Rural America was seceded to the GOP by the Democrats, likewise the labor trades seceded the rural counties to non-union shops. In the old days, unions, in these rural areas, got bigger and bigger until they decided they could leave the rural counties' side, and compete in the large cities, foregoing smaller populated counties, which used to be union sanctuaries.
This type of strategy is not working. Retreating never works. It is just like going into a fort or a castle, which sooner or later, the fortifications will be breached. All that is happening is just buying time and the Democrats and labor unions have both run out of time.
It is time now for an offense and come out of the forts and castles and take back rural America. They, the labor and Democrats, should work together with all their resources combined, such as money and people power. If used wisely, they both could become relevant again in our rural countrysides. By attending all public meetings, using the time before each meeting to promote whatever is relevant to the Democrats or labor at the time, such as healthcare, $15 minimum wage, jobs, union support on jobs, and supporting people who we have elected. Sometimes, these board members need to be reminded not only who they work for, but also where the tax base comes from.
The 99 percent have to retake their state’s government and local local government agencies, such as water boards, fire boards, school boards, city and county boards, and then take these people to the state government, and then take the best of these and run the for federal government positions. This is the strategy the Koch brothers and the Tea Party used and were successful at it.
If we do this, only then will the 99 percent start to have their basic needs fulfilled in things like a living wage, free education, right to join a union, free healthcare, good pensions, or UBI (universal basic income) since workers are being replaced by automation and robots. UBI can be achieved by charging rent for our Commons. We need our elected people to deal with climate change and stop going to war in a pathetic attempt to look macho and make their corporate cronies lots of money.
This all can be done if we have the will and elect the right people.
Yes, they are coming for us. Workers need to have one another’s backs because no one else will. Neither the broader labor movement nor the Democratic party are prepared to meet the urgency of this moment. So it’s going to fall upon the rest of us to mount a real resistance against Trump’s authoritarian takeover. We’re going to have to get our hands dirty. I don’t care if you have a good, well-paying union job and you are in the middle class now—if you see a worker being dragged out of his workplace regardless of how skilled the job and potentially taken to another country, you should be ready to be there for that worker. When I.C.E. shows up, gather around and shame them into leaving. It has worked in other places. America is sleep walking into authoritarianism, and if there’s anyone out there who is a member of a labor union that is safe—at this point— and doesn’t think this applies to them. Understand that they just haven’t gotten to you yet. They’re coming for all of us. There are ...
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