DETROIT (Michigan Radio) - Dozens of people demonstrated for jobs and decent wages outside a meeting of corporate executives in Detroit today.
(LINK)
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/michigan/news.newsmain/article/1/0/151...
Many of them came to protest the appearance of American Axle CEO D Dauch. UAW workers struck the parts supplier last year, and the company is expected to dramatically downsize its Detroit plant, and move some production to Mexico.
Paul Wohlfarth retired from the Toledo Jeep plant last year. He says the loss of manufacturing jobs is devastating communities.
"In Toledo we have the mayor, he's mowing the grass now," said Wohlfarth. "We've had these factory layoffs, they have no tax revenues coming in, we've got Carty Finkbeiner out there pushing a lawnmower around trying to cut costs. Now does this sound like this is working for America? I don't think so."
Wow dozens showed up. What a teriffic show of union muscle that must have been. Perhaps the thousands of laid off workers were busy watching tv or too busy at the casino to bother showing up. I'm sure they were there in spirit though.
Here's to the crazy ones, the rebels, the troublemakers, the ones who see things differently -- they're not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them.
Another dozen people with hundreds of free hours of advertising on Fox Noise and Clear Channel and you could have had a Tea Bagging party...
Exactly, think of the possibilities of how big it could have been if CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, Detroit Free Press, Detroit News, Detroit radio and television stations, and other still working union members had decided to show up. That thing would have been huge.
Here's to the crazy ones, the rebels, the troublemakers, the ones who see things differently -- they're not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them.
But sadly, the rally didn't get hundreds of hours of free advertising from the "media" over a month ahead of time to get a massive rally of scores or even hundreds like some events did.
Oh well...
Sensor protests don't need advertisements to be successful. A protest is a group of "motivated individuals" gathering for a cause. If they're motivated they will seek out the information and disseminate the information.
I've seen hundreds of successful protests and all of which did not need "advertisements". They just were motivated enough.
In this case I don't think one parts supplier attending the business was enough to motivate the majority of the union.
Besides don't the unions have their own publications in which to advertise to their "motivated" members?
MikeyA
I'm being a bit tongue in cheek with my comments to poke a little fun at Fred.
I was pointing out that many of the Tea Bagging parties had only dozens or a few hundred people attend and they literally got hundreds of hours of free advertising on the local and national “media” for a month ahead of time.
Fred pokes fun at his BFF and I poke fun at Fred…it passes the time.
OK, I didn't realize the joke. But now I get it.
Poke away.
MikeyA
With right wing radio and cable promoting Tea Bagger parties the angry lemming ditto heads respond...hopefully not over a cliff! Those that protested are truly grassroots no corporate sponsors here nor was it endorsed by the UAW. I can tell you this, many more would have shown but the financial strain of the times and the lack of union leadership support hurt the cause.
~The greater the ignorance the greater the dogmatism~
Sir William Osler
And the protester's solution is what?
How do they propose to create more jobs?
How do they propose to raise up wages?
How do they propose to get the economy running again?
I'd like to see the same people actually come up with solutions. Anyone can demostrate against something. What we need are people willing to offer up actual solutions. Something I don't see in the protestors who picketed the event.
American Heartland seems to think that the very leadership that ruined our economy should somehow be forming solutions behind closed doors of the Ren Center. The 3% who control you and me will not change this system they have rigged against the average Joe. It will take grass roots activism to push democratic reforms on our elites.
~The greater the ignorance the greater the dogmatism~
Sir William Osler
"American Heartland seems to think that the very leadership that ruined our economy should somehow be forming solutions behind closed doors of the Ren Center"
Really? Where exactly did I say that?
Let me educate you on what American Heartland believes because clearly you don't know.
What American Heartland believes is that the political elites on both sides are so beholden to their special interests- Republicans to big business and their right wing special interests, Democrats to big labor and their left wing special interests.
Neither party have done squat to help ordinary Americans.
The reason Republicans wanted to bail out Wall Street was to protect their corporate interests.
The only reason Democrats wanted to bailout the automakers was to appease big labor who didn't want to lose the jobs.
Quite frankly, neither should have been bailed out and because our government is shown no ability to lead whatsoever, my children and my grandchildren will be paying off trillion dollars in debt that's been run up under Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid's rule in Congress.
Also, instead of driving to Detroit and picketing the Ren Center, perhaps the Toledo contingent should have picketed the local Democratic party headquarters and the union bosses who run Toledo and effectively have run it into the ground.
Toledo is a classic example of how one party rule doesn't work- unless you're in the ruling class, that is. Toledo has so much potential and it's being systematically destroyed from within. Toledo reminds me a lot of California. It has a warped sense of entitlement. Meanwhile, people are leaving the city in droves and Toledo is fast becoming a black hole that's dragging the rest of is in Northwest Ohio down with it.
Put succinctly Wolfman, the wrong people are picketing the wrong people.
I too long for the days of balanced budgets and budget surpluses that we had under Regan and the Bush’s…I almost typed that with a straight face.
I really don't care about what happened under Regan...you meant Reagan, right? and Bush I and II.
I mean, if you want to play that game:
Who controlled Congress most of the Reagan years- Democrats, Bush I- Democrats, Bush II- 6 yrs Republicans (see my remarks about one party rule), 2 yrs Democrats- under Pelosi and Reid the deficit exploded).
Therefore, a reasonable person could conclude the following:
1) Both parties are implicitly responsible for the mess we're in.
2) Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid in leadership positions is very bad for our country.
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But I disgress, What really matters to me, and ordinary Americans who have had it with so-called leadership in Washington, is the fact that we've hijacked our children's future to prop up rich, fat cat elitists in big corporations, big labor, and special interest groups at the expense of Main Street USA.
It's not a Red and Blue debate despite how much they try to make it one.
MikeyA
"But I digress, What really matters to me, and ordinary Americans who have had it with so-called leadership in Washington, is the fact that we've hijacked our children's future to prop up rich, fat cat elitists in big corporations, big labor, and special interest groups at the expense of Main Street USA." Amen Heartland I like this and you know I do agree with most of what you write!
~The greater the ignorance the greater the dogmatism~
Sir William Osler