Sheet Metal unions and all union labor, they have come for us. Congress is targeting our jobs and healthcare. Congress is “negotiating” a national tax package that could devastate working families and union retirees within Sheet Metal Local 104.
The GOP is backing a reconciliation package that will make massive cuts to the very programs that support our work, our families and our health; like Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. Unions and their members cannot sit this one out. All must pick a side for this is only the start because the wannabe “king” does not like unions and will not be happy until unions are gone and all leaders are in jail or worse—dead.
We workers and retirees still have a chance if we act now. We have to stand together, but time is running out. Retirees would be very helpful if they participated in the protests and contacting our elected officials. The more pressure we put on the Trump and his administration could influence their decisions. Companies meeting with Trump are saying he and his staff do not understand the jobs they represent or how they influence the functionality of the country. They need to understand that cutting our pay and benefits directly affects the stability, quality and functionality of our work, which will, at some point, impact everyone’s lives in many ways, such as clean energy, air quality, pollution, and building upgrades. If we don’t stand up now, all
We know that we have union members who vote for GOP candidates who claim they’ll fix whatever single issue the voter opposes. So now we have to stand together and fight for the most important things for our members and their families, like pensions, healthcare, good wages, safe working conditions and the right to have unions because without these benefits we’d all be slaves.
Our labor leaders must get over being afraid of losing their jobs and spend time educating our union members on who and what to fight and vote for. Remember, the working class and the employing class have nothing in common. They are not going to invite you or your family to their country clubs to play golf or tennis.
I hope we, union workers, don’t give away what those before us fought and died for what some people take for granted today. Those who gave their lives for our working conditions include Joe Hill, Wesley Everest, Frank Little, Arturo Gisvannitti, Joseph Carso, Joe Ettor, and, yet, so many of us today piss away the sacrifices these union members made for us. Now is the time for us all to stand together or we all fall.
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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