Michigan Smoking Ban, just another form of government control

Why is it that I can go into a bar and have a drink but come May of 2010 (in Michigan) I will no longer be able to go into a bar and have a cigarette? Drinking kills people, maybe not in the same way as smoking, but it still causes deaths. Either by an illness caused by the alcohol or by way of drunk driving.

I just find it funny that a government tells people that they want all the tax revenue from tobacco sales but they also want to limit were I can have my cigarette.

Now don't get me wrong, I know there are maybe a few places people should not lite up, such as a hospital, but a bar or restaurant...come on!

People who are business owners in this state should be the ones making the decision of whether or not to allow smoking in their establishment, NOT the government. I have always looked at it like the owner of the establishment is the one who pays the taxes to the government and knows what their clientele would prefer, so the owner should be the one to decide if smoking is allowed or not.

I have been on both sides of the spectrum ( as a smoker and non-smoker). When I was a non-smoker, if I went into an establishment that allowed smoking that was my choice to patronise it just as now, a smoker, if I go into a non-smoking establishment I have chosen to do so. I am not saying that all places should allow smoking but what I am saying is that it should be the business owners decision to allow or disallow smoking.

When my children were little I used to always think it was funny that I could go into a kids pizza play place and order a pitcher of beer but if I wanted to have a cigarette I had to go outside. Now since this was the choice of the business owner to not allow smoking, I chose to frequent their establishment any ways. That was fine with my because it was a choice that the owner made to not allow smoking and I as a smoker still chose to go there. What happened to freedom of choice in the country! Any adult can buy cigarettes (this is perfectly legal) and it is the choice of the adult to smoke or not so why can't it be the choice of business owners to allow or not allow smoking in their establishment?

Well, once again, this is just my thoughts and ramblings on just another matter I find disturbing and an infringement of my rights, and the rights to every other citizen and business owner in the state of Michigan.

The government should allow the choice to be in the hands of the business owner whether to allow smoking or not and the choice of the patron who decides to frequent an establishment or not.

Fighting for our Jobs

I am honored to have recently had the opportunity to take a trip to Brownsville, Texas to take part in a protest at the border. I was very happy to have participated in this event to bring attention to the demise of the working class in this country due to things like NAFTA. There was approximately 20 or so of us who took part in a protest at the border. These were people who I knew, some only by face or name, but they were my union brothers and sisters. During this protest I got to know these people on a more personable level, as if we were just one big family, we were all there fighting for the same cause. To let it be known that something has to be done to stop the unfair trade agreements, and corporate greed, that are crippling not only our country but other countries alike, and to show big business that corporate greed is becoming intolerable by the working class people of this great nation.

Companies are being allowed to take advantage of people in other countries by polluting their air, their waters, their land, and by not paying a living wage. All the while these same companies are getting richer while the middle class is being depleted in this country.

During this protest we stopped traffic at the bridge for 20 minutes or so. This was not to stop people from doing their jobs but to make a statement, to show big business that the time has come for a change, a change for the better of the people and to let the people know we have to make a stand. People are losing their jobs and everything they have worked so hard for, the American dream is dying and not slowly.

Now if 20 people can do this imagine if the entire country took part in trying to take back our jobs, our lively hood, our dignity. It is time for everyone to stand up for what is right and what is fair, and free trade is not fair........to anyone.

I give my local union president a lot of credit for planning and executing this entire event. He was willing to take a chance, even if it does not follow the whole political protocol. He knows something has to be done to stop the decline in jobs and the rise in poverty in this country. And he took a risk by organizing and executing this whole protest. Walter Reuther probably said it best when he said "If you're not big enough to lose, you're not big enough to win". Well in my eyes John Zimmick was willing to except a loss if something in this event failed (but it didn't) so this makes him big enough to win. Maybe next time there will be even more support from everyone so that we can let our voices, our concerns, and our opinions be heard on an even greater level.

Okay so this may not be very well written, as usual, but I just wanted to let everyone know how great it felt to feel like you are doing something for the good of the people.

Excuse me, can you clarify that bumper sticker......

Okay I am sure I have written about this before but I am so tired of seeing signs and bumper stickers about buying American. Don't get me wrong I am all for keeping the American people working and buying products that are made here but I think there should be some clarification on these 'signs'.

I have recently joined many Americans on the unemployment line due to the fact that the company I worked for opted to get most of their product prepackaged over seas. Even stuff that is still packaged in the facility might be made over seas (but packaged here in the good ole USA) but by people buying it people here in America stay working. The sad thing is that usually there is no way to tell what products could save a job here.

I see people driving foreign made vehicles all the time. And by foreign I don't just me foreign companies, I also mean the American auto cars that are manufactured in other countries. So why is it if I drive a 'Ford' automobile down the road no one thinks twice about it even if it is made in Mexico but if I drive a 'Honda', that's made in Ohio, people can't believe I would buy such a thing?

Now come on how hypocritical is that?

I actually had a conversation with a prominent physician recently who said he only buys American cars no matter where they are built because at least their money is traded here. Well my response to that is........... well if they make their merchandise here then the money is still 'traded' here since the employees will be receiving a paycheck to buy other products here and keep others working.

I personally have been to Black Lake where I can drive a foreign car on the lot if it is made here and is Union but I can't drive an American car if it wasn't built here (or Canada). Now come on then shouldn't the signs I see at the Union Halls actually say buy Union not buy American.

Well this is just my opinion here, and I am sure some will agree and some may not, but I had to give my 2 cents.

And of course I would love to have everything here say "Made in the USA" because I would like to some day be able to walk into a store and not have to look at the "Made in" stickers on products. What needs to happen is for us as citizens of this great country to stand up and let our voices be heard, let our companies and our politicians know that we want our jobs back, we want our dignity back, and we want our country back.

Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day Everyone! Now let us not forget our early Labor Leaders for better working conditions, wages, and benefits. Even those who are not union members still owe thanks to early labor leaders because without them fighting for all of the mentioned benefits no one would have received them. People lost their lives in the early Labor battles so that we can reap the benefits and provide for our families. As bad as the economy is right now, the common people are still much better off now than we were many years ago.

Should the question of 'race' even be asked?

Should it be legal to ask race, religion, or sex on applications for employment, admissions, or unemployment? Wether it be an application for employment, unemployment, or even college admissions- race, religion or sex shouldn’t even pertain to the qualification, so why would they ask the question. Okay I understand there may be some jobs that may be gender specific but the race of said persons should never matter.

I personally feel that race (or religion) should not be asked on anything I fill out since this should not be used to help, or hinder, me (or anyone else) in any way.

I would like to think that any gain I have obtained in life has been obtained through my own knowledge or connection and not because someone needs to fill a ‘quota’ of any kind. The same goes for things I may have been denied in life. Hopefully these have been denied because I am not qualified and not because of race, sex, or religion.

Okay what made me think about this is I recently had to fill out the application for unemployment benefits in the state of Michigan and was very surprised when the application asked my race. I have to ponder the question, what on earth does my ‘race’ have to do with my eligibility for unemployment compensation? If I have worked the amount of weeks required to qualify, then that should be all they need to be know. I would think in this day and time the question of race should not be asked on anything, especially an application for unemployment benefits.

Amber Alert .....just a hoax?

Yesterday evening I received a forwarded message telling of an Amber Alert that had been issued for a 3 year old child that had been abducted from Monroe. This message even told the color of the vehicle and gave a license plate number. 

With an abduction incident just happening in the city of Monroe recently I immediately forwarded the message to people on my cell phone contacts list and then I decided to make a phone call to my sister and ask her to turn on her television to see what was going on. My sister watched and said there was nothing going across her screen (there usually is when an Amber Alert is issued). 

Of course I initially thought this is a great idea in a case of an Amber Alert. People are always on their cell phones so why not send a message and get it to as many people as possible. Then after hearing that this was nothing but a hoax that was sent to people in many different states I couldn't believe it. I have to ask, how could someone do such a thing? It is like 'crying wolf'. Now will it be believed by people if this was to happen for the real thing? Hopefully some 'moron' didn't just ruin this for someone who really needs this information passed along.

Well, even though I fell for the 'hoax' and forwarded it to my friends and family, I can say that I would forward one again if I ever received a text message like that again. I guess I would rather take the chance of it being fake and still getting the word out, than to just ignore it and find out it was a true Amber Alert. 

Nothing New

Well, nothing new to post lately. I have been quite busy with finals for school and going on a couple small vacations. Apparently I should have skipped the vacations since I received my first C since beginning college. I received a C+ and I didn't take it as bad as I thought I would. I guess I know that if I would actually study it might help. Such a shame though that 1 grade took me off the deans list and no longer do I have a 4.0............... but life goes on.

Also, I found this quote and was wondering if anyone could tell me who said it. I am finding different authors of it and just wondered if anyone knew who the credit goes to.

" A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take away everything you have"

(Ford, Jefferson, or ???)

Sad Situation

It is very heart breaking to hear the news that little Nevaeh has been found, her little body dumped by the river and covered with concrete, or a concrete like substance. My thoughts and prayers go to the family and friends of this precious little girl.

But I have to say  it is pretty sad that this whole case has been tried in the media. The Mother has not only lost her little girl but society is blaming her. Blaming her for allowing men around her daughter that have been charged with sexual crimes and blaming her for allowing her daughter outside alone. Anyone who has children should know that anything can happen is a split second to a child but no parent can say their child has NEVER been out of their sight. Now I am not saying that this women was the 'perfect' mother or that she was a good or even a bad mother for that matter, all I am saying is this family has lost this child in a very horrific manner and the public just wants to make accusations and lay blame. Let this family grieve in their own manner.

I do not know this women or any party to this family, or case, I just think it is sad that we judge people without knowing the facts. I have heard many times that this women is at fault for allowing the a man who has been convicted of a sexual offense (and her alleged boyfriend) to be around her child. If anyone knows anything about the Michigan sex offender law then they should know that a person can be convicted of a sex offense for urinating in outside (indecent exposure) or a 16 year old boy having sex with his 15 year old girlfriend can find himself convicted of a sex crime, and his name plastered on the sex offender list. I do not know their previous convictions. I have read that the conviction for the alleged boyfriend was a 4th degree sexual offense (misdemeanor), but this could be any number of things. I am not by any means saying that the people she had around her child should have or have not been around her. All I am saying is people get the facts before you judge. 

I do not know who could have done this to this precious child, I truly hope is was not anyone in the family or anyone that the mother had brought around her child. The sad thing is that until this sick monster is caught, and convicted, the family and the people originally 'of interest' to the police will be looked upon as guilty because people are too quick to judge someone with the little information put in front of them by the media.

Just remember we are ALL supposed to be innocent until proven guilty.......we should not be presumed guilty and have to prove or innocence!

Once again.....just Quotes

"The only thing more expensive than education is ignorance"

    (Benjamin Franklin)

"With all their faults, trade unions have done more for humanity than any other organization of men that ever existed. They have done mot for decency, for honesty, for education, for the betterment of the race, for the developing of character in men, than any other association of men." (Clarence Darrow)

I have been a little busy with school so I figured I would just ad a couple quotes that I think have a lot of meaning. 

Just think about the Ben Franklin quote......Education is definitely expensive but ignorance will cost you plenty as it is all of us today. Not that we were ignorant but until the economy took such a huge downfall in the last couple years people were just content. Content that they had a job and not worrying about the people they didn't know that were losing their jobs daily do to the outsourcing. Now that this 'epidemic' has affected us all in some form now we want to do something to stop it (and we should). Well guess what it, is expensive.  It's costing people their jobs, their homes, and in some instances their families. So next time you think you are saving money by purchasing something not made here in the USA, think again, the only thing you're saving is another country from getting some of our unemployment rates! And Even though I would rather someone by and American / union made product I also realise that Honda is made in a factory right in Marysville, Ohio. So is it fair to say not to buy that product because it is a foreign company? I don't think so since it employs many people from that area. And if you quit buying that product that would just put those people on the unemployment line also. Wouldn't it be a little hypocritical to say you can buy a Mitsubishi only because Mitsubishi is Unionised? 

Okay I have began to ramble, as usual, and have wondered away from just posting a couple quotes so I will leave my thoughts at that.

And well the Clarence Darrow quote is pretty much self explanatory. 

A great quote

Just thought I would add a quote that I found awhile ago and thought it had great truth to it

"The things that will destroy America are property-at-any-price, peace-at-any-price, safety-first instead of duty-first, the love of soft living, and the get-rich-quick theory of life."

 .............(Theodore Roosevelt).........

The Working People....Nothing left to lose

I went to a labor history class over the weekend and someone brought up a great point. We, the working class of America, have nothing left to lose. Even if you are fortunate to have a job today, tomorrow it may be gone because the economy plummeting. I have to say that I totally agreed with what he said. Think about it, you here of another factory or business closing everyday on the news, if people are losing their jobs every minute in this country eventually there will be nothing. Nothing for us to work for, nothing for us to look forward to, not even anything for our children to look forward to. The American dream to go to school, get a job, buy a house and start a family well, that may very well be just a 'dream' for generations to come. 

I think it is time we have a voice and let it be heard. We, the working people of America, need to stand together, set aside out differences, and fight a battle that will help us all. We need to stop being greedy and stop thinking about only ourselves. We need to work on helping each other out.

I can remember when I was a child my father always drank a certain kind of beer, PBR. Well one day I was with him when he went to the store and he bought a different kind of beer. I asked him why and he said that PBR was on strike and he wasn't going to buy it as long as they were striking.

Now I didn't hear my father talk much about Unions while I was growing up although he was in the Transportation Union. But I do remember the comments he made when the airline traffic controllers were all fired for striking. I remember not only my father, but others too, saying that if everyone would have back the workers the working class would have made a huge stride in the workplace. But instead there were people there ready and willing to take that job away from them. Okay my whole point to bringing up the firing of the striking air traffic controllers is that when they were fired the people who should have stood behind them didn't, instead they stepped in front of them and took their jobs. 

The problem is people are greedy and only interested in getting 'theirs'. Which is exactly what big business has been doing for years. They make, and take, their profits, giving big bonus' to the CEO's and such. Then cry broke and blame the factory workers and unions for their downfall. And their are actually people out there who believe this, or some theory of it. Now I am not saying everybody is greedy, but the majority, in my opinion. And I am sure we are all guilty of it at some point. 

Now though is the time to think of the 'US' in the USA. So let your voice be heard, don't just sit back and let this country,(our country) crumble and fall. Write the politicians, buy only American made products when possible (it's sad that some things may be impossible to find made here in America) and help a fellow worker out. 

Well even though my thoughts may not have been put into to words very well, and usually I tend to ramble, I hope you think.......If people have nothing left to lose.......then what?

American Made

Okay, I just went and put tires on my car the other day. When I arrived at the tire place the first thing I asked was if they had American made tires. They assured me they did. The ones that they offered me at first  were not made here in the USA but they were cheaper. I have to say, with my husband being ill and off work for medical reasons and my job looking pretty iffy the thought of saving money would have normally made me think it might be a good deal. But in this day and time I am more than willing to pay extra for something made right here in the USA and if possible Union made. The problem with us as a whole in this society is we tend to think that saving a buck is a good thing. Which is true in a sense, but not at the expense of our economic stability of our country. I feel good knowing that when I buy something made here in the USA it helps the people here in my country, it helps someone to survive. 

I hope that anyone, and everyone, that reads this will post and let us all know, what did you find / buy that is American made.

If you have found something that someone else might be looking for (that was made in the USA) please post what you found and where you found it. This way if someone else is having trouble finding a product that is made in the USA, that you may have already found, they will know where to find the item.

Let's help one another out. Let's stand together and keep our work here. If the government doesn't want to stop the outsourcing then maybe us, the American citizens, can put a stop to it ourselves. 

Remember this..... if we do not stand together we will fall together! We are watching it happen in our society today with many people losing their jobs and everything they have worked so hard for.

America....the working class struggle

THIS IS A COPY OF THE PRESIDENT ADDRESS TO JOINT COUNCIL. JOHN ZIMMICK, THE PRESIDENT OF UAW LOCAL 174, SPOKE THESE WORDS AT A RECENT JOINT COUNCIL MEETING. I FELT THIS SPEECH HAS SUCH A GREAT MESSAGE THAT  I WANTED EVEN THE PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT AT THE LOCAL COUNCIL MEETINGS TO BE ABLE TO READ THE WORDS AND 'HEAR' THE MESSAGE.

 I HOPE YOU FIND THIS AS ENLIGHTENING AS I DO.

President Address to Joint Council April 19 2009

John Zimmick

 

Lets us not fool ourselves any longer. Our way of living in this country has changed. People who have power have created an illusion that working people are being compensated too much for their work. That this compensation is what has crippled our economy, which we must accept less, expect less, to save us from certain disaster of our nation’s economic stability.

People with great wealth tell us every day that job cuts are necessary, that paying for medical care is the way it has to be, that contracts and agreements can be broken for the sake of a company, that we must be concerned with a company’s well being first. Not the people who are responsible for making that company exist in the first place. They will take your tax dollar to make sure this happens. Nothing given to People like me and you who have sacrificed, our time, our lives to ensure that we could provide for our families. No consideration for People before us who have dedicated their entire lives to make sure that the next person would have opportunity to live well and prosper.

We speak of the erosion of the Union here quite often, with members with friends. Everyone has a theory an opinion on why this is happening. Most people have concluded that the demise of the Union is inevitable because of many things; the laws in place that discourage unions, the new global economy, the failure of our politicians to demand living wages and respect for working class people, the trading of dollars for laws with companies and people that are elected to represent this nation.

I have had the opportunity and privilege to meet great men and women here. People who can truly say they have seen the change. My friends and brothers such as Mike Kerwin and Carl Reinstein and Jim Reyberg. They will tell you what battles were fought and what the fight was about. Not greed, not to cripple companies, this is not what the Union was or is as so many people with money would have you believe.

Health Care? Without the Unions that concept would not have been created.

Paid Holidays? Vacations? Look at your non union friends, and may God help them too, whatever they get is basically the work of the Union before us that demanded that family, worship, and community is important to a happy life.

Medical Leave? Again hard work from our predecessors to ensure that misfortune wouldn’t be a death sentence to your employment.

Seniority? That word did not apply to working men and women before the Unions demanded it.

Ignorance is the problem we have today, right now. Most working people are generations away from understanding exactly what benefits are available to people who belong to Unions. And we are all guilty of not getting that message outside of this building like it should be.

Look at our last national election; we can all learn from this as both major political parties have. The Democrats were able to understand and quickly utilize means of communication that is not in the hands of corporations, where content, opinion, and the truth would not be drowned out by commentators, pundits, and politicians who make ten times what we make and act like they care about America.

We must understand and accept that change in this country will not come from government, it usually never does. It comes from people, struggling people, people with nothing to lose, as where all of us are rapidly getting too. And these wealthy corporations and people in control are probably thinking how close they are to taking back at least 60 years of our economic and social gains.

Has the never ending media bashing of working people achieved its goal? Has social justice been replaced by robbing working people who have no more to give? And exactly what result do we have from this selective bail out of banks over working people? Unemployment is still rising, foreclosures are still rising, the homeless and uninsured are at record highs, and your children have a debt that may be never paid. For what?

Unions and Activists have been beating the same drum for a long time. National Health Care, The right of people to organize and meet and not be punished, which by the way is a constitutional right, the right to truly organize without persecution and threats.

Let us start by showing people that we are the union, stand up and be seen and heard.

People grasp onto sound bites with no meat. Remember Joe the Plumber? How easy is it to hide the truth in this day? It is because we don’t have a majority with our lawmakers, the media, or even our neighbors. But the one thing we have, the one thing that can create change is right here. US. Give literature to your neighbor, educate them. Have discussion with your co-workers who think the unions don’t care. Explain to them it’s not the Unions who don’t care its people who don’t care. The Union is the tool not the answer. Tell them we are here, as many of you know all the time to help, debate, educate, and support all working people all the time. Call us to come to you and your neighbor or disillusioned member because we are all united here.

In a few months the future of working people will be much clearer. When people had nothing, they battled to demand change. We must not miss this opportunity, this very possible last chance. We owe this to the great men and women before us and most importantly we owe it to our children. We must not fail. Thank you.

THAT CONCLUDES THE COPY OF HIS SPEECH. ( WHICH I ACTUALLY CUT & PASTED FROM THE LOCAL WEBSITE, THANKS JOE!)

AND NOW FOR MY OWN COMMENTS...........

I HOPE WHEN THIS IS BEING READ, THAT YOU THINK ABOUT ALL THE GAINS THE WORKING CLASS HAS FOUGHT HARD TO OBTAIN. THINK ABOUT HOW LONG AND HARD THE STRUGGLE WAS TO JUST GET A LIVABLE WAGE, A SAFE WORK ENVIRONMENT, AND THE OTHER BENEFITS THAT HAVE BEEN FOUGHT SO HARD TO GAIN. JUST THINK, IT TOOK MANY YEARS FOR THESE GAINS AND BIG BUSINESS WANTS TO TAKE AWAY THESE GAINS MUCH MORE QUICKLY THAN THEY WERE WILLING TO GIVE THEM. 

I HAVE HEARD OF COMPANIES LATELY ASKING WORKERS TO TAKE $5 & $6 AN HOUR PAY CUTS. THEY ARE ASKING, AND ACTUALLY EXPECTING, THESE WORKERS TO GIVE UP SOMETHING THAT TOOK THEM YEARS TO GAIN. NOW WITH THE ECONOMY BEING IN THE SLUMPS BECAUSE OF JOB LOSS, IF WE TAKE WAGES AWAY FROM PEOPLE WHO HAVE BASED THEIR LIVING ON THAT WAGE WILL THIS NOT CRIPPLE OUR NATION EVEN MORE? WE ARE TELLING THE WORKING PEOPLE THAT THEY HAVE TO GIVE UP WHAT THEY HAVE WORKED SO HARD TO GAIN. TAKING AWAY MONEY FROM THEIR HOURLY WAGE IS JUST LIKE TAKING AWAY THEIR JOBS. WHEN PEOPLE HAVE BOUGHT HOMES AND VEHICLES ON THE WAGES THEY ARE RECEIVING, TAKING SOME OF THAT WAGE AWAY IS ALMOST LIKE LOSING YOUR JOB. THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY THAT THESE PEOPLE WILL LOSE THEIR HOMES, THEIR VEHICLES, AND ANYTHING ELSE THEY HAVE PROUDLY PURCHASED ON THEIR CURRENT WAGES. 

My random thought about Unions

Why is it that when you hear about the Auto Industry failing, the next thing you hear is the blame put on the Unions? Should it not be the fault of Big Business for not putting their money back into their companies to make them more viable? The Unions were initiated to help the working class people of this country. Thanks to the Unions we had a middle class. 

Not only do the dues paying members of the Unions get to reap the benefits that have been gained throughout the years, the non-union members also reap the benefits. Companies, that didn't have unions, payed a livable wage to their employees to remain competitive and so the employees did not seek employment elsewhere.
We must not forget about the people who stood up and fought many years ago to get benefits like a living wage, a safe work place, vacation pay, holiday pay,and many more. These are the benefits that many now a days take for granted. My generation came into the workplace with all these benefits already gained. Just think, before the Unions, companies did what they wanted. There were no benefits if the company decided not to give any. There was no such thing as seniority or an employee having a grievance procedure.

Company CEO's make more in bonuses each year than an employee does, do they not think that this too is a benefit gained for them by the Unions? Think about it, a person would not give up the protection and security of a union if they didn't have more benefits than that of a union member. So since the company is paying the hourly employee a livable wage + benefits then they need to make it worth while to a salaried employee, who does not have the security of a union. 

These are just my random thoughts, and hopefully it makes some sense and doesn't just seem like the ramble that it is.......