Thursday, November 26, 2015

Thanksgiving message

There are many things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving.
They all have to do with relationships. 

This past summer, Michelle and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary. 
Maybe some day I'll figure out why she's put up with me all these years.
I am thankful for her love and patience with me, especially her acceptance of the long hours and travelling I am doing in my new position.
Although she'd prefer I be at home with her, she understands and accepts how important the work is to me.

On that note, I am thankful that the 30,000 members of AFT Connecticut, though their elected leaders, have given me the opportunity to work on their behalf. It is an incredible opportunity.
I am thankful for the people I am working with, my fellow officers of AFT Connecticut and all our Locals, and the staff.  I am also thankful for the relationships we have with AFT national, the AFL-CIO and the many other individual unions  and community groups we work with in solidarity.

The Labor world has a lot going on, on so many fronts.  It is easy to sometimes feel overwhelmed.
There are groups out there bent on destroying the very right of workers to stand together in solidarity.
They cloak their message in "right to work" and "students first"  but what they really mean is "right to fire at will" and "me first." They raise case after case like Friedrichs v California teachers to destroy the largest group that stands up for the 99%, Organized Labor.

But we are fighting back with community allies and public opinion is turning.
Our enemy is not only the rich and powerful, our enemy is apathy and the feeling that our cause is hopeless.
It is not.

Across Connecticut and the nation, workers are standing in solidarity with their community allies and building a better life for all of our children, not just those of the top 1%.

I am thankful to be a part of this movement.
Happy Thanksgiving.

 

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