Hillbilly Report

Does This Sound Familiar?

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February 1933 John L. Lewis speaking to the Senate Finance Committee:
The political stability of the republic is imperiled. In excess of twelve million wage earning are unemployed. In certain industrial states the percentage of unemployed equals 40 percent of the enrolled workers. Of the remaining 60 percent a large number are employed on a part-time basis, and are the victims of a continuous schedule of wage cutting. Those who are employed, directly or indirectly, must inevitably bear the burden of supporting the millions to whom employment is unavailable. The cost of maintenance of government, and the support of non-productive institutions, is, therefore, day by day being passed to the continuously decreasing number of citizens who are privileged to work.
Our Republic and our institutions can not be expected to exist under the progressive accumulation of ills which result from our inability to properly organize our economic processes. Manifestations of widespread unrest and discouragement almost akin to despair, are daily becoming more violent. Over wide areas insurance companies and other investors find the population in rebellion against the usual processes of recovery from debt defaulters. Violent resistance to evictions for rent default daily becoming more evident. Disorder and rioting, because of the inadequacy of public relief, is increasingly prevalent. Continuing bank failures with their consequent train of human tragedies add to the sum total of bitterness of a population sick with waiting and deferred hope for intelligent economic and financial leadership. A student of history will find, in many a duplication of these appalling conditions in the misery of the French people antedating the French Revolution. The Bourbons of France like some of the modern Bourbons in our own country, indulged themselves in idle chatter and continued to believe in their own security, notwithstanding the suffering and degradation of the masses. They paid for their error and their inaction with their heads.

John L. Lewis I'm Sorry! And So Is The American Labor Movement!

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John L. Lewis I'm sorry that all you worked for has gone to Hell in a hand basket. I'm sorry that we have to look to our French bothers and sisters for leadership. I'm sorry that organized labor here in the United States of America loves kissing the asses of corporate CEO's. What can I say, except that I'm sorry that the American Labor Movement doesn't  have a real leader willing to stand up for what's right. It seems to me that American labor leaders are ball less clueless and need to go to France for further education!

Wikipedia
John Llewellyn Lewis (February 12, 1880 – June 11, 1969) was an American leader of organized labor who served as president of the United Mine Workers of America from 1920 to 1960. He was a major player in the history of coal mining. He was the driving force behind the founding of the Congress of Industrial Organizations, which established the United Steel Workers of America and helped organize millions of other industrial workers in the 1930s. After resigning as head of the CIO in 1941, he took the Mine Workers out of the CIO in 1942, then back into the American Federation of Labor (AFL) in 1944.

French workers hold bosses at Caterpillar plant.
GRENOBLE, France (AP) — Angry French workers facing layoffs at a Caterpillar factory held four of their bosses Tuesday at the U.S. manufacturer's plant in the Alps to protest job cuts, a regional official and police said.
It is the third time in the past few weeks that French workers have seized their bosses to protest job losses stemming from the global economic crisis.
Last week, workers at a 3M plant south of Paris held the company boss for two days, and earlier this month workers at a Sony plant held a similar protest.
Elsewhere in a fresh incident, the mayor of the small town of Pont-Saint-Esprit in southern France was prevented from leaving city hall by townspeople angry over municipal management amid the economic downturn. Phone calls to the mayor's office went unanswered, but the local police confirmed there was a "crisis."
Several hundred workers occupied parts of the Caterpillar plant in Grenoble on Tuesday morning and detained five managers. Police later moved in to clear out the seized areas and the managers were allowed to move freely, said Chrystele Aubert, chief of communication for the regional government.
A doctor, Jean-Marie Gallet, met with the detained managers and told The Associated Press that their health was good.
One of the five, who has cardiac problems, was later allowed to leave. Maurice Petit, director of human resources, was seen exiting the factory in early evening, booed by workers.
Read more.

My advice to the American Labor movement is this: Stand up for what you believe in, if you really believe in in anything! I've heard enough bullshit.

Dave Adkisson Give Me A Break!

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Dave Adkisson, President Kentucky Chamber of Commerce had a letter published in the Hardin County News Enterprise, click here to see it or read it at the bottom of this post. David Adkisson thanked Brett Guthrie (KY-2) for standing up to the The Employee Free Choice Act and called it dangerous legislation. In his letter he says " Because unions would know who had and had not signed a card, workers would be exposed to unrelenting pressure and coercion.  Exposing workers to this harassment may seem unfair, but the goal of this legislation isn’t fairness – it’s getting workers to sign cards and begin paying union dues".
Dave Adkisson seems to indicate he's worried about the American worker when in reality, I feel, he, the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and the United States Chamber of Commerce want cheap labor for those they represent. I understand that, but when Dave Adkisson seems to indicate he's standing up for the American worker I feel he's being deceptive to say the least. It seems to me they Dave Adkisson, the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and the United States Chamber of Commerce want to instill fear of labor Unions into the hearts of the American worker, when in fact there is know reason to fear them at all. This is the same tired old fear tactic used by the GOP to keep us occupied with fear while their pals on Wall Street were stealing us blind.
So what does the Chamber of Commerce really stand for?

• According to this author they stand for cheap foreign labor.
• They remain the staunchest advocate of the benefits of the NAFTA! Might I ask benefits for for who?
• They gave us 15 reasons to support DR-CAFTA. 
• The Kentucky Chamber opposes state and local wage mandates that go beyond
  federal requirements. When state or local governments attempt to mandate wage
  and benefit thresholds, safety regulations or additional standards that go beyond
  what is necessary to provide basic, uniform protections, the added cost
  of doing business — and the lack of focus on the real issues that could make a
  difference – decreases Kentucky’s overall competitiveness, particularly with our
  border and peer states.
• The Kentucky Chamber supports legislation that repeals the employer mandate to withhold union dues from an employee’s salary.
• The Kentucky Chamber is firmly opposed to any local or statewide expansion of public employee collective bargaining. The expansion of public employee collective bargaining can lead to inefficient administration of public duties, increased costs to taxpayers and an increased likelihood of interruptions of essential government services.
• They campaign against Democratic candidates and use excerpts from news papers like the Paducah Sun to promote their view. Click here to see the video they used against Bruce Lunsford, click here to see their union fear tactic ad and click here to see their youtube channel.

I suggest the video below is really what the Chamber of Commerce believes in and the American worker will never be able to work cheap enough or hard enough to suit them.

Read the Dave Adkisson letter to the Editor after the hump.

The Current Economic Crisis And What The Future Holds For The American Worker.

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Opinion:
Today March 9, 2009 unemployment is at 8.1% and already people are lining up by the thousands for the few available jobs. While most of us believe this is bad corporate America and the Chamber of Commerce are salivating at the opportunity to play workers against each other to obtain cheaper labor. Workers in the private sector have watched their health care benefits dwindle or disappear and for the most part don't have traditional pension plans. They've lost equity in their homes and watched their 401k' s drop like a rock and are desperate to keep their jobs, even if it means a cut in pay.
The Future
So what's in store for the American worker? I believe I know what's in store, but I hope I'm wrong, however I wouldn't be taking the time to blog this if I didn't feel the American worker will be working longer hours for less benefits and money for a long time to come. So you might ask how do I reach this conclusion? Read on and then feel free to challenge my thoughts with a comment.
Read more after the hump.

My Answer To Senators Mitch McConnell, Bob Corker and David Vitter Youtube Video

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Senator Mitch McConnell seems to think American workers are delusional, well my answer to Senator Mitch McConnell and his pals Senator Bob Corker and Senator David Vitter are in this 2 minute video below.

It's Time To fight Back! Tell BB&t To Take Their Money And Stick It!

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Senator Mitch McConnell stops Big 3 auto bridge loan. This is the same Senator that didn’t bat an eye when it came to bailing out the bankers and insurance companies. It seems that McConnell is more interested in busting the UAW than the welfare of our nation. Senator Mitch McConnell wants auto workers to work for less and with fewer benefits while he spends $19.2 million and secures a $1.2 million loan from BB&T to keep his Senate seat at a time when regular folks are losing their jobs and getting kicked out of their homes. It’s a shame that a dumb ass senator from Kentucky has the power to bring down the U.S. auto industry and maybe the U.S. economy, but he does and I believe he’ll go to any length to do it and those that think different are naive to say the least.
This is a great day for Chamber of Commerce and all of those with a hatred of organized labor and working folks, and now it’s time to make them pay for what their lackeys did last night. For starters I suggest Senator Mitch McConnell’s banker BB&T, the bank that kept him in Kentucky’s Senate race, be the fist victim on the list. Yes I’m suggesting every progressive institution tell BB&T to take their money and stick it and then divest themselves of any and all BB&T investments.

Striking OVACO Workers Gaining Widespread Community Support

Hillbilly Report
Glendale, Kentucky
August 2, 2007
http://www.hillbillyreport.com/
http://www.ditchmitchky.com/ 

Louisville, Kentucky – Workers on strike at Ohio Valley Aluminum Company (OVACO) in Shelbyville, Ky., have received unprecedented encouragement and support from the Louisville community and beyond in the month-and-a-half labor dispute to gain their first union contract at the aluminum plant.
Since their strike began June 1, a broad array of civic, labor and community-based organizations have rallied to the cause of the OVACO workers and their quest for a voice in conditions of employment.
Teamsters, Machinists, Auto Workers, Teachers, Electronics and Communications Workers, Ironworkers, Operating Engineers, State, County and Municipal Employees, Food and Commercial Workers, Nurses and many other union members from the AFL-CIO labor federation actively participated in a mass rally July 11 at the Louisville corporate headquarters of OVACO’s holding company, Interlock Industries. Louisville’s Jobs with Justice Coalition – including religious groups like Interfaith Workers Justice and other community organizations – took part in that rally and vow to be increasingly involved in future campaign plans for the OVACO strike.
USW Local 1693 President Kevin Baird said 1,600 members of the local union who work at other area companies are donating time, money and other forms of support to the strikers. Aside from OVACO, Local 1693 represents workers at Alcoa, Hussey Cooper, American Synthetic Rubber, Tyson Foods, Bruce Fox, Clayton & Lambert, Millennium Forge, Revere Packaging,. Diego Distilleries (Makers Mark), Tube Ice, Turbo Refrigeration, Allied Drum, Henry Vogt, Dispenser Optical, Conco, Sypris Technologies, Cohart Refractory, General Shale, Noveils Rolling, Louisville Ladder and Hillerich and Bradsby (Louisville Slugger.)
In addition to the Steelworkers Strike & Defense Fund, thousands of dollars have been donated by working people to help sustain striking families through the hard times. USW District 8 Director Billy Thompson issued an appeal to Steelworkers members throughout Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland urging donations for OVACO workers. He said, “This dispute is not just about the folks at OVACO. It’s about defending every man and woman in America who chooses to have a union.”
Food donations have been overwhelming. Baird said, “We’ve had such an outpouring of food donations that picketers haven’t had to go shopping for three weeks.”
Since management stripped away workers’ meager health insurance when the strike began, union supporter David W. Suetholz M.D. and his office in Taylor Mill, Ky., have provided medical care to strikers and their families free of charge.
And the first line of defense for many strikers is their own family. Katie Wentworth, wife of 23-year-old OVACO striker Alvin Wentworth, can be found on the picket line, at demonstrations or at the union hall as frequently as company employees. And when walking the picket line, she can sometimes be found with her aunt and uncle, Debbie and Roger Whitehouse, also active strike supporters. Family and community support has been a key element in keeping the strikers strong, united and energized.
Striker Alvin Wentworth said, “It sure helps to have your family behind you when you’re in a fight like this.”
USW Local 1693 represents more than 90 employees at the Ohio Valley Aluminum Co.’s billet-making plant, which is owned by Louisville’s wealthy Mackin family. The 850,000 member United Steelworkers vows to mount an international support campaign to back up OVACO workers seeking their right to have a union and collective bargaining rights.