Harold Schaitberger, discuss, fire fighters head

[JohnKleeb]

Harold Schaitberger. I have a lot of respect for him for his loyality to John Kerry through out the primaries even when it seemed hopeless for John. It just sickens to me to hear how Andy Stern of the SEIU is saying that it may not be so bad if Bush gets reelected, that man is a disgrace to everything to my unionist relatives fought for. Mr. Harold Schaitberger, I believe would be have been a nice choice, I am not angry with the DNC for not including him because we got so many great speakers, but I admire Harold Schaitberger a lot, Kerry even included him in his victory speech in Iowa, Kerry knows about loyality and Harold Schaitberger and his firefighters examplify this to the max.
this is him. I am reading in his official bio that he won by acclamation. http://www.iaff.org/across/content/president/bio.html
thats his bio and its fascinating to know that hes from around here. Thanks just wanted to point out one of the other heroes of the politics this year and a man who represents what organized labor is all about. I really think he should have spoken at the DNC this year but I assume Mr. Schaitberger still does his duties as a firefighter as did John L. Lewis the famous head of the CIO and of United Miners of America. Oh and if anyone is curious, AFL-CIO John Sweeney is speaking at the convention, Sweeney is a great man.

[JohnKleeb]

1. kick please read

[opihimoimoi]

2. As a Ret'd Fire Captain, I hear ya man.... I hear ya...

[JohnKleeb]

5. Well you know unions are my pet issue

Yeah opi, I remember now, you were a firefighter. I dont have any fire fighter blood but I think that Harold is awesome, he examplifies the union tradition perfectly, he would have been an even bigger force to be reckoned if he had lived in the days where the unions were big. Harold, Sweeney, and Gerard are my favorite modern union heads, Gerard is the head of the steelworkers FYI.

[JI7]

3. not only iowa but he stood by Kerry at almost every event in primaries

in almost every event he held during the primaries he was usually by kerry's side. i remember kerry was talking about how people always ask him who that great looking guy is that's always standing next to him. and he would tell others about shaitberger.

i think he is more of a grassroots type person. the type to get out there on the ground and organize people to do things rather than a public speaker type person.

[JohnKleeb]

7. Of course not just Iowa

The man is part of why I think Kerry won, loyality through the good and bad, which is what many of Kerry's supporters did as well. Yeah I saw the speech on Iowa victory night didnt know who he was, but i found out. I think youre right about the grassroots thing, Kerry critics said Kerry had no grassroots but this man helped make it big.

[JI7]

19. very true

remember, the firefighters made their endorsement of kerry public at a time when his campaign seemed to be going no where. they could have put off the endorsement to see if he would do better or endorsed someone else. but they believed in him so much, they WANTED kerry to win and they were going to do all they could to make it happen. no matter how bad things got.

"loyalty through the good and bad" is important. and of course these people knew kerry well and had good reason to be loyal to him.

[JohnKleeb]

20. right around September right?

I am just amazed with how they toughed it out and that goes for devout Kerry supporters as well. I read in an article today that there was one day in December where they got no money, I think Kerry is part of why he won but he wouldnt have have won in my eyes if he didnt have people like the firefighters behind him, that is loyal people who stick with him between the good and bad and arent fair weathered and people like Mary Beth Cahill.

[JI7]

25. yes, i think around september

and you are right. if not for the people who stood by kerry through it all he would not have made it. but he gave good reason for people to stay with him and continue working hard .

[JohnKleeb]

26. I wasnt a Kerry supporter when it seemed dead but

he was my second choice from the beginning, I always knew he would do good.

[Devil Dog Dem]

4. I met him tonight, a class guy

I helped him out at the convention, he and his people are class. They called me and left me a message thanking for the 100th time.

There was a SNAFU and he was getting screwed and we un-screwed it and he was the most non-ego driven guy in the world. He wasn't like a lot of these other pols (don't even get me started on Mikulski!) who were going apeshit when something didn't go their way. He was genuinely grateful when we fixed the problem and we all appreciated his graciousness.

DDD

[greenbriar]

6. I am jealous

that you were at the convention


I wish I could have gone

[JohnKleeb]

9. me too, I wanted to go

[JohnKleeb]

8. oh I am jealous that you met him

He's a great man, who I think is the best modern John Lewis we got, I wouldnt compare Sweeney to Lewis because Sweeney heads the groups of unions, and Harold like Lewis heads a specifc union. Glad he was there, and glad youre there too.

[ConsAreLiars]

10. John, of you really want to get a deep understanding of the Labor

Movement in the US, dig up the several volumes of Philip Foner's "History of the Labor Movement in the United States":
http://www.haymarketbooks.org/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PLST&Store_Code=Haymarket&Offset=158

Zinn's "People's History" is the very short form. Foner goes into the kind of blow-by-blow detail that makes that history live and is a real lesson in "how things work."

[JohnKleeb]

11. I have Zinn's book but thanks

I havent heard of Fomer's.

[ConsAreLiars]

16. Zinn is excellent, but it is like the Cliff Notes on US History.

Short, accurate, instructive, and right on. But Foner gives you a chance to see every battle and every struggle in the early years played out in full detail. Not just for the history (names and events), but for an understanding of how inner-movement conflicts play out and shape the future. Maybe try the 1918-20 edition as a start. Short of that, here's a web page to start with: http://www.aflcio.org/aboutaflcio/history/history/links.cfm

[Devil Dog Dem]

12. Thanks, I'll be seeing him all week. He'll be on the podium . . .

for every big speech, and that's where I work.

[JohnKleeb]

13. I wish I could be there but I lack the money

only a high school student, plus it would be hard to get there I live in Va and where would I stay too is a question though I was offered rooming. Thats good hes there, maybe if you could but tell him that this Fairfax Countian is very proud of its native son. I appreciate the man. Ive heard that labor union heads make terrible secretaries of labor but maybe if Gephardt isnt the pick for that, which is very unlucky, Kerry and Gep are pals, Gep is retiring, and he loves to work with labor, so that position will likely be his. I think he would be a nice second choice for this job, but that would require him to leave this job but I think he should help lead the charge to make unions big again thorugh his current job.

[Devil Dog Dem]

17. I'll pass on your good wishes!

Next time, if you are offered free rooming, go! You don't have to buy much food as most of it is free!

[JohnKleeb]

18. ya see

I am only 17, still live at home with the folks and I didnt have a way up there either.

[Devil Dog Dem]

31. Ah! Makes sense.

Hope to see you in 2008 then.

[oasis]

14. Union kick

[JohnKleeb]

15. thanks

I think if anyone needs to know one of the reasons why Kerry won the primaries, its this man and his loyality even when it seemed unlikely he would go anywhere.

[Rhiannon12866]

21. There are no greater heroes than firefighters

Did you see the documentary "9/11," on CBS, which had unprecedented access to the NY firefighters on 9/11? It was truly amazing. These guys went into the World Trade Center and did everything that they possibly could, no questions asked.O8)

But this guy that you mention should not be supporting Bush*. He is cutting pay for police, who were also the great heroes of 9/11. He must know that firefighters could well be next. Bush* is no friend to any working person.:grr:

Thanks for the info, John. An interesting and new perspective. As for John Sweeney being a great man, it just depends about which John Sweeney that you are talking about, LOL!:D

[JohnKleeb]

22. I didnt see it

I heard later that Andy Stern who is I refered to of the SEIU was praising Kerry but even so, he's fickle minded and abandons candiates, remember he had endorsed Dean but said stuff about him and withdrew his endorsement after Dean started to slump. So even if Stern is for Kerry, I think Harold is a great example to us on the matter of loyality. Stern isnt a firefighter as I said, hes a SEIU pres, and the SEIU is different than industrial unions like the firefighters and steelworkers and what not. Well, I think its pretty obvious, I mean the great president of the AFL-CIO.

[Rhiannon12866]

23. John, you know much more about the unions than I do

The majority of unions came out in support of Dick Gephardt, as you know. I just cannot imagine them supporting Bush* over Kerry, even though neither came from union backgrounds, although Edwards did, which is one reason that he was an inspired choice for VP. He also lends much-needed warmth to the ticket. Both he and Kerry are brilliant men, but Kerry comes off as more aloof. Edwards brings a common-man quality to the ticket. Both Carter and Clinton made some important sound bites tonight. They were both brilliant. This gives me hope.:-)

Loyalty is important. I heard Dean, just tonight. He is there and endorsing Kerry. I really liked what he had to say, as I have in all his recent interviews. We need to think of a cabinet post for Dean. I just hope he can persuade his followers to endorse Kerry. We need every vote than we can get in this election.:scared:

And I do know about Sweeney, LOL! He is not my rep in Congress, but head of the AFL-CIO, the most important union endorsement.:D

[Rhiannon12866]

24. Well, if you want to see bravery by firefighters,

you have to see this documentary, made by two French brothers on 9/11, who had unprecedented access, and was shown twice on CBS. I own it, as I thought it was important enough to have.

Politics can be very fickle, as we are learning. If this guy would abandon Dean, whose supporters are the most loyal, then anyone will abandon anyone. I just heard a report on CNN which said that they are trying to prevent Bush*-bashing at the convention. Why?!!!

I know both John Sweeneys, thanks to you, John, and am not ever likely to get them mixed up, LOL!:D

[JohnKleeb]

27. why would Stern abandon Dean? I dont know. he expected a winner

and I am not saying Dean isnt a winner as a person but in the primaries is the case, Kerry was winning primary after primary, and Stern thought he had got behind the winner I guess, so he withdrew his support. You dont do that, I still gave money to the Kucinich campaign despite rough finishes.
as I said, Schraitberger despite Kerry's team being in a big slump proudly supported him and did whatever he could, his union as mentioned above came out for Kerry when Kerry wasnt doing so well. I wish more people had done that for Kucinich, that is people who agreed with him on many issues and were in the house with him but didnt endorse him, Lynn Woosley did though and she deserves credit. Sorry for thread jacking and making it about Kucinich, its about Schraitberger and how loyality is one of the most admirable attriubtes and how I think hes one of the best men in modern organized labor.

[Rhiannon12866]

28. The difference between Dean and Kucinich, John,

is the fact that Dean dropped out while Kucinich, to the best of my knowledge, is still running. That's the reason he has still been accepting contributions. A friend of mine also contributed again, not long ago, after receiving a call from the Kucinich campaign. It may be a lost cause, but he felt it was important to keep the Kucinich campaign going, so he could have some influence on the platform.:-)

I also wish that more people who agreed with Kucinich had come out more in support of him. As I have often said, where is he? Why aren't we hearing about him, as we are the others? It's like he is the invisible man. We still hear about Dean and Gephardt and Sharpton and Clark, even though they all have officially dropped out. Kucinich, who still has a campaign, is totally overlooked by the media.:shrug:

Jon Stewart, God bless him, pointed this out. He talked about the big flap over Kerry being allowed to take communion on Easter, even though he is pro-choice. Stewart then asked why there was nothing in the news about Kucinich, who is also Catholic and also pro-choice. No one cared that Kucinich was also allowed to take communion. He then showed a photo, supposedly of Kucinich (though it was obviously Kucinich's face on somebody else's body), holding a protest sign proclaiming "get your rosaries off my ovaries," LOL! He said that even this failed to get anyone's attention!:D

[JohnKleeb]

29. actually Rhi he dropped out a fw days ago and gotb ehind Kerry

[Rhiannon12866]

30. Thanks, John, I hadn't heard this

I have heard nothing about Kucinich since the debates, except for a nasty little Samantha Bee segment on "The Daily Show." If he's getting behind Kerry, that must be the reason that they're having him speak tomorrow. I am looking forward to this. All of them seem to be telling it like it is, but Dennis always has. I have to tell you, though, I'm going to lose it if I hear one more reference to Bush*-bashing on the supposedly impartial news! Haven't they been paying attention to what's been going on in this country?! What do they expect?!:grr: