I cant complain about my job...it allows me to live a great life but I have to give credit to the bold men before me who fought for fair pay and benefits , safer work conditions and a labor contract that although has dwindled throughout the years, is still extremely successful for both sides of this company. I am a Union man and Id like to share a story I was told a couple of years ago by a longtime Union man...He had just taken over a position in the headquarters of the USW because a man had retired. The fellow whod retired grew up in the coal fields around Birmingham Al. This man gives a gawdy lamp made out of a hub from a coal cart to his successor and tells him its the ugliest thing youve ever seen, right? But, it has a story. The old man tells it: When I was a little boy my dad worked for so and so coal company, we lived in a company house, we shopped at the company store...that company was my dads life for as long as I could remember. The company superintendent rode a white horse, everything around us had coal dust on it but that horse was always spotless. All I ever wanted was to pet that mans horse. One morning, I was on the porch and here comes that horse with the supe on it riding straight up the road towards our house. The closer he got the more excited I got until he was right at the foot of our steps. The man said,Boy! Go get your daddy! My mother came out and explained that daddy was sick, he was running a high fever and couldnt even get out of bed. The supe then said, Tell your husband to get to work NOW or pack his shit and get out of his house! My dad went to work that day but a year later him and some other miners organized a labor union and by the next year had a working contract, set wages/hours, sick time and overall better working conditions. So back to the lamp...when I look at that lamp made out of that wagon hub I think about that man on the white horse. We may have it better now but its not permanent...theyll take whatever well give em. The man were fighting rides a white horse and I say to hell with him.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 08:48:27 +0000
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