Solidarity

A few weeks ago I noted the importance of workers in our day-to-day lives:

As much as we owe our freedom to the many men and women of the United States Armed Forces, we also owe the very fact that we have food to eat, cars to drive, roads to drive them on, homes to live in, buildings to work and study in, and beds to sleep in to the people who comprise the American workforce.

Yesterday, the UAW's GM workers went on strike demanding quality pay and benefits not only for themselves, but also for retirees.

With the conservative assault on labor accelerating under the Bush presidency, it is even more important than ever that we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with workers and labor unions whose work makes our country great.

Senate GOP leader removes students from hearing

The newly launched Michigan Messenger has the latest:

Three Michigan College students, 2 from Central Michigan University and one from Michigan State University, were expelled from a Michigan Senate Appropriations hearing this afternoon for bringing in signs.

The three students were Andy Leavitt, 21, from CMU; Matthew Sous, 20, from CMU; and Andrew Gerlach, 19, of MSU. All three are members of the Facebook group "I'm Pissed Mike Bishop Is Raising My Tuition."

At the hearing, Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop laid out a budget proposal that would eliminate $139 million in funding for higher education. Of this Republican proposal, Andy says:

"It's a tax on students," said Leavitt. "His cuts land $138 million less on higher education-- the mostly likely victims of this cut will be us, the students."

This is not the first time Sen. Bishop has cracked down on people's right to freedom of speech. Last month he prevented Senate offices from viewing the progressive website Blogging for Michigan.

So why - on September 11, of all days - did Sen. Bishop kick Matt and Andy out? As Matt notes:

"He knows if we put a face on his cuts," Sous said, "he's going to lose."

More on the Republican budget proposal later this week. In the meantime, here's a video from Senate Democrats regarding the proposal:

CMU students sound off on GOP lawmakers' budget inaction

Following Wednesday's College Democrats meeting, four members recorded their thoughts on Republican lawmakers' stalling of the state budget.

Phil:


Brittany:


Andy:


Scott:


Special thanks to John VanDeventer for stopping by and offering both his thoughts and his laptop with built-in camcorder!

Some Labor Day musings

Today, we celebrate many things.

We celebrate one final weekend of summer. We celebrate the fact that we do not have classes today, and that most of us do not have to work.

But have you ever thought about why today is a holiday? Why do we take today off? What does 'Labor Day' mean? Sure, Labor Day is about labor - working people - but what more is there to it than that?

As labor leader Samuel Gompers said:

"Labor Day differs in every essential way from the other holidays of the year in any country. All other holidays are in a more or less degree connected with conflicts and battles of man's prowess over man, of strife and discord for greed and power, of glories achieved by one nation over another. Labor Day...is devoted to no man, living or dead, to no sect, race, or nation."

Put simply, Labor Day is about ordinary workers - my grandfather, an UAW member who worked at the Ford factory in Dearborn; John Edwards's father, who worked in the mills; and the people who lost their lives in the mine tragedy in Utah last month.

When you think about it, this country has traditionally been about ordinary people. What was so extraordinary about Thomas Jefferson or any of the Founding Fathers? Not much, until they decided to band together and reject the tyranny of the British monarchy. Same with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony before the Women's Suffrage Movement. Or Harriet Tubman, or Cesar Chavez, or Martin Luther King and the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement.

In addition to showing us that ordinary people like you and me can lead extraordinary lives, they also remind us that our country is built on the blood, sweat, and tears of ordinary people. As much as we owe our freedom to the many men and women of the United States Armed Forces, we also owe the very fact that we have food to eat, cars to drive, roads to drive them on, homes to live in, buildings to work and study in, and beds to sleep in to the people who comprise the American workforce.

Imagine a country with no janitors, no carpenters, no farmers, no factory workers.

America would be a pretty dull place without them, wouldn't they?

So as you celebrate the unofficial end of summer - which you should! - remember the people who have built this country into the economic powerhouse that it is. Not the politicians, not the celebrities, not the sports stars or the reality-TV personalities. It is, rather, the average Joe/Jane who works a 9-5 job just so (s)he can put a roof over her family's head and food on their table.

They are the ones who built this nation. Happy Labor Day!

I encourage you to read this Labor Day statement by Democratic Party Chair Howard Dean. Also, for some interesting facts on labor unions' impact on workers, see this page from the AFL-CIO.