Today in Augusta there was a Rally to support the Wisconsin Unions. Historical note: In Germany prior to the start of WWII one of the first groups to be arrested, or killed or jailed, before even the Jews, were the trade Unionists. This has nothing to do with Nazism, this is just a comparison to how Unions are viewed by an authoritarian state.
The war on labor is now global, not local.
I arrived an hour or more early hoping to meet up with friends, perhaps seeking support in a group.
At the beginning I was parked in the wrong spot and it looked as if there were many, many, Tea Party protesters showing up and I didn't see a Union bumper sticker in the crowd.
I arrived early, afraid that there could a huge crowd of Tea Party members and a few lonely Union supporters in the cold Maine winter.
Leaving my eleven year old Escort, I nearly took off my SEIU hat to walk past the pile of angry people and elderly codgers old enough to have their Social Security and their Medicare, but squared my hat, and walked up the hill.
It was like walking towards a sun rise. As I came over the hill I saw like yellow clouds blocking the sun, a few Tea Party flags and members, maybe a hundred.
I am no crowd estimator but in moments I found how small the crowd really was.
Give em credit, the Koch brothers have bought them very nice flags.
Then further into the light, I saw tens, and then hundreds and hundreds of our fellow Mainers, Union members, private citizens not a part of any Union and all around me the crowd kept streaming in. Unlike the Tea Party they were smiling, not hating.
We sang, we had our own signs, made from the heart, we had solidarity! I especially liked "Little beards against LePage"
The bad news is I sang too, but at least I was drowned out by the hundreds of proud tax paying citizens there to support Wisconsin, to support labor in Maine, and YES to support Maine State employees.
The speakers were great, they spoke about the need for us to all support each other or be torn apart one at a time. The messages were all positive, no hate for Republicans, just a demand that we be heard, that we be a part of the solution.
Several Democratic representatives were there, speaking in no uncertain terms. Yes, the economy is bad but it is no reason to break decades of promises, to steal bread, medicine, and heating oil, from retirees, while refusing to bargain over what can be done. (The LePage budget would make it illegal for State Employees to offer concessions to keep their pensions). Yes, would make concessions illegal.
Our Democratic representatives said clearly they knew that this was not a budget issue, that this is no less than an attack on all labor, an attempt to break all Unions across the country and end the rights of all employees to have a say in their working conditions.
I offered one of the representatives the first free hotel room in Massachusetts. I told her, "Lord of the Rings" allusion to riding out to face the foes regardless of the odds had grabbed me by the heart.
All around me brothers and sisters chimed in, offering more support and more free hotel rooms. It can happen but only if they have our backing.
This is a fight for life, a fight for all labor, not just an MSEA issue. Republican or Democrat the legislature must hear from us.
The Republicans don't like a governor who is trying to order them around, it appears there will be a 2/3 budget. They want Democratic buy in to the budget, we must back up our reps and let the Rs know we will vote.
I know many State Employees will be there on the 3rd and the 4th but we need Union members, moms and dads that want good teachers, not lowest bid for profit schools, to be there for the teachers on the 5th. We will be there for each other.
There were sad moments too, looking up the hill to see the few Tea Party members, engaged in Democratic action, but so sadly misinformed, their movement stolen and used by the corporation agenda to make them fight their neighbors, to hate their neighbors, forgetting that they they have been used, and already forgotten and ridiculed by those they helped elect.
Don't make the mistake of thinking the Tea Party is all negative. They are Mainers too but their energy is being transformed to hate, their movement stolen by a few for the benefit of a few.
The Tea Party ideals have been perverted to serve power, and laughed at by those who will never have enough until everyone else has nothing.
Stay home if you must, if you are taking care of family, or sick, but try to be part of history, this may not be the best chance you ever missed, this may be your last chance.
I will take vacation, I will take unpaid time off. What I will not do is to let someone else do this for me. I will be part of this, win lose or draw. I will stand with my brothers and sisters and know that we have done everything possible.
In solidarity,
I hope to see you there.
Narsbars |
- October 23, 2003 
Image by Special Collections at Wofford College via Flickr
