Happy New Year To Everyone!

Happy New Year to the hard working people who make up the shrinking middle class.

Happy New Year to the hard working employers too, the ones who treat their employees fairly.

Happy New Year to all of the people who support labor and understand the vital need for American labor to be organized.

We need to set the standards in the world. We ended 2010 down at number FIVE - not good.

Have a safe and prosperous New Year.

Congratulations To Employees Of Deb-El On Settling Their First Union Contract

The employees of Deb-El, a Sullivan County company that manufactures and processes egg products have unanimously votes yes for a union contract. The 57 employees of the Thompsonville company had to fight a long battle to get that contract because management of Deb-El foods, Inc. did not want them to become unionized.

Workers finally have clear, written rules to follow in regard to their employment with the company.

Prior to having a contract, rules were a one way street - without a contract, an employer can make and change any rule or procedure at will and at any time - without any regard to how it affects the employees. This is very frustrating to workers who have things changed on the fly that can adversely affect them and their families without so much as a discussion.

The contract, approved this week by a unanimous vote of the workers, is a five year pact.

Represented by Local 342 of the United Food and Commercial Workers,the workers have benefits they never had before, said union spokeswoman Kate Meckler.

“It provides for guaranteed wage increases over the course of the contract. It provides for benefits they never had before like real vacation pay and real time off,” she said. They also have access to union funds and access to the 401K and annuity plan, which they never had before, Meckler said.

Congratulations to the Deb-El workers! Now show the company that there was really no need to fight it and prove how a unionized plant can be an advantage for both the workers and the company.

Powerful Speech - Open Your Ears And Your Mind To The Truth

This is a powerful speech that can just stand on its own. This is the 800 pound gorilla in the country. All of this goes on while they have us enthralled with reality shows and Snookie.

It's more like Snookered.

Pass this around for people to see because it is something we never hear or get breaking news on......the truth.

The Cut List Starts At The End Of The Line

Whether you are working or not - you know the economy is a mess. You know jobs are hard to come by. You know there is and has been for a long time, terribly high unemployment.

Congress is debating whether to extend emergency unemployment checks for more than 6 million Americans who are approaching the 99-week limit, some four million others are facing the certain end of their benefits over the next year.

The President's Council of Economic Advisers said "the exhaustion of unemployment benefits for so many will curb spending power enough to significantly impede an already weak economic recovery."

The typical household would see their income fall by a third should they lose their checks, according to the report. For the sole breadwinner, income would fall by 90 percent.

Multiply that number by 4 million and climbing for those who would have nothing. That is not a good situation for anyone.

Say what you want about lazy people and pulling yourself up - easy for you to say if you are one of the employed. The fact is that there are not 4 million jobs for those curently unemployed and we all know it's getting worse.

These are not the people you fear that DO NOT WORK. These are people that are very unfortunately BETWEEN WORK that are the subjects here. This is not about LAZY.

And here is a news flash: If they keep letting companies go offshore, taking our jobs with them and coming back here to sell it all back to us at nice high inflated American prices - the job mess will continue....and it will infect and affect everybody - working or not.

To think of letting our countrys people whither away and at the same time give out financial support to other coutries and THEIR people is mindboggling.

If we really can't afford to take care of someone - shouldn't AMERICANS be the last on the cut list?

The unemployment benefits need to be there for these Amercican Workers who are STUCK BETWEEN jobs.

The cut list starts on the other end of the line.