January 22, 2014

Plant accident survivor: "I thought I was going to die in there"

http://www.omaha.com/article/20140121/NEWS/140129727/1685#plant-accident-survivor-i-thought-i-was-going-to-die-in-there

By Joe Duggan

LINCOLN -- In moments of pain, darkness and fear following Monday's industrial building collapse in Omaha, Erik Ocampo focused on his wife and their baby daughter.

As he held onto those thoughts, he somehow made it out alive.

“I thought I was going to die in there,” he told his wife after surviving the ordeal at the International Nutrition plant.

Ocampo rested comfortably at the burn unit of a Lincoln hospital Tuesday as his mother and wife of two years counted their blessings.

FULL story at link.

January 14, 2014

PayPal testing easier checkout for online shoppers

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140113/DABA3I383.html

Jan 13, 2:05 PM (ET)

NEW YORK (AP) - EBay's payments service PayPal has redesigned its online checkout process to let shoppers complete their payment on merchants' websites, rather than go to a separate PayPal site.

Simplifying the checkout process - and having shoppers stay on an e-commerce site rather than click over to a separate PayPal page - means they are more likely to complete the transaction. That could also mean more people will use PayPal.

PayPal said Monday that it is testing out the new checkout process with a few merchants and will make it available to large businesses in the first half of this year. Medium- and small-size businesses will also be able to use it down the line.

September 11, 2013

Union Members Lost to Terrorism on 9-11 FULL list of the 634 (plus Jay Corcoran thanks to the DU!)

Thanks to the DU Jay Corcoran's name was added to the official list of union members killed on 9-11: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=367x3556

AFSCME
Yvette Anderson • Florence Cohen • Harry Goody • Marian Hrycak • Dorothy Temple • Chet Louie

AFSCME/Fire Fighters
Rev. Mychal Judge • Ricardo Quinn • Carlos Lillo

AFT
Sarah M. Clark • James Debeuneure • Charles J. Mauro • Hilda E. Taylor • Andrew Zucker

Air Line Pilots
Jason Dahl • Leroy Homer • Michael Horrocks • Victor Saracini

Allied Pilots Association
Chick Burlingame • Dave Charlebois • Thomas McGuinness • John Ogonowski

Association of Professional Flight Attendants
Barbara Arestegui • Jeffrey Collman • Michele Heidenberger • Jennifer Lewis • Kenneth Lewis • Sara Low • Karen Martin • Renee May • Kathleen Nicosia • Betty Ong • Jean Roger • Dianne Snyder • Madeline Sweeney

Communications Workers of America
Donna Bowen • Patricia Cushing • Niurka Davila • Don DiFranco • Mary Jones • Deborah Merrick • Jane Orth • Daniel Pearl • Tom Pecorelli • William Steckman • Lisa Treretola

Detectives Endowment Association
Claude Richards • Joseph Vigiano

Electrical Workers
Thomas Ashton • James M. Cartier • Robert J. Caulfield • Gerard Coppola • Joseph DiPilato • Salvatore A. Fiumefredo • Harvey Hermer • Steven Jacobson • Ralph M. Licciardi • Michael W. Lowe • Charles P. Lucania • Lester V. Mariano • Jose F. Martinez • Robert Pattison • Isaias Rivera • Joseph Romagnolo • Jeffrey J. Shaw • Steven R. Strauss • Glenn J. Travers Sr. • Kenneth W. White

Elevator Constructors
Charles Costello

Fire Fighters
Joseph Agnello • Brian Ahearn • Eric Allen • Richard Allen • James Amato • Calixto Anaya Jr. • Joseph Angelini • Faustino Apostol Jr. • David Arce • Louis Arena • Carl Asaro • Gregg Atlas • Gerald Atwood • Gerard Baptiste • Gerard Barbara • Matthew Barnes • Arthur Barry • Steven Bates • Carl Bedigian • Stephen Belson • John Bergin • Paul Beyer • Peter Bielfeld • Brian Bilcher • Carl Bini • Michael Bocchino • Frank Bonomo • Gary Box • Michael Boyle • Kevin Bracken • Michael Brennan • Peter Brennan • Daniel J. Brethel • Patrick Brown • Andrew Brunn • Vincent Brunton • Ronald Bucca • Greg Buck • William Burke Jr. • Donald Burns • John Burnside • Thomas Butler • Patrick Byrne • George Cain • Salvatore Calabro • Frank Callahan • Michael Cammarata • Brian Cannizzaro • Dennis Carey • Michael Carlo • Michael Carroll • Peter J. Carroll • Thomas Casoria • Michael Cawley • Vernon Cherry • Nicholas Chiofalo • John Chipura • Michael Clarke • Steven Coakley • Tarel Coleman • Robert Cordice • Ruben Correa • John Coughlin • James Coyle • Robert Crawford • John Crisci • Dennis Cross • Thomas Cullen III • Robert Curatolo • Edward Datri • Michael D'Auria • Scott Davidson • Edward Day • Thomas DeAngelis • Manuel Delvalle • Martin Demeo • David Derubbio • Andrew J. Desperito • Dennis Devlin • Gerard Dewan • George DiPasquale • Kevin Donnelly • Kevin Dowdell • Raymond Downey • Gerard Duffy • Martin J. Egan Jr. • Michael Elferis • Frances Esposito • Michael Esposito • Robert Evans • John Fanning II • Thomas Farino • Joseph Farrelly • Terrence Farrelly • William Feehan • Lee Fehling • Alan Feinberg • Michael Fiore • John Fischer • Andre Fletcher • John Florio • Michael Fodor • Thomas Foley • Robert Foti • Peter Freund • Thomas Gambino Jr. • Peter Ganci • Charles Garbarini • Thomas Gardner • Matthew Garvey • Bruce Gary • Gary Geidel • Edward Geraghty • Denis Germain • Vincent Giammona • James Giberson • Ronnie Gies • Paul Gill • John Ginley • John Giordano • Jeffrey Giordano • Keith Glascoe • James Gray • Joseph Grzelak • Jose Guadalupe • Geoffrey Guja • Joseph Gullickson • David Halderman • Vincent Halloran • Robert Hamilton • Sean S. Hanley • Thomas Hannafin • Dana Hannon • Daniel Harlin • Harvey Harrell • Stephen Harrell • Thomas Haskell Jr. • Timothy Haskell • Terence Hatton • Michael Haub • Michael Healey • John Heffernan • Ronnie Henderson • Joseph Henry • William Henry • Thomas Hetzel • Brian Hickey • Timothy Higgins • Jonathan Hohmann • Thomas Holohan • Joseph Hunter • Walter G. Hynes • Jonathan Ielpi • Frederick Ill Jr. • William Johnston • Andrew Jordan • Karl Joseph • Anthony Jovic • Angel Juarbe Jr. • Vincent Kane • Charles Kasper • Paul Keating • Richard Kelly Jr. • Thomas W. Kelly • Thomas Kennedy • Ronald Kerwin • Michael Kiefer • Robert King • Scott Kopytko • Kenneth Kumpel • Thomas Kuveikis • Scott Laarsen • David LaForge • William Lake • Robert Lane • Peter Langone • Joseph Leavey • Neil Leavy • Daniel Libretti • Robert Linnane • Michael Lynch • Michael Lyons • Patrick Lyons • Joseph Maffeo • William Mahoney • Joseph Maloney • Joseph Marchbanks Jr. • Charles Margiotta • Kenneth Marino • John Marshall • Peter Martin • Paul Martini • Joseph Mascali • Keithroy Maynard • Brian McAleese • John McAvoy • Thomas McCann • William McGinn • William McGovern • Dennis McHugh • Robert McMahon • Robert McPadden • Terence McShane • Timothy McSweeney • Martin McWilliams • Raymond Meisenheimer • Charles Mendez • Steve Mercado • Douglas Miller • Henry Miller Jr. • Robert Minara • Thomas Mingione • Paul Mitchell • Louis Modafferi • Dennis Mojica • Manuel Mojica • Carl Molinaro • Michael Montesi • Thomas Moody • John Moran • Vincent Morello • Christopher Mozzillo • Richard Muldowney Jr. • Michael Mullan • Dennis Mulligan • Raymond Murphy • Robert Nagel • John Napolitano • Peter Nelson • Gerard Nevins • Dennis Oberg • Daniel O'Callaghan • Douglas Oelschlager • Joseph Ogren • Thomas Ohagan • Samuel Oitice • Patrick I. O'Keefe • William O'Keefe • Eric Olsen • Jeffrey Olsen • Steven Olson • Kevin O'Rourke • Michael Otten • Jeffrey Palazzo • Orio Palmer • Frank Palombo • Paul Pansini • John Paolillo • James Pappageorge • Robert Parro • Durrell Pearsall • Glenn Perry • Philip Petti • Kevin Pfeifer • Kenneth Phelan • Christopher Pickford • Shawn Powell • Vincent Princiotta • Kevin Prior • Richard Prunty • Lincoln Quappe • Michael Quilty • Leonard Ragaglia • Michael Ragusa • Edward Rall • Adam Rand • Donald Regan • Robert Regan • Christian Regenhard • Kevin Reilly • Vernon Richard • James Riches • Joseph Rivelli Jr. • Michael Roberts • Anthony Rodriguez • Matthew Rogan • Keith Roma • Nicholas Rossomando • Paul Ruback • Stephen Russell • Michael Russo • Matthew Ryan • Thomas Sabella • Christopher Santora • John Santore • Gregory Saucedo • Dennis Scauso • John Schardt • Thomas Schoales • Gerard Schrang • Gregory Sikorsky • Stephen Siller • Stanley Smagala Jr. • Leon Smith Jr. • Kevin Smith • Robert Spear • Lawrence Stack • Timothy Stackpole • Gregory Stajk • Jeffrey Stark • Benjamin Suarez • Daniel Suhr • Christopher Sullivan • Brian Sweeney • Sean Tallon • Alan Tarasiewicz • Paul Tegtmeier • John Tierney • John Tipping Jr. • Hector Tirado Jr. • Richard VanHine • Lawrence Veling • John Vigiano II • Sargio Villanueva • Lawrence Virgilio • Robert Wallace • Jeffrey Walz • Michael Warchola • Patrick Waters II • Michael T. Weinberg • Timothy Welty • Eugene Whelan • Edward White • Mark Whitford • Glenn E. Wilkinson • John Williamson • David Wooley • Raymond R. York Jr.

Fire Fighters/AFT
Andrew Fredericks

Fire Fighters/Iron Workers
John Collins • Peter Vega • Kenneth Watson • David Weiss

Fire Fighters/Operating Engineers
William Krukowski • Fred Scheffold

Fire Fighters/Plumbers and Pipe Fitters
Thomas R. Kelly

Fire Fighters/SEIU
Christopher Blackwell

Flight Attendants
Lorraine G. Bay • Sandra W. Bradshaw • Robert Fangman • Wandra A. Green • Amy Jarret • Amy R. King • Kathryn LaBorie • Cee Cee Lyles • Michael C. TarrouvAlicia N. Titus • Deborah A. Welsh

Flight Attendants/CWA
Alfred G. Marchand

Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees
Shabbir Ahmed • Antonio Javier Alvarez • Telmo Alvear • Manuel O. Astimbay • Samuel Ayala • Sophia Buruwa Addo • Jesus Cabezas • Ivhan Luis Carpio Bautista • Manuel-Gregorio Chavez • Mohammed S. Chowdhury • Jose De Pena • Nancy Diaz • Henry Fernandez • Lucille V. Francis • Enrique A. Gomez • Jose B. Gomez • Wilder Gomez • John Holland • Francois Jean-Pierre • Eliezer Jimenez Jr. • Abdoulaye Kone • Victor Kwarkye • Jeffrey LaTouche • Leobardo Lopez • Jan Maciejewski • Manuel Mejia • Antonio Melendez • Nana Akwasi Minkah • Martin Morales • Blanca Morocho • Jerome Nedd • Juan Neives Jr. • Jose R. Nunez • Isidro Ottenwalder • Jesus Ovalles • Victor Paz Gutierrez • Alejo Perez • Moises N. Rivas • David B. Rodriguez-Vargas • Gilbert Ruiz • Juan Salas • Ysidro H. Tejada • Abdoul Karim Traore

Iron Workers
William J. Cashman

Laborers
Kieran J. Gorman • Ricknauth Jaggernauth • Amarnauth Lachhman • Francisco M. Mancini

Longshoremen
William Thompson • Thomas Jurgens • Mitchell Wallace

Machinists
Marianne MacFarland • Jesus Sanchez

Office and Professional Employees William Valcarcel

Operating Engineers
Vincent Danz • Vito Deleo • John Griffin Jr. • Charles Magee • David Williams

Painters and Allied Trades
Robert A. Campbell • Julio Fernandez • Derrick Green • Thomas F. Hughes • Theodoros Pigis • Efrain Romero • Norbert Szurkowski

Patrolmens Benevolent Association
John Dallara • Vincent Danz • Jerome Dominguez • Stephen Driscoll • Mark Ellis • Robert Fazio • Ronald Kloepfer • Thomas Langone • James Leahy • Brian McDonnell • John Perry • Glenn Pettit • Moria Smith • Ramon Suarez • Paul Talty • Santos Valentin • Walter Weaver

Plumbers and Pipe Fitters
Felix Calixte • Arturo Sereno

Port Authority Police Benevolent Association
Christopher Amoroso • Maurice Barry • Liam Challahan • Robert Cirri • Clinton Davis • Donald Foreman • Gregg Froehner • Thomas Gorman • Uhuru Houston • George Howard • Steve Huczko • Anthony Infante • Paul Jurgens • Robert Kaulfers • Paul Laszczynksi • David Lemagne • John Lennon • John Levi • James Lynch • Kathy Mazza • Donald McIntyre • Walter McNeil • Fred Morrone • Joseph Navis • James Nelson • Alfonse Niedermeyer • James Parham • Dominick Pezzulo • Bruce Reynolds • Antonio Rodrigues • Richard Rodriguez • James Romito • John Skala • Walwyn Stuart • Kenneth Tietjen • Nathaniel Webb • Michael Wholey

Postal Workers
Joseph Curseen Jr. • Thomas Morris Jr.

Public Employees Federation—jointly affiliated with AFT and SEIU
Jeremial Ahearn • Ernest Alikakos • Japhet Aryee • Steven Berger • Eli Chalouh • James Domanico • Sareve Dukat • Clyde Frazier Jr. • Dianne Gladstone • Cindy Guan • Adanga Ignatius • Neil K. Lai • Chow K. Lam • Hyunjoon Lee • Myoung Lee • Stephen Lefkowitz • Charles Lesperance • Tyrone May • Robert Miller • Richard Miuccio • Oscar Nesbitt • Michael Ou • Salvatore Papasso • Diane Parsons • Dennis Pierce • Rose M. Riso • Gerard Ruauzi • Jonathan S. Schlissel • See Wong Shum • Barry Simowitz • Tesh Tembe • Diane Urban • Sankara Velamuri • Yuk Ping Wong

SEIU
Godwin Ajala • Angelo Amaranto • James Audifred • Larry Bowman • Rocco Camaj • Christopher Carstanjen • Denny Conley • Francisco Cruz Sr. • Simon Dedvukaj • Mon Djonbalaj • Benilda Domingo • Samuel Fields • Ervin Gailliard • Leon Lebor • Daniel Lugo • Anthony Luparello Jr. • Robert Martinez • Manuel Molina • Jorge Morron • Kathy Nguyen • Sonia Ortiz • Vishnoo Ramsaroop • Esmerlin Salcedo • Fabian Soto • David M. Sullins • Vanauah Thompson • John White

Sergeants Benevolent Association
John Coughlin • Michael Curtin • Rodney Gillis • Timothy Roy

Transportation • Communications Union
James W. Barbella • Edward Calderon • Rocco Medaglia • Eugene Raggio • Edward T. Strauss

United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America
Sean Canavan • Martin Coughlan • Matthew Diaz • Paul Gill • Mauricio Gonzalez • Maurice Kelly • Chris Kirby • Benjamin Millman • Joseph Mistruilli • Brian Monaghan • David Ortiz • Joseph Piskadlo • John Rizzo • Daniel Rossetti • David Ruddle • Steven Russell • Erick Sanchez • Robert Vecario • Patrick Woods

April 29, 2013

Look at who met President Obama (video corrected)

http://www.omaha.com/article/20130429/NEWS/130429635/1685#husker-spring-game-star-jack-hoffman-meets-with-president-obama

Husker spring game star Jack Hoffman meets with President Obama


OFFICIAL WHITE HOUSE PHOTO BY PETE SOUZA
President Barack Obama greets Jack Hoffman of Atkinson, Neb., in the Oval Office on April 29, 2013.


Jack Hoffman's big month just got bigger.

The 7-year-old cancer patient who became an Internet sensation for his touchdown run in Nebraska's spring football game has yet another fan — President Barack Obama.

Jack, his family and former Husker running back Rex Burkhead visited Obama for 15 minutes in the Oval Office on Monday. Obama presented Jack with a new football and told him he was proud of him.

"I thought it was awesome," Jack said.

FULL story at link.


Related news at link.

Shatel: Cameras catch little of Jack's long journey
World-Herald editorial: Little Husker and big hearts
Man, woman and child ... what a run!



#1 ESPN this month: http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_784508&feature=iv&src_vid=CH-g0mEUJq8&v=_Jmisv1Spck

January 16, 2013

Get this one & the extension chord for yours and the birds safety

http://www.sears.com/allied-precision-ind-250-watt-aluminum-bird-bath/p-SPM6393420308?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1



Product Description

Allied Precision Ind 250 Watt Aluminum Bird Bath De Icer W250

Bird bath de icer
Keeps birdbaths from freezing
Compact aluminum base in a low profile design
Safe to use in plastic bird baths
Non-Stick coating and flowing water all combine to reduce mineral buildup
10' cord
250 watt
Length: 6.75
Width: 3.25
Height: 6 - Ship Weight: 3.00 lbs.


http://www.songbirdgarden.com/store/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=9471



Safely connect outdoor heated accessories in rain or snow! (also there is a 50ft model)

LOCKNDRY Power Supply Extension Cord - 16 guage, 25 ft long. The revolutionary LOCKNDRY is the only detachable power supply cord approved by Underwriters Laboratories for use only with Allied Precision heated buckets, heated pet bowls, heated bird baths, deicers, etc. Provides a water-resistant seal while keeping the connection firmly secured. the specially designed plug on the LOCKNDRY cord fits any standard outlet, but when mated with the LOCKNDRY compatible power cord, the large black nut pulls the plug tight against the gasket to form a water-resistant seal. The red nut the locks everything in place and prevents cord separation. The LOCKNDRY is great as an all-purpose extension cord too! Made in the USA!

October 2, 2012

Chavez Foundation, UFW, Chavez family Applaud President Obama for Chavez National Monument Designati

Source: UFW

Cesar Chavez’s widow, Helen Chavez, his middle son, Paul F. Chavez, president of the Cesar Chavez Foundation, and United Farm Workers President Arturo S. Rodriguez have responded to President Obama’s announcement today (Oct. 1) establishing the Cesar Chavez National Monument. The President travels Monday to the National Chavez Center at La Paz in the Tehachapi Mountain hamlet of Keene, Calif. for the official ceremony marking the designation.

We thank President Obama and Secretary Salazar for establishing this national monument and ensuring that La Paz, where Cesar lived and worked his last 22 years and where he asked to be buried, will always be preserved. But the President is doing more than honoring one man. Cesar knew there were many Cesar Chavezes, men and women who made genuine sacrifices and accomplished great things but whose names are largely forgotten. If Cesar were here, he would say the President isn’t acting to recognize him; he’s honoring the farm workers and all of those who sacrificed by joining the cause. It is in that spirit that we acknowledge the President’s designation and we are grateful to him.
--Helen F. Chavez, widow of Cesar Chavez

My father inspired farm workers, millions of Latinos and people from all walks of life who never worked on a farm. So we are happy that the story of La Paz, which was a spiritual harbor and a place where my dad and thousands of selfless people worked for social justice over the years, will forever be shared with the nation through the National Park Service.
--Paul F. Chavez, Cesar Chavez’s middle son and president, Cesar Chavez Foundation

Even though Cesar Chavez dedicated his life to the farm workers, his legacy, reflected at La Paz where he spent his last quarter century, transcended farm labor and even Latinos because it became a universal message of hope, empowerment and social justice.
--Arturo S. Rodriguez, president, United Farm Workers of America



FULL story at link.



Read more: http://www.ufw.org/_board.php?mode=view&b_code=news_press&b_no=12655&page=1&field=&key=&n=866

---

The reason I stopped eating grapes one summer as a child. Gov. Reagan got Nixon to buy grapes for the US ARMY because Reagan didn't support the grape boycott.

I own one of these original buttons:



On March 10th, 1968, Cesar Chavez breaks his 25-day fast by accepting bread from Senator Robert Kennedy, Delano, California.

Left to right: Helen Chavez, Robert Kennedy, Cesar Chavez

After Bobbi joined Cesar at the hunger strike, entire precincts voted Kennedy and was the voting block that won the CA. primary for the Senator.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rfk/peopleevents/p_chavez.html
One of Robert Kennedy's least glamorous assignments in the Senate was a seat on the Subcommittee on Migratory Labor. He was appalled, of course, to learn of the miserable working conditions endured by farmworkers, at the mercy of big agricultural businesses. But with a lot of issues on his mind -- Vietnam, and the new Bedford-Stuyvesant renewal project in his own state -- it hardly seemed like one he could take on.
Read on at the PBS link.


Bobby Kennedy Smacks Republicans Joins picket line



¡Si, Se Puede! (Yes, It Can Be Done!): Bobby Kennedy Visits Cesar Chavez-REVISED




Raw television outtakes of Senator Robert F. Kennedy arriving at Delano, Calif., to help United Farm Workers union president Cesar E. Chavez break his nearly month-long "spiritual and penitential fast for nonviolence," March 10, 1968. (For background on this visit, see the video "Walking the Gauntlet: Bobby Kennedy's Mission to Delano-REVISED" on this YouTube.com channel).

AT KENNEDY'S SIDE

Kennedy arrived in a car driven by the Rev. Jim Drake, Chavez's administrative assistant, with UFW co-founder and vice president Dolores C. Huerta (beginning at 00:47) and shook hands with LeRoy Chatfield, another aide (beginning at 00:43).

Three months later, on the evening of June 4-5, Huerta would share the platform with Kennedy at Los Angeles' Ambassador Hotel (now the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools) when he addressed his ecstatic supporters after winning the California Democratic presidential primary with the strong support of the Chicano, or Mexican American, and "black" communities. After leaving the dais to address a news conference, Kennedy was mortally shot in a pantry and died the following day.

Standing behind Kennedy at Delano, in a yellow shirt, was Andy Imutan (4:21), a UFW vice president and a leader of the Filipino American grape strikers.

At Delano, Kennedy wore on his left lapel a version of the UFW's black and red Aztec eagle button (00:45), perhaps given to him by Peter B. Edelman, one of his legislative aides and speechwriters, who was Kennedy's point man on the UFW's boycott against table grape growers. "The significance was to show support for Chavez and the work of the UFW," Edelman explained in a letter to the moderator of this channel (Peter Edelman email letter to Paul Lee, Sept. 6, 2010, 10:05 PM).

¡SI, SE PUEDE! (YES, IT CAN BE DONE) - UFW MOTTO

Edelman, who introduced Kennedy to Chavez, described the farm workers' struggle and how the senator became involved with it as follows:

"Farmworkers have always been badly paid and the work has always been performed under very bad conditions. Prior to Cesar Chavez, the various sporadic efforts to organize farmworkers into a union had always failed. In 1966 when Kennedy first became aware of Chavez and the United Farm Workers, he was impressed and wanted to know more.

"In March of 1966 he went to California with the Senate Migratory Labor Subcommittee, of which he was a member, for hearings designed to give Chavez and the UFW a national platform and enhance their leverage in organizing against the entrenched and powerful growers. The two men took an instant like to one another and bonded immediately into a close relationship that lasted until RFK's death. Kennedy became Chavez's leading advocate in Washington, and the two men and their close associates were in frequent contact.

"Through the efforts of Kennedy and others, the Fair Labor Standards Act was finally amended in 1966 to extend the minimum wage and overtime rules to some of the farmworkers -- about 1 percent of the nation's farms and a third of the country's farmworkers. ...

"Chavez ... went on a [fast] in early 1968. His staff was deeply worried that he would die, and that he was gravely at risk of permanent damage to his health. ...

"Chavez's staff got in touch with me and said the only way Chavez would break the fast would be if Kennedy came personally to see Chavez and ask him to resume eating. Kennedy agreed, and that was why he was on his way to Delano on March 10, 1968" (Edelman to Lee).

RFK ON THE FARM WORKERS

With passion and sincerity, in his typically halting manner, Kennedy spoke in support of Chavez's attempt to keep the struggle of the farm workers nonviolent:

"I think people are frustrated and I think they're terribly disturbed by the fact that they haven't had more success and that the federal government in Washington has not been helpful to them and that the state has not been helpful to them, and this is not only true here, but elsewhere in the country, so that there is this frustration and there is apt to be this explosion.

"I think that Cesar Chavez is very influential, but I think also what in the last analysis is the answer is that we pass the laws that will remedy the injustices. That's what we should do, that's what those of us in Washington should do. We shouldn't just deplore the violence and deplore the lawlessness. We should pass the laws that remedy what people riot about. We can't have violence in the country, but we should also not have these injustices continue."

NOTE: The moderator would like to thank Peter Edelman, Peter Goldman and UFW spokesperson Marc Grossman for their kind and generous assistance in properly contextualizing this historic video.

(Video Courtesy Producers Library)

July 3, 2012

Lest We Forget Jul 2, 1964: Today in Democratic History

And this: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/johnson-signs-civil-rights-act

President Johnson signs Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

On this day in 1964, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs into law the historic Civil Rights Act in a nationally televised ceremony at the White House.

In the landmark 1954 case Brown v. Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in schools was unconstitutional. The 10 years that followed saw great strides for the African-American civil rights movement, as non-violent demonstrations won thousands of supporters to the cause. Memorable landmarks in the struggle included the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955--sparked by the refusal of Alabama resident Rosa Parks to give up her seat on a city bus to a white woman--and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s famous "I have a dream" speech at a rally of hundreds of thousands in Washington, D.C., in 1963.

As the strength of the civil rights movement grew, John F. Kennedy made passage of a new civil rights bill one of the platforms of his successful 1960 presidential campaign. As Kennedy's vice president, Johnson served as chairman of the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunities. After Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963, Johnson vowed to carry out his proposals for civil rights reform.

FULL story at link.

January 25, 2012

Unions to run ads after Gov. Daniels’s State of the Union response

http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/205941-unions-to-run-ads-after-danielss-sotu-response

By Kevin Bogardus - 01/24/12 06:00 AM ET

A union-backed group will run a television ad critical of Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) Tuesday after he responds to President Obama’s State of the Union address.

The group, A Working Person Like You, is funded by unions and opposes a proposed right-to-work law in Indiana that is riling labor groups in the state. Daniels backs the proposed law.

The television ad shows a clip of a speech Daniels gave to a local Teamsters union in 2006. In the speech, Daniels said he was not interested in changing labor laws in Indiana.

“I'm a supporter of the labor laws we have in the state of Indiana. I'm not interested in changing any of them. Not the prevailing-wage law, and certainly not a right-to-work law,” Daniels said in the speech.

FULL story at link.

December 13, 2011

DEFEND UNION BARISTA LIBERTE LOCKE

http://www.facebook.com/events/207545722658053/?ref=notif&notif_t=event_invite

*
(PHASE TWO)

... THE DETAILS:

NYC IWW union organizer and rape survivor Liberte Locke is in danger of being fired for refusing to put her safety at risk for Starbucks. In retaliation for her organizing efforts, store manager Amady Liditi has forced Liberte to close every single shift for the last 4 months. After repeated sexual harassment while returning home after 2 AM, and tired of waiting on the slow process of legal charges (multiple ULPs filed with the NLRB), Liberte has been refusing to work past 11 PM for the past week and a half.

THE ACTION:

Demand an end to retaliatory scheduling against Liberte Locke based on her IWW union involvement and that she be scheduled for day shifts immediately.

Call, text or email
District Manager Adler Ludvigsen
(917)497-6183
aludvigs@starbucks.com

Sunday Dec. 11th through Tuesday Dec. 13th

Sample email:

"This is ______ from the _______ branch of the IWW.

I am extremely concerned about the treatment IWW organizer Liberte Locke has received at the hands of Astor Place store manager Amady Liditi. I feel that forcing fellow worker Locke to close every single shift for the past four months is not only discriminatory, but is an obvious case of retaliation for her IWW-Starbucks Workers Union organizing efforts.

I demand that Liberte Locke be put on day shifts immediately and that any further retaliation and/or harassment based on her IWW union affiliation cease. As I'm sure you're aware, workers in this country have a legal right to organize. The efforts of Starbucks to break fellow worker Locke's spirit is an attack on all workers, and is in direct violation of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935.

Furthermore, I demand that Amady Liditi be reprimanded for his sexist behavior in dealing with fellow worker Locke. Knowing that fellow worker Locke was a rape survivor, Liditi repeatedly told Locke that she did not "know her place." It is unacceptable to tell any woman what her place is, especial a survivor of sexual violence.

An Injury to One is an Injury to All."


You can also continue to call and/or text
Store Manager Amady Liditi
(718)288-2495


-----------------------------------------
THE HISTORY:

Liberte Locke has been a very vocal union organizer for the IWW Starbucks Workers Union for over 4 years and a Starbucks barista for over 5. As a move of solidarity she recently transferred to the Astor Place Starbucks to stand up against anti-worker, anti-union Store Manager, Amady Liditi, who spent the last year firing union employees over small infractions in an effort to crush the organizing drive. This is the video of the 8 person shop committee that went public just last January, all but two no longer work there due to firings or serious mistreatment that pushed the workers into quitting.

The IWW currently has 9 Unfair Labor Practice charges pending with the National Labor Relations Board specifically regarding Amady Liditi. The majority of the charges have been filed by, and involve, Liberte.

WHERE WE ARE NOW:

Since transferring, Manager Liditi has been forcing Liberte to close every single shift, without exception, in retaliation for her organizing efforts. This location's closing shift ends at 1:45am each night. This has put Liberte in dangerous situations trying to return home to Brooklyn after work, an over an hour commute. Months ago she witnessed and intervened in the sexual assault of an elderly woman in a dark subway station and just last Wednesday she was viciously sexually harassed by multiple men on the subway, then followed from the subway by another man, and finally a fourth man attempted to steal her purse. After that evening, Liberte made her Store Manager Amady Liditi and District Manager Adler Ludvigsen aware of the situation and that she was no longer willing to, nor would she, work past 11pm. Originally this was accepted by management.

The whole experience informed a recently, widely circulated, essay connecting domestic violence with the abuse experienced at the hands of Starbucks managers That can be read at http://libcom.org/library/my-body-my-rules-case-rape-domestic-violence-survivors-becoming-workplace-organizers



Yesterday, Dec. 7th, Liditi told Liberte that he would begin scheduling her for closing shifts again unless she returned to work with a letter from a professional therapist that stated that what she went through would inhibit her ability to do closing shifts. Liberte responded by saying that while it would be no problem to retrieve such a document that she absolutely refused to on the basis that Liditi was being misogynistic for not believing a woman at her word. Liberte revealed to management that she was a rape survivor and that the experience was very emotionally triggering. During an argument regarding this Liditi mentioned twice that Liberte “did not know her place”. Only further supporting her claims of Liditi’s sexism. Liberte stood her ground and repeatedly stated that she would not be providing such a letter and that she would never again work past 11pm.

A STALEMATE WAS REACHED –
BUT WE’RE NOT WAITING FOR THEM TO MAKE THE NEXT MOVE

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December 12, 2011

Protesters halt operations at some western ports

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20111212/D9RJ8M2O0.html

By TERRY COLLINS

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Hundreds of Wall Street protesters blocked gates at some of the West Coast's busiest ports on Monday, causing the partial shutdown of several in a day of demonstrations they hope will cut into the profits of the corporations that run the docks.

The closures affected some of the terminals at the ports in Oakland, Calif., Portland, Ore., and Longview, Wash., though it was not immediately clear how much the shutdowns would affect operations and what the economic loss would be.

From California to as far away as Vancouver, British Columbia, protesters picketed gates, beating drums, carrying signs such as "Shutdown Wall St. on the Waterfront" and causing longer wait times for trucks.

There were a handful of arrests so far, but no major clashes with police.


Protesters set up a picket line at a Port of Portland terminal Monday, Dec. 12, 2011, in Portland, Ore., as part of a West Coast "day of action." Anti-Wall Street protesters along the West Coast joined an effort Monday to blockade some of the nation's busiest docks, with the idea that if they cut off the ports, they cut into corporate profits. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)