CHICAGO CARLESS

(Photo: Peering into obscurity, where does one circle end and the other begin? You tell me.)

A couple of days ago, the right-wing wonks at the inaptly monickered “Center for Union Facts”, an arch-conservative national front group fighting tooth and nail to put down America’s workers and remove any and all union protections that enable America’s middle class to organize for a better life, took me to task for supporting the Employee Free Choice Act. Me, a modest, little Chicago blogger. When the national opposition sees fit to criticize the little guy on the merits of the argument (and I’m not the only little guy to get the treatment by far, for one, read Prison Ship’s post on the same topic), that’s pretty stunning evidence that the argument holds water in my book.

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Update, May 29, 2007:

A big shout out to our friends over at the so-called “Center for Union Facts” for being irked enough about my calling them out on the falsehoods about the Employee Free Choice Act that they choose to disseminate–they’re a right-wing front group masquerading as a workers’ rights organization, you know that, right?–that they linked to this post on Chicago Carless. I say. You can’t pay for coverage like that! Thanks, guys!

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(May 28, 2007) Now that I’m back to labor blogging, some of you may be wondering why I care so much of late about the Employee Free Choice Act. It’s not that I march in lockstep with my fellow Progressives across the country. I’ve seen many friends and colleagues get treated unfairly when it comes to labor-management issues and in the line of work I’m in, I’ve heard far too many horror stories. I happen to think it’s a damned good piece of legislation and the country’s best hope of saving our dying middle class. Here’s why…

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(Photo: Bad pun approaching. Anyone who knows me will agree that I can certainly be a Paine, too.)

…or, “what the heck do I do for a living, anyway?” Good question, and I’m asked it frequently. Primarily by friends tired of their day jobs who yearn for something more from their careers but don’t quite know how to get there (Rozella, Giovanni, this means you). I was in the same boat until a friend helped me focus my energies last year. Do what you love and the money will follow–it’s a tired saying, but in my case it’s true. All it takes is patience, consistency, and a healthy leap of faith.

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Back in February, I scribed about the Employee Free Choice Act (H.R. 800, S. 1041), a bill aimed at making it easier for American workers to come together to form unions. Among other things, the Employee Free Choice Act would:

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(Photo: Kaiser Permanente likes its unions, it really likes them…)

We now return you to our regularly scheduled Carless. Breakup or not, I remain a staunch Progressive. Frequently, my friends and colleagues in D.C. turn me on to stories that they think I’ll find socially important. This one was enough to help break me out of a momentary funk.

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