wish to be represented by an individual or labor organization for such purposes, the Board shall investigate the petition. If the Board finds that a majority of the employees in a unit appropriate for bargaining has signed valid authorizations designating the individual or labor organization specified in the petition as their bargaining representative and that no other individual or labor organization is currently certified or recognized as the exclusive representative of any of the employees in the unit, the Board shall not direct an election but shall certify the individual or labor organization as the representative described in subsection (a)…

“…The idea is unfair and repugnant to freedom-loving Americans…”

Here’s something that should be repugnant to freedom loving Americans: harassment and intimidation.

Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions, United States House of Representatives

Hearing on “Strengthening America’s Middle Class Through the Employee Free Choice Act”

February 8, 2007

Statement by Teresa Joyce, Cingular worker and CWA union member

…At AT&T Wireless, we had absolutely no say on workplace conditions, including wages and benefits. Our raises were determined by favoritism and seldom a reflection of our work. Some years, we would receive as little as a two-cent increase. On top of this, workers had no real means for reporting unfair treatment by supervisors. When we approached upper management about unfair treatment and inadequate pay, our requests fell on def ears. Frust
rated with the companies’ neglect and indifference, my co-workers and I decided to come together to form a union with the Communication Workers of America (CWA) to bargain for fair raises, affordable health care benefits and respect at work.

Once word reached management that we were trying to organize, they did everything they could to stop us from exercising our right to form a union. Our supervisors constantly threatened that AT&T Wireless would leave our town and that we would lose our jobs. They also claimed that if we did succeed with our organizing efforts, our union dues would be so enormous we may actually need two jobs.

My co-workers and I would distribute union flyers in our break room and place posters on the walls with information about the union. Supervisors would immediately gather the information and dispose of it. Management wanted to deny other workers the opportunity to make an informed, educated decision on whether or not to join a union. They wanted to control the information workers received and instill fear through constant threats and lies about the union. At one point, one of the managers went so far as to park her car at the front entrance of a building where my co-workers and I were holding a union meeting. Deeper into our organizing campaign, management began to drive out our most outspoken union supporters for so-called “bad attitudes” and other flimsy charges.

Despite the company’s on-going intimidation tactics, we continued our organizing efforts. Having had past experience with unions and knowing what a difference they could make, I was especially active in the fight to unionize at AT&T Wireless.

Months into our organizing struggle, we heard that Cingular Wireless was going to purchase AT&T Wireless. At some point during the merger, several co-workers and I sat in on a conference call with Cingular Wireless executives to talk about what the merger would mean for former AT&T Wireless employees. When asked about our organizing efforts, Cingular CEO, Stan Sigmund, revealed he had a good relationship with CWA and assured us that each AT&T Wireless call center employee would be able to choose whether or not they wanted union representation, free of employer interference. I was overjoyed. It was a relief to know that we could finally speak openly about the union without the fear of employer retaliation.

Shortly afterwards, the harassment and intimidation stopped. We were free to distribute union literature to other workers during our break and were even allowed to set up a table in the break room with information on CWA. We made posters, put out flyers and made phone calls about the benefits of joining a union and having a say on wages and work conditions. In 2005, a majority of us voted for the union by signing authorization cards and on Sept 6th, 2005 we were officially recognized as CWA members. Management even helped us arrange a cookout at the call center to celebrate…

[emphasis added]

So card check is okay if the employer says so, but leaving the choice to the workers who want to organize is not?

Question: Isn’t it really “undemocratic” to keep the choice of how workers organize from workers and reserve it exclusively to employers? Just asking.

Oh, by the way, Ike Skelton (D) is a co-sponsor of the bill.

“…The idea is unfair and repugnant to freedom-loving Americans…”

From the Economic Policy Institute, Issue Brief #249, January 29, 2009 [pdf]:

…What would it be like if a political campaign were conducted under the same rules as NLRB elections?

NLRB election campaigns more closely resemble sham elections in totalitarian countries than elections for public office in the United States or any other democracy.

Imagine an election where an incumbent president, governor, or mayor can:

• Force voters to attend his campaign rallies.

• Threaten to fire his opponent’s supporters or deny them raises.

• Prevent his opponent from campaigning in the daytime.

• And, if an opponent wins the election anyway, delay that person from taking office.

Even if this campaign concluded with a secret ballot, few if any Americans would say that this was a free election…

[emphasis in original]

(Hat tip to David Kendrick, Secretary – Business Manager, Greater Kansas City Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO)

As for the Warrensburg Daily Star Journal:

Meta: the Warrensburg Daily Star Journal and bloggers

3/18/2009 12:42:00 PM

Bloggers offer news, but scope too narrow

Jack Miles

Editor

…But bloggers, in general, are not journalists. Bloggers often offer one-sided opinions, not news…

Project much?

(left to right) Bill Richardson, Jim Jackson – the Democratic candidate in the 121st Legislative District, Carla Keough – the Democratic candidate in the 125th Legislative District.

Missouri State Senator Victor Callahan (D).

The “40 Club”, a luncheon meeting of like minded labor activists, political operatives, candidates, and office holders, met today at the Sheetmetal Workers hall in Kansas City. Everyone who shows up to the event greets and visits with everyone else. After the lunch Bill Richardson, the master of ceremonies, had everyone in attendance introduce themselves and state their affiliations (Yes, I did, too. In case you’re wondering: Show Me Progress and the American Federation of Musicians). The featured speaker was Missouri State Senator Victor Callahan (D):

…I also wanted to thank everybody who was there at the Nixon unity rally last week. It was a very good event. Something wonderful happened to the Republican Party in August…Something wonderful happened to the Republican party in August. They had a very contentious governor’s primary. And they actually have made a mistake in their game, they, they took a play that we usually have in our party. Which is that we have a contentious primary. They had a very contentious primary. And they created a lot of divisions in their party. And so I believe that the, that we have a tremendous opportunity in this nation and in this state to change the landscape politically forever…

Bill Richardson as master of ceremonies.

[Senator Victor Callahan]…and I believe that that starts with President Obama. It goes to Governor Jay Nixon. It goes to Attorney General Chris Koster. Sam Page. Paul LeVota, the Speaker of the House. All these, by electing all these house members. That’s how you change the state. You elect Chris Benjamin to the senate. You start to change that. And I think we’re at a moment in time when that can happen.

Now, what did we learn in August that might help us? One was, a contentious un-unified party doesn’t do as well. We certainly learned that in this party in 2004 when we had a governor’s primary.

They had a governor’s primary. We didn’t have a governor’s primary. So, at the local level, whether it’s in Jackson County, whether it’s in the state, I know that we have many passionate people…we learned from that, that, that our party has contentious primaries because we have passionate people who believe in candidates. And I’m so happy to see what an individual John Bullard [an unsuccessful candidate in the primary for Jackson County Sheriff] is today to, to remember after an election, that he wasn’t successful in, to come back and thank everybody. I just think that is…[applause][cheers]…John gets it. And we can’t have fights. maybe somebody supported Jeff Harris. Maybe somebody supported Margaret Donnelly.

We had a primary. We decided it. It’s time to move on. It’s time to move on in Jackson County, it’s time to move on in our state. We can win. And the only thing that is going to mess that up is if we carry on battles that were settled last Tuesday.

It’s time for unity. It’s time to move on. And it’s time to change the landscape of our state. And we are at a moment that only comes around every once in a while.

We have the other party have a contentious, vicious primary. They’re mad about that stuff and they’re not gonna get over it. We can. And we can if we all make the decision to move us all forward. Now, what’s at stake is, I would ask the question that, that Ronald Reagan once asked somebody in a debate, “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” [voice: “No!”] And I don’t think anybody in this room can say, “Yes” to that question.

We are in a moment of change. We are at a desire for change. People want to reverse the course of how this country is going, internationally, at the national level, and at the state level. We’ve seen what they did to education, we’ve seen what they did to the rights of workers, we’ve seen what they’re about. They might have been able to fool people in previous elections and get ’em distracted with guns and abortion. But I don’t think it’s gonna work this time. Because I think they finally see what they’re really about.

And one of the things that I’ve seen in the senate is, and of course there doesn’t get much media attention about this, is, you’ve heard their message, “we’ve got to cap this government entitlements like Medicaid. You know, there are just too many poor and disabled and elderly people who need health care. Those pesky people that need health care. [laughter] we’ve got to control those government entitlements.” So what did they do? They slashed education, they capped those entitlements for health care for our fellow Missourians. And what did they do with the money? Did they give us a tax cut? No. Did they do something to make gas cheaper? No. Did they do anything with that money? Oh, they created another entitlement for big business. Called tax credits. They took one billion dollars from this side of the ledger that went to education and health care, and created a big business entitlement called tax credits. You as Missouri taxpayers spend eight hundred million dollars a year in tax credits. For big business. That’s guys picking, “Oh, let’s make sure Andy Blunt has an ethanol plant. Oh, let’s give him a tax credit.” We created a mandate on ethanol, but that’s not enough, let’s create a tax credit for him, too. And you don’t read about that in the media, but that’s all that happened. That’s really about what they’re about.

Maybe people are finally getting that when they go to the gas pump and they see all these things happening. That we’ve just taken one billion dollars from this side of the ledger to one billion dollars here for their friends, for their buddies. Tax credits for sausage casings [laughter], tax credits for this, tax credits for that. Thta is really the issue that, that, you know, needs to be talked about. Which is, what are they about, and who are we?

And we need in this process of unity to define what we are about. And that begins with us coming together as a party in a united front. And I urge everybody in this room, from Jackson County to the state to our nation to bring everyone together in this party. Now is our moment. Do we really want President McCain? Governor Huslhof? Do we want to go through another four years of the eight years that we’ve gone through?

So my message today is, take a page from John Bullard, it’s time to move us forward. Thank you very much. [applause]

 

Juan Alonzo, the Democratic candidate in the 123rd Legislative District.

Chris Benjamin, the Democratic candidate in the 31st Senate District.

Louie Wright, President and Business Manager of Fire Fighters Local #42, with former Governor Roger Wilson, the master of ceremonies for the evening’s testimonial dinner.

On Friday night Labor’s Educational and Political Club Independent (LEPCI) held a testimonial dinner honoring Louie Wright, President and Business Manager of Fire Fighters Local #42, as “Labor’s Representative of the Year” for 2008 at Harrah’s in Kansas City. The crowd of approximately four hundred heard a number of speakers, including Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon, Congressman Emmanuel Cleaver, Congressman Dennis Moore, Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders, Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser, Kansas City – Kansas Mayor Joe Reardon, UFCW General President Joe Hansen, Kansas City AFL-CIO President Bridgette Williams, Building Trades Business Manager Gary Kemp, and Harold Schaitberger, General President of the International Association of Fire Fighters.

As with all of these events, there was a modicum of levity in the evening’s activities, but there was also a good amount of serious discussion about the challenges we are currently facing in the country and the state.      

Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders.

Senators Chris Koster and Victor Callahan present Louie Wright with a proclamation from the Missouri Senate.(left to right) Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders, Congressman Emmanuel Cleaver, Congressman Dennis Moore, Louie Wright, former Governor Roger Wilson.

Louie Wright addresses the audience.

Louie Wright’s remarks:

I’m not quite sure what to say. I am, I am, I am humbled. I am honored. Candidly, I’m a little bit embarrassed. I’m not sure I knew the guy that a lot of them talked about. [laughter]…I really appreciate your endurance sitting through this long evening. To my brothers and sisters in the broader labor community, I appreciate greatly you’re here, the tribute. Particularly, the brothers and sisters in my union, my local and the region, you hear too much from me on a regular basis so I won’t bore you with anything. To my friends up here, and Joe means a lot, Harold it goes without saying, Congressman Cleaver all, everyone up here. I’d also like to thank my daughter from traveling from New York, to be here…[applause] And my son…on a Friday night…[laughter][applause]

And what I’d like to do, which may be a little out of the ordinary, is, is speak almost exclusively in the next ninety seconds to the elected leaders, the public policy makers here. And say a couple of things. One is, it is really hard to recognize the person a lot of these folks were talking about.

I’ve had a charmed life. I have been luckier than most. And, and have had the benefit of, most every day, having two great professions and vocations, that I felt good about the work. I love the work that I’ve done and continue to do.

But I want to say this, you’ve heard a little bit from Joe, and certainly, the way things started out for me. And I’m not complaining, but to the elected leaders and the public policy leaders, the fact is, we lost track, I think, of the importance of appropriate government assistance. Someone mentioned the Emergency Employment Act [in 1972] and, and most of you didn’t know what that was. Out of high school I was declared a hard core unemployable by the Federal government, that’s what made me eligible to be hired by the fire department. That meant I had all the attributes of a career criminal, but a felony convictions. [laughter] It was a government program that allowed me to get employment. It was good employment. Luckily, employment that had a good union.

I learned about the labor movement, and I’m gonna close in a moment with a comment about Bill Richardson and a couple of other mentors I’ve…

But it was good employment with a good union. That meaningful work allowed me to make my way. The union has provided me opportunities the likes of which I never would have seen, never would have had, frankly, never would have known about.

We need to get back, in my opinion, to a vibrant, thriving, active labor movement. [applause] We need to recognize that government has a role in giving people a hand up and an opportunity. And maybe get back to doing more than that. And if it can keep a guy like me off the street for thirty five or thirty six years and beyond, it may be worth the occasional investment.

Also I learned early on the power of organized labor when they supported each other and they were really together. And Bill Richardson was one of three individuals, and there were many more, but three leaders who didn’t have a dog in the fight in 1980. Their unions were working. Fact, it was alleged that we might have put up a couple of illegal picket lines that they honored. But the fact is, they didn’t have a dog in the fight, but they knew what organized labor could do.

My good friend…was fired. I was in jail. And frankly we were in a very difficult time. Worse than we probably knew.

Three people met on the twenty ninth floor of City Hall. I wasn’t there, I was, a guest of the city in another location.[laughter] Man I wish was here tonight, Sam Long, Bill Richardson, Bob…as I recall. They told the mayor, they told the city manager, and they gave the governor a civics lesson. They told Joe Teasdale he could declare martial law. And he said, “Can I really do that?” They said, “Oh yeah, governor.” He looked at his counsel and he said, “Can I really do that?” “Oh yeah, governor.” And they quickly told the city, “You need to settle this.” Sam Long looked out the window, there’s quite a bit of work going on in Kansas City that time. He said, “Governor, Mr. Mayor, Mr. Manager, see that green crane over there on top of that building, and all those others around the skyline? My union’s not that big, but that’s where my people work. And if those firefighters aren’t out of jail Monday morning, back to work, with a contract in hand, I’m shutting that job down. And every job where those cranes are. And it’s not that big a union, but every job I shut down, fifteen other crafts will honor that picket line. By eleven o’clock you’ll have thirty five thousand angry building and construction trade union members down here wanting to know why they’re not getting a day’s pay.” An hour later it was settled.

Organized labor coalesced behind a union that was maybe too dumb to even know what we were doing. But we were all doing it together. And it gave me an important lesson. And Bill, sometimes you reap what you sow. But for that intervention there’s no doubt in my mind I wouldn’t be here tonight.

It’s an honor. It’s a privilege. And I’m truly touched. Thank you very much. [applause]          

Bill Richardson, president of LEPCI, with Louie Wright.