I have no republican friends...I used to...
I have always been a democrat, I was raised by a Teamster truck driver from Philadelphia. If anyone knows anything about Philly unions in the 60's, well they unbreakable. I remember being scared, my mom crying, when Daddy had to walk the picket lines. In those days, the men were maced, hit with bats, anything you could think of. The teamsters had their own goon squads, men specifically sent to the strike to protect our union men and take the mace in the face. My uncle was a "goon". He was a truckdriver too, but during the strikes he was a protector. Now the strength my father and uncle fought to protect is being systemically dismantled. And quite a number of the people screaming about the "horrors" of the union, were the same children, given a better life, because of the union their father belonged to. There was never a moment , as a child, that I couldn't see a doctor. My parents never had to think twice about taking us to a doctor, they knew their benefits would cover it. And dentists, which so many people aren't covered for, were just another benefit we didn't think about! Now, children die for lack of dental, 40 yrs. later! Really, do we want to go backwards?
My sister's husband works for GM (you know those guys, the one's that are earning a gazillion dollars an hour, that's right, Fox told me about them). I see her worry, constantly, over her 3 children, you see, their benefits come with a specific number of doctors visits. So now, if her child is ill, she has to judge the severity, for fear of wasting a visit. Yup, they are living the American Dream, those fancy-pants union guys!
Then, in 1998, my fiance joins me in a union fight for the dealers in Atlantic City. For me it was a no-brainer, wow, I was so naive! We not only lost an amazing amount of friends, but he was fired and black-balled in Atlantic City, after they stole the election from us (think shades of Wisconsin). I then realized the people I had thought were friends, well, they could care less about the plight of anyone else. Over and over, I was told, we do not need a union!
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