The Milwaukee Post

March 14, 2014

Milwaukee Post

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Union has been vital to UAW workers To the editor: I worked for an American automaker in the United Auto Workers-represented plant for more than 35 years. I've been happily retired since 2008 with a decent pension, full health care and some sense of financial secu- rity. I only wish that more of my fellow citi- zens had the good fortune and opportunities afforded to me. My experience was nothing unique. Milwaukeeans of a certain age can recall a time – and not that long ago – when well-pay- ing, family supporting jobs were the norm. It was downright plentiful. Good wages, generous benefits, a sense of job security and fair treatment in the work- place were common expectations between employer and employee. But it's important to keep in mind that this "social contract" did not spring from the generosity of a benevolent corporation. It was won at the bargaining table over many years by courageous men and women acting together to build a better future, and in many of those struggles, the UAW led the way, inspiring other unions and even forcing non- union employers to pay competitive wages and benefits. I truly believe that our great country will never rebuild a solid middle class without a strong union movement with the power to curb corporate excess and financial greed. Certainly, the result in Tennessee was a disappointment, but hardly a shock. More surprising was how close the vote actually was, given the fact that the employees were bombarded with lies and veiled threats, not by Volkswagen, which values their union partners in Germany, but by our own politi- cians, big money PACs and business inter- ests who were fearful that a win for the UAW, and thus the workers themselves, might threaten their power. I would challenge Owen Robinson to engage some UAW members, working and retired. Ask them about our union and what it has meant to their lives and the lives of their families. He might be surprised to learn that what is good for the UAW is good for America. Bob McKenna Milwaukee Being part of union shop was a rewarding experience To the editor: In response to Owen Robinson's Feb. 28 column in the Post, I had to question in my own mind if this West Bend gentleman ever worked on an assembly line or or got his hands dirty grinding away on any job that makes him and expert on labor-management relations. He exults in the recent vote totals in the Chattanooga, Tenn. Volkswagen plant. Nowhere does he acknowledge that the vote totals of 712 to 626 were close enough to encourage another attempt later. There were 626 of those Tennesseeans that voted for the union, nearly half of those who voted. That's almost unheard of in the largely anti-union south. During my 87 years on this earth, I have worked in several union and non-union shops. I can state, without question, that if I had to do it again I would choose a union shop every time. When I joined the UAW back in the 1970s, it was like breathing some fresh air for the first time. I found justice in the workplace, a fair wage, decent benefits and probably most important of all, a feeling of brotherhood that was absent in other jobs. Just remember, it was a large union work- force that build the tanks, guns, ships, planes and trucks that helped keep America free. The UAW is still composed of a large veteran workforce. There are some newsmen who are con- stantly disparaging and ridiculing unions in this country. They largely have their own political agenda. We are not anti-company. We want the peo- ple we work for to be successful. Along with that success, however, is an expectation of sharing in the good forture. Don Meyer Oak Creek Police deserve thanks for generous service To the editor: Rather than read so much bad news, some- times things that take place with acts of kindness warm your heart. Two Milwaukee Police Department offi- cers from the Second District on Feb. 25, an evening that was so cold, escorted an elderly street lady into the Copper Kitchen Restaurant on Howell Avenue and handed Andrea the waitress a $20 bill, telling her to give the woman anything she wanted for din- ner, and that they would be back at 9 p.m. (closing time) to pick up her and take her back to a shelter. At 9 p.m., these two officers came in and went to the lady. Now how about this kind of caring action by our Police Department? It does prove we do have a good Police Department, and they deserve to be thanked when you see these actions of caring. Dolores Stasiak Milwaukee Hatred and violence toward gays unnecessary To the editor: He was whipped 20 times across the back. He probably thought it would never end. The people outside the courtroom said that the punishment was not enough, that he should be stoned to death. What did this man, con- victed in Nigeria, do exactly? Rape or murder someone? Well, he had consensual sex with another man. In Abuja, the nation's capital, a mob armed with iron bars and wooden clubs dragged 14 gay men from their homes to a police station, where they were beaten and kicked by police. They were threatened with 14 years in prison. If you state that gays should be free from violence in Nigeria, you will be jailed. Any support or activism for gay rights in Nigeria, Uganda or even Russia is a crime. What motivates this kind of hate and vio- lence? A few things, but one of them is a fun- damentalist view of religion that teaches people to despise and hate gays with an intensity that makes Fred Phelps, who protests gay funerals, look tame in compari- son. Gays don't suffer such institutional vio- lence in the U.S., though they are still vic- tims of random anti-gay attacks. But religion in the U.S. often teaches they should be despised and hated. Christians and Muslims in nations like Nigeria are united by one thing, their hatred of those who are gay. We don't see this degree of hatred in the U.S. because even the Enlightenment has affected positively even the most religious in America. Why we allow religion to teach us to hate those different then ourselves, I will never know. Jerome McCollom Milwaukee Stopping heroin needs more local attention To the editor: I attended the Cudahy Common Council meeting March 4 and was allotted three min- utes to ask how, we as a community, are addressing the heroin epidemic. Since the unsaid questions were not asked or answered, they will be written here with the hopes that our Cudahy neighbors and the Common Council reads them and positive action is taken. Here are some facts that show how heroin is devastating our town: The emergency department reports 479 visits to the emergency room in 2012. The Police Department estimates 12 to 18 overdoses a year. Burglaries, thefts and robberies have a direct link to heroin/opiate use. – (Healthiest Cudahy Coalition Report Dec. 4 and Dec. 5, 2013) How are we going to alert the Cudahy citi- zens that this is a real epidemic and this addiction is deadly? Every time a person uses heroin, he or she risks dying. (See "Stopping Heroin Spiral," Wisconsin Department of Justice. How are we, as a community, tapping into the resources from the Wisconsin Department of Justice campaign to fight the spread of heroin and heroin-related crime? Do the citizens of Cudahy know there is a 12-step program for those looking for help with their addiction, as well as a program for the suffering loved ones of those addicted? I'd hope those in charge of our health and safety search out what other communities are doing to get this message out and not leave it to a three-minute "how fast can you read" comment at a Common Council meet- ing. Suzanne McKinney Cudahy 8 • Milwaukee Post • March 14, 2014 OPINION Send your letters to: The Milwaukee Post, c/o Dwayne Butler, 3397 S. Howell Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53207, or by e-mail to: dbutler@conleynet.com. We reserve the right to edit letters for style, length and clarity. Letters should be typewritten or printed and include full name, phone number and address. Please keep your letters to no more than 400 words. Letters policy Post Staff MILWAUKEE – Gov. Scott Walker signed Senate Bill 523, expanding the Department of Health Services' authority to include additional types of newborn screening meth- ods for all babies born in the state. Wisconsin newborns are currently screened within hours of birth for 41 poten- tially life-threatening, but treatable medical condi- tions. Previously, the state's authority to add and delete newborn screenings was limited to blood- and urine- based screenings; this legis- lation expands the DHS' authority to include all types of newborn screen- ings. For years, the March of Dimes has advocated for and funded newborn screening and new screen- ing technology, including tests for critical congenital heart disease. "This is a win for par- ents and babies throughout Wisconsin, as the new law allows the State's non-parti- san Newborn Screening Task Force – an advisory group of medical researchers, providers, ethicists, geneticists, and advocates – to make recom- mendations to add addition- al screening," said Jodi Legge, state director of the March of Dimes Wisconsin Chapter. Newborn screening bill signed into law

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