Union Leadership

There's an oxymoron if I ever heard one.

So 2010 is not only an election year for governor and a few senate and congressional seats, but the U.A.W. local that I belong to as well. And we'd better put on the boots cause it is deep over here.

We still have a few months before union elections, but already there are people out there introducing themselves and talking about how they feel about things. You will find that all of them have a fire in their belly and a general dislike for how the current leadership has been doing. They also are quick to remind us all that whom ever we have in the leadership positions will be the people that speak for us all at the bargaining table in 2012 when our labor agreement needs to be renegotiated. These people are very passionate about it too, they all have the same unhappy feelings towards the current contract we have with the company and the lack of ability or desire, seemingly at least, on the part of the union to fight for anything.

These are all good people though. I don't want to give the impression they are not, but the current leadership is even less effective at fighting for what is right then a Democratic Senate Super-Majority.

Everyone is most concerned with the fact that there really is not any clear candidates to hold election position within our U.A.W. local, and they are right there really isn't a good choice out there right now to run our local and fight for our rights under the current labor contract, let alone negotiate a new contract.

The problem, and reason for this is as follows.....

These people have all the passion and fire in the world, but we all feel that way.
None of them have any experience in organizing.
None of them have strong leadership skills.
None of them seem to have any experience with grassroots activism, which is at the core of what labor unions are all about.

If I actually cared enough about my jobs longevity I would throw my hat in the ring. I would lose because I have not worked there long and I am sure at least some people wouldn't want me running the union just because I am gay, but what ever. The main reason for doing so is that my experience in community organizing could dance circles around these other people and get others to think about what experience in organizing all these people have. Here is a short list of only the most impressive parts.....

Public Relations Director for Keweenaw Pride, (MTU gay, straight alliance group)
Campaigner and street canvasser for John Kerry 2004
Canvasser, precinct organizer for Democratic Party
Kalamazoo Community Aids Resource and Education Services Outreach
Kalamazoo Alliance for Equality
Project(!) co-founder (Aids prevention and community building organization)
Public and Press Relations, President, and Webmaster for The World Can't Wait

I know I am forgetting some things but this is just a list of the groups I held offices and committee spots for.

If the union would put some time effort and most importantly money in to building stronger leadership skills and get people that are active in community activism then not only would our local have good candidates to hold elected positions but all of our future prospects would be a little brighter.

Rethinking the thoughts I thought before, Community Gardens

This one time on tv I saw this really interesting special being presented by the Sierra Club that was about the struggle to have garden spaces in urban cities. Most of the show focused on a few community gardens in New York City, and the fight the local community was wagging to keep their garden.

In a way I think this program, the community gardens, is a big step towards a better country.

The recent news stories about American Politics makes me think the country is becoming even more self centered and greedy. Health care reform is all but dead, and at best was weak to begin with. Edward Kennedy's seat in the Senate went to a Republican. The Tea Party movement national convention. This rise of new neo-cons, the neo-neo-cons.

Where I am going with this.....simple.

We are losing our sense of community as we all fight and scratch our way to getting ours. The statement, "It is a dog eat dog world." is very appropriate for our society right now. The community garden is an amazing simple, effective, and other wise beneficial solution to this greater crisis that is beseeching our society.

In the tv show I mentioned, the communities where the city wanted to tear down a community garden to make way for developers, the members of the community stood arms locked together in front of their gardens to protect them. This symbol of togetherness brought a community together, gave them fresh produce, increased the property values in the neighborhood, and got everyone to thinking about everyone else a little bit. We need a little more of this.

In interviews with members of the community they talked about how the gardens were so plentiful that not all the produce could be consumed by the community members and they actually had to give away large amounts of produce to local shelters or watch the food rot on the ground.

I have thought so many times about how starting community garden programs could do so much good. It still amazes me that this idea does not catch on in more places. Plant some broccoli. Plant some spinach. Plant some zucchini. Plant some tomatoes. Plant some squash. Plant some green beans. Talk to your neighbors about it. Save a little space for them the grow something they are interested in. Then watch as you all get closer, grow as a community with your plants, and celebrate the harvest of good friends and fresh foods.

Just something to think about.