Which side are you on has been a rallying call for workers since the 1930s. I know not all of us on Daily Kos belong to a union. I don't and never have, although I grew up in a union (UAW) household. My father was an autoworker and is now a retiree from Chrysler and still a UAW member. The healthcare and pension he has exists because he and people before him went out on strike against the company and fought for it. I know which side I am on.
In Iowa, John Edwards was rallying with striking Teamsters yesterday who are on strike from Standard Ready Mix Concrete. Standard Ready Mix Union Members have been on strike since last October.
During John Edwards campaign stop, Standard Ready Mix owner, Mark Jensen walked out with camera in hand. He also brought out a "Hillary for President" sign.
John Edwards, "Cute, that's cute."
Striking Workers, Company President Clash
Come around after the fold and let's talk about fighting for economic justice.
Just south of the Steuben Street entrance to Standard Ready Mix Concrete Co., stands a shelter pieced together with corrugated boards and plastic wrap, with an American flag on the south end and a satellite dish feeding down to the television that's near two microwaves and a peanuts dispenser. That's the home away from home for members of the Teamsters Local Union 554, who have been striking since Oct. 16, 2006, alleging unfair labor practices.
There were many more smiles than normal around the shack just before noon Sunday, when Democratic Party presidential candidate John Edwards came to show solidarity for the mixers, yard employees and ready mix drivers who have been joined in the work stoppage by union members from Ludey's Ready Mix in Vermillion, S.D.
Edwards stands with striking Sioux City workers
Speaking to a crowd largely adorned in union T-shirts, Edwards said for the middle class "to survive, one of the critical things we have to do is strengthen and grow the organized labor movement in America. I've walked a bunch a picket lines all over the last several years, and I'm proud to be here with all of you."
As president, Edwards said he would back banning the hiring of permanent replacements for strikers, support the Employee Free Choice Act to give workers "a real choice in whether to form a union" and toughen penalties for breaking labor laws.
Edwards stands with striking Sioux City workers
Later after Edwards left, Teamsters started getting in their cars to leave from the "John's Cafe" parking lot. The lot is owned by Mark Jensen. That's where the trouble started.
Andrew Garlinghouse, Union Member, "I went to move my car because I heard he was down there hassling people. I went to move it and he said that'll be 20-dollars to get your car out of my lot. I told him I'm not paying you 20-dollars, I'm going to get my car out of here... and he pushed me."
It's a fee Jensen admitted charging.
Striking Workers, Company President Clash
Garlinghouse called the authorities and tried to press charges against Jensen.
Jensen says Garlinghouse walked into his hand.
Striking Workers, Company President Clash
Yeah, right. Walked into his hand.
Jim Sheard, secretary of Teamsters Local Union 554, said he's known Edwards for five years, and "while none of the unions are making endorsements yet," he added, "I gotta tell you that John Edwards is the candidate who is not afraid of the word 'union.'"
Sheard said the 40 striking workers are in a "fight for their lives." With 20 years in the labor movement, Sheard said, "I've never seen a group stay together as strong as these guys."
Edwards stands with striking Sioux City workers
At the YKos barbecue Saturday, Teamster President James Hoffa and Markos drove in together in a big semi. Hoffa spoke very highly of the bloggers, of us, and how we are changing things.
Hoffa and the Teamsters stood with us. It's time for us to stand with them.
Here is the Teamster website: International Brotherhood of Teamsters
Sign up to get emails and see what you can do to work WITH our brothers and sisters in the labor movement.
I'll leave you with the song from 1931 that expresses my most fundamental belief about why I am a Democrat.
Florence Reece wrote this song in 1931.
Her husband, Sam, was one of the union leaders, and Sheriff J. H. Blair and his men came to her house in search of him when she was alone with her seven children. They ransacked the whole house and then kept watch outside, ready to shoot Sam down if he returned. One day during this tense period Mrs. Reece tore a sheet from a wall calendar and wrote the words to "Which Side Are You On?"
Come all you good workers,
Good news to you I'll tell
Of how the good old union
Has come in here to dwell.
CHORUS:
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?
My daddy was a miner,
And I'm a miner's son,
And I'll stick with the union
'Til every battle's won.
They say in Harlan County
There are no neutrals there.
You'll either be a union man
Or a thug for J. H. Blair.
Oh workers can you stand it?
Oh tell me how you can?
Will you be a lousy scab
Or will you be a man?
Don't scab for the bosses,
Don't listen to their lies.
Us poor folks haven't got a chance
Unless we organize.
Which side are you on?
Show these striking Teamsters we are on their side!
UPDATE I: For the record, while Jensen may endorse Hillary, or at least like to wave around her sign, Hillary has never endorsed him. I hope Senator Clinton comes out and walks the picket line also. Those strikers need all the help they can get.
UPDATE II: FROM NOTABLEABSENCE IN THE COMMENTS. "WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON" SUNG BY NATALIE MERCHANT, DAUGHTER OF A CARPENTER. THE PICTURES ARE SO MOVING. PLEASE WATCH THIS:
UPDATE III Edwards is fighting for working folks on trade. Today, John Edwards
proposed his plan for "smart and safe" trade policies that will benefit working and middle class families instead of just big multinational corporations. Edwards believes our trade policies should give workers a level playing field. As president, he will insist on pro-worker provisions in new deals, hold trade partners to their commitments, invest more in dislocated workers and communities, and ensure that imports are safe. Edwards believes that the U.S. should not enter any new trade deals that do not meet these tests.
"Trade has become a bad word for working Americans for a simple reason - our trade policies have been bad for working Americans," said Edwards. "We need new trade policies in America that put workers, wages and families first. It is not enough for a trade deal to be popular on Wall Street or show up in economic statistics. My main measure is just this one - after considering the impact on jobs, wages and prices, will most families be better off?"
UPDATE IV: THE OWNER SPEAKS:
Mark Jensen, owner of Standard Ready Mix, where the labor strike has been under way, placed a large "Hillary for President" sign in front of a cement truck near the Edwards rally.
"I believe in the freedom of speech, and if I choose to support Hillary Clinton, I have that right," Jensen said. "She's probably the best candidate in the Democratic Party at this time."
Des Moines Register
Go here to see how big this sign is. It's HUGE!
Ben Smith