Letters
Hats Of to the 'Town Hall'
AFSCME International provided a unique opportunity for its members and the world by making our Presidential Town Hall Meeting [held in Des Moines in May] a candid, friendly exchange between the Democratic canidates and working Americans.
Secretary-Treasurer Lucy urged the candidates to focus on the enemy, not each other, and the format encouraged that. The real "enemy" was not in the room: We are weary of an administrtaion whose rhetoric, photo-ops and flag waving conceal their contempt for working Americans, especially public employees and union members.
The enthusiastic, attentive audience realized that each of the nine candidates understands the needs of America and Americans far better than the current regime. AFSCME again proved that we are the best.
— Judy Lowe
Secretary, Local 35
Council 61
Des Moines, Iowa
BALLPLAYERS: WORKERS LIKE US?
I take vigorous exception to former player rep Marvin Miller being spotlighted in the March/April issue. Major league ballplayers have as much to do with the working members of AFSCME as they do with an amoeba. Minimum wage in the majors, last time I checked, was $250,000 — more than the majority of AFSCME members will make in five years. The pension it takes AFSCME members up to 40 years to earn will be credited to a major league player who plays in one game.
At an average salary of over $1 million per year, he and his counterparts will never know the hell of credit card debt, robbing Peter to pay Paul, wearing the heels of their shoes down a bit further to provide for their children, or driving their children to school in beat-up old Dodges, Fords and Chevrolets.
On Page 3 of that issue, President McEntee discusses how the very rich, thanks to President Bush's economics, will hoard their wealth instead of dumping it into the economy. Isn't this what Alex Rodriguez of the Rangers ($25 million per year), Derek Jeter of the Yankees ($18.9 million) also will do? Is Miller, the man who made that possible, a symbol of AFSCME's struggles?
The 1994 strike, and the 2002 threatened strike, were not about the difference between eating and not eating. It was about a group of overpaid, mostly underachieving, prima donna idiots crying despite the fact that there was more slop at the trough than any of them could ever shovel into their greedy faces. The real tragedy of the 1994 strike was that the people who hurt the most were ushers, beer vendors and parking lot attendants who were going to use the money they lost to take a vacation or pay college tuition.
If you're going to pick a symbol of militant, aggressive unionism, why not [transit workers chiefl Mike Quill, who crippled New York City in 1966 and went to jail for his beliefs?
— Nathan E Weiner
Local 371 (DC 37)
Bronx, N.Y
RESURRECTION PLUS
I am a Chicago nurse who has been working with other employees from the Resurrection Hospital system to form a union. I want to thank AFSCME for inviting me to come to the AFSCME Nurses Congress in Washington, D.C., in May. The expenence was invaluable in cementing how powerful a union can be. The most significant thing I brought away from the conference was the tremendous feeling of support from all the AFSCME members and leaders.
The contact I've had with other AFSCME nurses has encouraged me to band together with my co-workers in pursuit of providing the best-quality nursing care in a non-compromised environment. You have helped me and other Resurrection nurses regain our self-respect, knowing we are actively working toward a better working environment and no longer just taking the abuse dished out by the administration.
When I think back to the Nurses Congress, I see lots of friendly faces and people reaching out to shake my hand, and I hear words of encouragement and cheers from hundreds!
Thank you for giving me this experience.
— Kathy Bezinovich, RN
Council 31
Chicago
Rx: NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE
As a former member of Local 1503 (DC 37), 1 am writing to urge that this great and powerful union push for either national or universal health insurance. That would be an excellent benefit for the international and national unions of the AFL-CIO. It would bring down the cost of health insurance very substantially, and should be a top priority issue for every affiliate.
— Ira Halpern
Retiree Chapter 37
Bronx, N.Y.
Editor's Note: AFSCME bas long been pressing for a broadly inclusive national bealth plan as well as for prescription drug coverage for senior citizens.
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