I am more than me,
not the one you had foreseen,
but just like you I had a dream –
a delicate contingency –
depending on a “we.”

*
The poem above was written over a year ago, during the last few months of the 2008 Presidential campaign. When I scribbled the first few lines, I was thinking about all the people in the country who were talking about “change” and “hope.” And I was thinking about then-candidate Obama, who had given a voice to the dreamy-eyed idealism of millions of Americans.

But one thing that disturbed me even then was how some people imagined President Obama would right all the wrongs done by our federal government, especially those done over the past 8 years. Sadly, there were far fewer people who seemed to understand that any substantive change in our political system was going to rely not only on the people at the very top, but also on those at every other level.

Some thought voting was all they had to do. Others went a step further, working tirelessly on the campaign. But far too many seemed to think that once the election was over, there was nothing more to do.

By the time the poem was finished, I realized there are folks who think this way not just about national politics, but also about local politics — and even union politics.

**
As a shop steward for most of the past nine years, I’ve been approached by many who want solutions, who want things changed for the better. Many of them are willing to step up and be a part of their own solution, but some believe that their part ends once they share their problems with someone like me.

Some people believe that shop stewards and business agents can work magic all by themselves. And yes, every once in a while, we may seem to get magical results. We may even get you exactly what you want without you having to lift a finger. But more often than not, you need to be involved if you want real solutions.

Sometimes I remind those who come to me for help that I might need their help to get them what they want. This is how it is for us as union members — we have to stand up for our rights. If not, we have no one else to blame when those rights continue to get trampled. When we make the mistake of thinking our leaders will do everything for us, we set ourselves up for frustration.

***
So when you come to me with a problem, don’t be surprised if I ask what you’re willing to do to help solve it.

If your rights are being disregarded in the workplace, but you aren’t willing to file a grievance, your problem probably won’t go away any time soon.

If you’re unhappy with the way you’re being represented, but you’re unwilling to make your voice heard, you’ll probably remain unhappy for a long while to come.

If you see problems, but you aren’t willing to work toward fixing them and supporting others who do, you probably shouldn’t expect too many solutions.

Any time we fall into the trap of thinking of our union as something “they” run, we surrender control of our union. The union isn’t just the elected officers, business agents or shop stewards. It’s every single member — we are the union.

And if we want something, we can get it, as long as we’re willing to work for it.

Why? Because for years, she’s been a trucking industry lobbyist, and part of the reason trucking safety regulations were headed steadily downhill under the Bush Administration. If you care about the safety of those who make a living on the road (or those who share the road with them), you should take a moment to let your senators know you want them to oppose Ms. Ferro’s nomination.

If you care, please click here to send them a message.

But if you pay a little closer attention, you probably know better.

But just in case you don’t think reform is needed, maybe you should consider that the per capita cost of health care in the U.S. is about double what it is in other industrialized countries. Or perhaps you should know that 7 out of 10 people who declare bankruptcy due to medical bills already have health insurance. Or maybe (if you need more motivation to support health care reform) I should tell you that the U.S. also lags behind other industrialized nations in terms of life expectancy.

All of these factors affect us, whether we realize it or not. And the rapidly rising cost of health insurance premiums will even affect those of us with good union-negotiated health care benefits — if we don’t do something to stem the tide.

Health care benefits are a huge part of every contract negotiated with companies like UPS, and the more expensive those benefits get, the more desperately management will try to do away with them. The rising cost of health coverage in the U.S. is also a huge part the competitive disadvantage hurting many U.S. companies whose overseas competitors benefit from more cohesive, government-structured health care.

All these facts aside, there are still people buying the propaganda that our health care (health insurance) system is the best in the world. And it probably should be, considering our system is twice as expensive. But the sad fact is most of the extra costs we face end up padding the profit margins of the insurance industry, not improving the quality of our health care.

Something needs to be done to curb the out-of-control health care costs in this country, but too many people are still stuck in the mud of lies from the past:

• Lies that suggest health care reform includes “death panels” to decide who lives and who dies — even though no such plan exists. The provision being distorted in this lie is one that provides optional counseling for those wishing to make advanced directives.
• Lies that suggest a government run program would be second-rate and include “rationing” — even though the best-ranked health care systems in the U.S. are the Veterans Administration and Medicare (which are run by the government) and neither engages in rationing anywhere near as much as the health insurance companies that deny life-saving coverage because of technicalities like “pre-existing conditions.”
• Lies that suggest we don’t need reform because there aren’t really 45 million uninsured in this country — even though the problems with our system affect the insured almost as badly as the uninsured.

The White House has put up a site to debunk some of the myths and misunderstandings, which you can access by clicking the image at the top of this post, or by clicking here.

It’s important to educate ourselves on this vital issue, and then to make our voices heard. I encourage you to do both, before it’s too late.

I’ve written previously about FedEx’s misclassified workers and the pending legislation in Congress to level the playing field. It’s an amendment to the Railway Labor Act in this year’s FAA reauthorization bill. If you’d like a little more background information on the whole issue, please click here.

If there are any other concerns UPS Teamsters have about this issue, please feel free to contact your local union representatives or ask me (either online or in real life). Whatever the case, it’s extremely important that all UPS Teamsters understand what’s at stake.

Senator Specter recently told union members we’ll like how he votes on the Employee Free Choice Act. A voice in the crowd responded, “You want my vote — I want yours.”

If you’re a working person living in Pennsylvania, you can click here to encourage Senator Specter to give us his vote.

In watching President Obama’s announcement yesterday concerning the U.S. auto industry, I was disappointed to hear him suggest that UAW employees may be in line for even more forced concessions if the industry is to be saved. I hope that isn’t so. Especially not after hearing members of the administration defend the validity of AIG bonuses under the guise of honoring contracts.

If a contract is a contract, then it should be that way whether you’re an overpaid executive or an assembly line worker struggling to keep his family afloat. I hope President Obama understands that as well.

Watch the President’s address:

So we learned over the past couple days that Senator Arlen Specter is no friend to the working man, as evidenced by his flip-flop on Employee Free Choice (a bill he once co-sponsored, but now won’t even let come to a vote).

In his speech from the floor of the Senate, Mr. Specter announced he would oppose even allowing the measure to be voted on by his Senate colleagues. By denying his vote for cloture (a measure to end debate in the Senate), Arlen Specter is saying he believes a minority has a right deny the majority their right to vote on a bill. This from a man who doesn’t believe the majority of workers in a workplace should have the right to choose for themselves how they want to join a union. In its own strange way, it makes perfect sense I suppose.

In a post yesterday, I strongly suggested that PA workers let Senator Specter know they don’t appreciate him standing in the way of a vote on Employee Free Choice. Today, I point out a convenient way for all of us to send our message to Senator Specter’s office. Courtesy of Keystone Progress, there’s a simple way to send a message telling Mr. Specter to at least let the EFCA come to a vote. Even if he doesn’t support it, he should allow his fellow senators to cast their votes.

Click here to send that message to Arlen Specter.

What changed — the EFCA provisions? No, they’re still the same. Maybe normal working people no longer need any help leveling the playing field? Nope, that’s not it either. So how is this year’s version of the bill different from last year’s?

Oh, that’s right. This year, the measure has a chance of passing, since we no longer have an anti-worker administration in the White House. And Specter is expected to face an ultra-conservative challenger in next year’s Republican primary, so he has to show he’s not a friend of labor unions. Even though he likes to say he is a friend of the labor movement.

I guess actions speak louder than words. Which is why I strongly encourage every Pennsylvania voter to contact Senator Specter’s office to let him know that his loyalty to working people is not measured by empty campaign promises or a yes vote on a measure he knows will never become law (especially when he votes against the same measure when it has a chance of being passed).

If you are a Pennsylvania voter, please let Senator Specter know what you think of his lack of principle on this issue. If you are any kind of voter at all, even if it’s not in Pennsylvania, please make sure your Senators know the EFCA is important to you as well. Make sure your representatives represent you!

Click here to find out how to contact your representatives. Make yourselves heard!

Watch part two here.
Watch part three here.

(via Denver Brown Blog)