I speak about recent workers' organizing campaigns, the failure of pro-corporate economic policies to benefit working people, and the necessity of voting on November 8.
Hello, hello, hello, John Mason. How is everybody? How is everybody? Hope you're all well. Yesterday I heard the wonderful news. Workers at the Philadelphia Museum of Art have reached a tentative agreement with management of the museum, and this and tomorrow, Sunday, the members are going to vote on it. And if it passes Monday, they'll get back to work. For two years, the work employees of the Philadelphia Museum of Art have worked to organize into a union affiliated with Ask Me District Council 47 to organize for far better wages than they have been getting, something more compatible to employees in compatible institutions. And of course, health insurance, that's always the sticking point, health insurance. But for those two years, management at the museum treated the union like it didn't exist. And finally, the employees of the museum went on strike during the museum's exhibit for Henri Matisse. And I encourage you to support all union organizing drives, whether it be at the Art Museum and the ones at Starbucks for Starbucks employees and Amazon employees, and also the employees at the Home Depot on Roosevelt Boulevard in Northeast Philadelphia. I encourage you to support them. And that's been that's been going on. Workers have finally decided enough is enough. For I'd say since the eighties, forty-fifty years, we've gone a neoliberal economic policy. Now, what is neoliberal? The old classic liberal idea of the fabled free markets, which in reality do not exist. And instead of uh confining purchasing uh locally, nationally based corporations, like American-based corporations, uh, ship the corporations, ship the factories overseas to low to low wage uh developing countries, full of corrupt governments, uh corrupt and repressive governments that repress all efforts to organize workers. And what and all and supposedly prosperity is supposed to arrive. But that has not occurred. What has occurred though is the narrowing of the middle class and the increasing gulf between the wealthy and the poor. And wages. Wages and the federal minimum wage has stagnated, is still at the seven dollar range. While productivity has increased, has skyrocketed, and the cost of living has still increased. In other words, you cannot count on corporations to run the economy. Workers have to be at the table. Or they're on the chopping block. Workers have to organize so that they can be at the level playing field with management so as to negotiate the best deal for themselves. It's not just for themselves. Wait good wages so as to feed the take care of their families and uh send their kids to college and pay the mortgage and pay the car note. In other words, to live a good decent life. Whereas the corporate the corporate uh mentality is uh that supposed to be greed motivates uh uh corporations to do better, and all they do is cut back on personnel and uh so as to make a shop floor uh have to do more with fewer workers and inadequate equipment, and sometimes in uh physically hazardous conditions like uh like chemical fumes and fire hazards and electrical uh dangers and uh blocked exitways uh uh that might might there'll be a danger in case, God forbid there's a fire. We have to continue to organize, whether it be at the work work site or in the neighborhoods. You know the people who would take away our rights and freedoms also are or have organized. I mean, don't let their whine about class warfare get you down. They've been waging class warfare against working people for eternity. And they've done everything they could for in the sake of the for the sake of the free market to keep workers from organizing, such as uh like surveillance of workers and uh bringing in scabs, like pitting one ethnic group of workers against another, and keeping that uh division active so that we don't organize against the real problem. And they encourage one thing they encourages the rugged individualism bullshit that uh that prop that Ayn Rand and other similarly ignorant uh excuses of writers prop have propagated of uh doing everything all by yourself going alone. It doesn't work like that. It is not how the world functions So that is what's on the chopping block and that is what is at stake come November the eighth. It is super important to organize and to and to register to vote and actually get out there to vote and if possible participate in the process yourself, like volunteering in a campaign, or be like me and be a com run for a committee person or run for a public office or be active in your election division's election board. Like I'm also an election board worker in my division in Philadelphia, and I'm going to be taking a class tomorrow to refresh my skills, and I encourage you to get involved in the system as deep as you can. Because the system is involved in you. Don't kid yourselves. What politicians do does does affect you. Sure you can whine about uh they're all crooks and uh try to keep your hands clean from the cis from the whole business, but they're involved with you. The political process is involved in you. Whether in building a road or or licensing a business or picking up the trash or deciding a tax policy or deciding whether or not to go to war. It's all politics and involves you. So please get at get involved in the system and get out and vote November the eighth. Okay, and that's my little screen for the day. And advertisements Hemparific is a lovely little CBD product store on Snyder Avenue near 15th Street in South Philadelphia. There you'll find some of the finest cannabis infused products such as flour and gummies and candies and lip balm and hand sanitizer and dog treats. Look them up please. Himperific LLC dot com and also my beloved career and business coach Michelle Snow. Michelle is just excellent as she walks you through guides you as you develop your professional career or your small business. Let you know what you're doing right, where you need work, and help you network with other up-and-coming professionals. Please hook her up. Growwithsnow.com. Alright, okay? That's it for now. Don't worry, there's more to come. I'm not claming up for nothing. Take care. Enjoy your weekend. Be fresh for the fight. Bye.
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