Retirees Hear from EBJ
On January 8, Local 848’s Retiree Club heard from
Roderick Hall, District Outreach Coordinator for Congresswoman Eddie Bernice
Johnson. The speaker said that congresswoman believes what we have now is,
“Government by the few, and for the few!”
Retirees discussed the large number of Vought
employees who retired in December, political redistricting in Texas, the
presidential candidates, and hopes for new work at the Vought plant. They
celebrated wedding anniversaries and birthdays.
As always, retirees did their own work in setting
up the hall and serving lunch. Paul Conroy made sure that the hall was cleaner
than it was before the retiree luncheon, and Janet Conroy did all the hard work
in the kitchen area. Mabel Casey volunteered to launder the long tablecloth.
Brother Roderick Hall was kind enough to furnish a copy of his speech. Part of
it was reprinted in the union newspaper. Here is the entire presentation:
Remarks by Rod Hall -
District Outreach Director
Office of U.S. Rep. Eddie
Bernice Johnson
to UAW 848
Thursday, January 8, 2004
Good morning!
I would like to thank you all for your kind invitation and the opportunity
to be of service to you on today. Much
like my boss, I promise to be brief, get to or attempt to make my point, and
then sit down, because at the end of the day it all boils down to not only
walking, but living the talk. I will be
honest and proudly admit that I am not a professional or distinguished speaker
by any means, but when you work for a leader like Eddie Bernice Johnson, when
you're told to perform-you perform or suffer the consequences. Her proud mottos to members of her staff
are, "Performance is your job security", and "No Work, No Pay,
No Stay". So, with that being
said, I'm hoping to share at least once piece of information with you today
that will encourage some of you to call her up and say, "You know Eddie,
that young man on your staff is o.k., keep him around just a little bit
longer."
I stand before you this morning really as a
product of the mission, the goals, the ideals, and most importantly the
sacrifices of organized labor. As a
child, I never fully understood my father's role in his local for construction
workers. Unfortunately, it wasn't until
after his death, when I was five years old, that I truly got it. Members of his local would stop by to check
on my mom and I, pick me up for football practice with their kids, and even
send me a check before going off to college.
I am the product of his and your desire and fight for respectable wages,
benefits, dignity and respect in the workplace, and most importantly, a
yearning to make the road to higher education and ultimately a better life a
tad bit easier for me and other members of my generation, and for that I just
want to say thank you. I get it now. I understand, respect, and appreciate you
and the role of organized labor in this country.
Prior to joining the staff of the Congresswoman, I
worked in Corporate America and volunteered for the Congresswoman in my spare
time. She's always encouraging young
professionals to: be of service to their communities, engage and participate in
the political process, and to take civic responsibility seriously. But on one particular day, she said
something that really resonated with me, and I carry those words with me
everywhere I go, "I need you and more young people like you. I can't hold this job forever; there will
have to be more young leaders in the pipeline to begin preparation to pick up
the mantle when I and others like me exit the stage." So, I say that to say this, it is important
that you and others like you, reach out to people like me, my generation-the
products of your sacrifices-and impress upon us the importance of organized
labor, the importance of mentoring and young leadership within your
organization, to insure that organized labor is preserved, strong, secure, and
relevant many generations down the road.
Again, I am happy to be of service to you all this
morning, representing an individual that stands as an unwavering advocate for
organized labor, the preservation of American jobs, strong salaries, diversity
and improved conditions in workplace, and equitable, global trading
practices. She speaks and votes her
conscience on the issues, and is never afraid to tell you where she stands on a
particular issue and why.
It’s All about Priorities
For Eddie Bernice Johnson, it's all about
priorities, and she feels that Democrats simply have a different set of
priorities and the focus should not be on those who don't need help, but for
the millions of middle-class Americans who work hard every day, send their
children to public schools, rush home to help with homework, and struggle to
help their own parents pay for the prescription medicines they need but can't
afford. I myself send a check home
every month to mom, who has a laundry list of medications to buy each month to
maintain good health.
I'm sure many, if not all of you know that the
situation in Congress right now is pretty volatile. The Congresswoman, along with her Democratic colleagues, feels
that Republican policies are making it harder for Americans to succeed. Their policies represent government "by
the few, of the few and for the few."
In less than three years, Republicans have added more than $3 trillion
to the national debt, and lost almost three million jobs. More than 2.5 million manufacturing jobs
have disappeared. The Congresswoman is
opposed to economic policies that are making these problems worse instead of
better, giving tax breaks to those who need them least and piling up record
debt, making it harder for Americans to achieve financial security.
These priorities are wrong. Too many families are worried about their
jobs, healthcare, and retirement. The
Congresswoman is committed to not stand by and watch U.S. jobs just
disappear. She feels, I'm sure like
many of you, we must get this country moving again, but we're going to need
your help and participation in getting the word out this year.
JOBS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
Currently, nine million Americans are now
unemployed. It is taking longer and
longer for them to find work. To create
jobs, Democrats have, and will be, fighting for new tax breaks for small businesses and
manufacturing companies that crate jobs here at home and not overseas, a child
tax credit for working families, an extension of unemployment insurance, and
new investments in education and transportation.
MEDICARE PRESCRIPTION DRUGS
In the recent Medicare Bill passed by Congress,
the legislation forbids the government to negotiate lower drug prices for
seniors and the disabled. It forces
seniors into HMOs, and would actually make million of seniors worse off than
they are now. Contrastingly, it will
mean windfall profits for drug companies, HMOs and big insurance
companies. Again, it comes down to a
question of priorities.
The Congresswoman and her Democratic colleagues,
even some Republicans want to bring down the cost of prescription drugs for
everyone by widening access to generics and allowing the safe reimportation of
prescription drugs, and letting the government use its purchasing power to get
discounts for seniors. During the
recent Medicare debate last month, my mom called to find out the particulars
about the bill. She said, "Baby,
can you help me understand all of these nonsense?" My response was, "Momma, the makers of
the bill don't fully understand what the hell is going on or what or what type
of savings, if any will be realized. So
in the meantime, get your prescriptions ready, because we're taking one of the
senior bus rides into Canada this summer to buy your pills."
WORKING FAMILIES
On the issue of working families, the real
challenges facing working families are no surprise - education, pension
security, and overtime pay. The
Congresswoman feels that Republican policy has failed to help the millions of
working American families trying to achieve financial security. Republican policies are working to eliminate
overtime pay for eight million workers and have underfunded the very educations
programs they say they support. Meaning
millions of children will not receive quality preschool education, after school
programs or help with the basics of reading and math.
The Democratic agenda calls upon a bipartisan
approach to address the real concerns of working families: fair wages, pension
security, and a good, quality education for our children.
HOMELAND SECURITY AND VETERANS
On the issue of Homeland Security, the Congresswoman
acknowledges that much has been to make America safer. However, she feels that more can be
done. She advocates a plan that
increases border patrol agents and inspectors to stop terrorists from entering
America; better equipment and information-sharing equipment for police and
firefighters; federal funds available for cities to hire additional
first-responders; and increased resources for port security and the Coast
Guard.
Progress has been made, but 560,000 disabled
veterans are still being treated unfairly when it comes to their pensions. As former nurse for the VA, the
Congresswoman knows how imperative it is to improve all veterans' healthcare
through increased funding and repeal the "disabled veterans' tax"
that shortchanges over a half a million disabled veterans.
What Can You Do?
So, as you can see, there exists a lot of work to
be done within our country to get back to the economic prosperity we
experienced not too long ago. What can
you do you ask? The Congresswoman
advised that I encourage you to make "service" an integral part of
your activities this year. Regardless
of political or religious affiliation, education or economic background; this
year make a pledge to transform your passion into some form of service. Be it service to a candidate, working on a
campaign, visiting, writing, or calling your elected officials to voice your
concerns or thoughts on the issues that are important to you-it doesn't matter,
the only way we as Americans insure democracy for all Americans is by
transforming our passions into organizing and serving.
Remember Dr. King
Next week we pay homage and commemorate the life
of the ultimate public servant-Dr. Martin Luther King. Like Dr. King, the Congresswoman feels
everybody can be great, because anybody can serve. As Dr. King stated, "You don't have to have a college degree
to serve. You don't have to make your
subject and your verb agree to serve.
You don't have to know the second theory of thermo-dynamics to
serve. You only need a heart full of
grace. A soul generated by love."
Next week will celebrate the life and legacy of a
man who brought hope and healing to America. We will commemorate as well the
timeless values he taught us through his example -- the values of courage,
truth, justice, compassion, dignity, humility and service that so radiantly
defined Dr. King's character and empowered his leadership. On this holiday, we
commemorate the universal, unconditional love, forgiveness and nonviolence that
empowered his revolutionary spirit.
Next week we commemorate Dr. King's great dream of
a vibrant, multiracial nation united in justice, peace and reconciliation; a
nation that has a place at the table for children of every race and room at the
inn for every needy child. We are called on this holiday, not merely to honor,
but to celebrate the values of equality, tolerance and interracial sister and
brotherhood he so compellingly expressed in his great dream for America.
It is a day of interracial and intercultural
cooperation and sharing. No other day of the year brings so many peoples from
different cultural backgrounds together in such a vibrant spirit of brother and
sisterhood. Whether you are African-American, Hispanic or Native American,
whether you are Caucasian or Asian-American, you are part of the great dream
Martin Luther King, Jr. had for America. This is not a black holiday; it is a
peoples' holiday. And it is the young people of all races and religions who
hold the keys to the fulfillment of his dream.
The King Holiday honors the life and contributions
of America's greatest champion of racial justice and equality, the leader who
not only dreamed of a color-blind society, but who also lead a movement that
achieved historic reforms to help make it a reality. Thus, it is no surprise that his final speech, often considered one
the most moving speeches of his life, "I've been to the Mountaintop",
was delivered thirty six years ago on April 3, 1968 to support a group of striking sanitation workers. A day after delivering this famous speech he
was shot to death.
The workers merely sought fair treatment and
better wages. The human rights
indignities were common practice during that time. They persisted because a 1966 court injunction prohibited city
employees from striking and picketing.
The deaths of two workers by a packer blade compelled the public workers
union action. Action ladies and
gentlemen. King wanted to energize his
listeners on behalf of the strike. He
analyzed the Parable of the Good Samaritan, identifying the Memphis strikers
(today's average Americans) with the roadside victim and urging his listeners
to act the part of the Good Samaritan.
It is one of my favorite orations and as I prepare to take my seat, I'd
like to share one of the most inspiring parts to me with you.
"We don't have to argue with anybody. We
don't have to curse and go around acting bad with our words. We don't need any
bricks and bottles, we don't need any Molotov cocktails, we just need to go
around to these stores, and to these massive industries in our country, and
say, "God sent us by here, to say to you that you're not treating his
children right. And we've come by here to ask you to make the first item on
your agenda fair treatment, where God's children are concerned. Now, if you are
not prepared to do that, we do have an agenda that we must follow. And our
agenda calls for withdrawing economic support from you."
And so, as a result of this, we are asking you
tonight, to go out and tell your neighbors not to buy Coca-Cola in Memphis. Go
by and tell them not to buy Sealtest milk. Tell them not to buy-what is the
other bread?-Wonder Bread. And what is the other bread company, Jesse? Tell
them not to buy Hart's bread. As Jesse Jackson has said, up to now, only the
garbage men have been feeling pain; now we must kind of redistribute the pain.
We are choosing these companies because they haven't been fair in their hiring
policies; and we are choosing them because they can begin the process of
saying, they are going to support the needs and the rights of these men who are
on strike. And then they can move on downtown and tell Mayor Loeb to do what is
right.
Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness.
One day a man came to Jesus; and he wanted to raise some questions about some
vital matters in life. At points, he wanted to trick Jesus, and show him that
he knew a little more than Jesus knew, and through this, throw him off base.
Now that question could have easily ended up in a philosophical and theological
debate. But Jesus immediately pulled that question from mid-air, and placed it
on a dangerous curve between Jerusalem and Jericho. And he talked about a
certain man, who fell among thieves. You remember that a Levite and a priest
passed by on the other side. They didn't stop to help him. And finally a man of
another race came by. He got down from his beast, decided not to be
compassionate by proxy. But with him, administering first aid, and helped the
man in need. Jesus ended up saying, this was the good man, this was the great
man, because he had the capacity to project the "I" into the
"thou," and to be concerned about his brother.
That's the question before you tonight. Not,
"If I stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to all of the
hours that I usually spend in my office every day and every week as a
pastor?" The question is not, "If I stop to help this man in need,
what will happen to me?" "If I do not stop to help the sanitation
workers, what will happen to them?" That's the question.
Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness.
Let us stand with a greater determination. And let us move on in these powerful
days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be. We have an
opportunity to make America a better nation. And I want to thank God, once
more, for allowing me to be here with you."
