My Experience with COVID

On the evening of Thursday, August 27th, I started feeling bad.  I wasn’t sure if it was a chest cold coming on or allergies.  I woke up Friday feeling very tired and sluggish.  Friday night I had horrible chest and head pressure, a mild fever and was very fatigued.  I felt about the same all weekend.  When I returned to work Monday morning, August 31st, I answered yes when asked if I had any symptoms of COVID.  I was sent to Medical where I was tested for COVID and the results came back POSITIVE on Wednesday, September 2nd.  COVID has been a roller coaster ride, some days I feel moderately better, some I can hardly get out of my chair.  I’ll eventually beat COVID and be back to normal.

With the release of journalist Bob Woodward’s taped interviews with Trump yesterday I wonder if he had taken the virus seriously from the start where our nation would be?  More than 190,000 American’s have died from COVID.  Trump was warned in January that the virus would be horrible if not addressed.  He lied to the American public and said it was “one person coming from China”.  He continued to lie and “downplay” the virus and even hosted “super spreader” rallies all while knowing the virus could be spread through the air.  How many lives would have been saved if Trump took the virus seriously?

By contrast on January 27th, Joe Biden wrote an op-ed for the New York Times and laid out exactly why he thought Trump was not prepared to lead the nation through this pandemic writing:  “To be blunt, I am concerned that the Trump administration’s shortsighted policies have left us unprepared for a dangerous epidemic that will come out sooner or later.

Pandemic diseases are a prime example of why international cooperation is a requirement of leadership in 2020.  Diseases do not stop at borders.  They cannot be thwarted by building a wall.  We cannot keep ourselves safe without helping to keep others safe as well and without enlisting the help of other nations in return.  And here’s the truth – the United States must step forward to lead these efforts, because no other nation has the resourced, the reach or the relationships to marshal an effective international response.”

The release of Bob Woodward’s interviews with Trump prove that Joe Biden was right.  I didn’t write this for sympathy, I’m going to beat COVID.  But what about the tens..no, hundreds of thousands of Americans that have died or will die because Trump refused to lead during this crisis?  Rant over.

Which Side Are You On?

Which side are you on?

Union density peaked out at almost 35% in the 1954 today it hoovers at around 10%, half of what it was in 1980.  As union membership dwindles so does their voice in politics making it harder to hold politicians accountable for our support.  A perfect is the republican platform of 1956, the approximate height of union density.  The republican platform included protecting Social Security, extending the minimum wage, strengthening labor laws and equal pay among other progressive issues.  It would not be a stretch to say that the republican platform of 1956 was to the left of Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1993.  Another prime example of the loss of union’s influence in politics was the signing of horrible trade laws like NAFTA. 

Union member support for the republican party ebbs and flows depending on the candidates.  Ronald Reagan who garnered 45% of union support against Jimmy Carter, promised to support the members of PATCO in their contentious contract negotiations and earned their endorsement only to double cross them and break their union.  42% of union members voted for Trump based on his promise to bring back steel mills and protect the coal industry.  By contrast Bill Clinton beat GHW Bush by 18% with union members then rewarded unions with NAFTA.

Too many union members fail to realize the impact they have on their union when they vote for candidates that have not been endorsed by their unions.  Trump’s appointees to the National Labor Relations Board have put unions at a huge disadvantage when it comes to union organizing drives and implemented rules that make it easier for companies to refuse to negotiate with unions. 

Walter Reuther was only partially right when he said: “there’s a direct relationship between the ballot box and the bread box, and what the union fights for and wins at the bargaining table can be taken away in the legislative halls”.  Unions are witnessing an all-out attack on the rights of union members by the NLRB under Trump.  The only way to end the assault is to elect a candidate that understands the role labor unions play not just in the economy but in the fight for social and economic justice for all working families. 

So, the question becomes, who’s side are you on?  Voting for Trump will only embolden him to continue his assault on unions and working families.  Joe Biden not only understands unions but also knows the value unions play in protecting the rights of both union and non-union members and has pledged to support unions. 

I’ll be voting for Joe Biden, because I’m on the side of working families, I’m on the side of Main Street, not Wallstreet.  I’m Ridin with Biden!