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.
