Category Archives: new media
Right to Work? Yeah, right.
Pull the other one – it’s got bells on!
Nobody is ever forced to pay union dues, even if they work at a mostly-union job. But the spin from big-money corporations makes it sounds like union organizers are thugs, not the heroes that built our middle-class.
Nobody’s union dues ever go to political campaigns, either – all that spending is strictly regulated by federal law already: any union spending on political causes or campaigns comes from strictly voluntary contributions, totally separate from union members dues. The national Chamber of Commerce has decided that only businesses should be able to bargain collectively – not regular workers – so they lobbied politicians to take that right away from us.
So why the big push by lobbyists and big corporations? Because they want to keep more money for the CEOs, plain and simple. Bigger bonuses, bigger paychecks, and more spending on their lobbying, which can only mean less for the actual, productive workers who provide the goods and services these fat cats are relying on for their perks, benefits, bonuses, huge pensions, and salaries. You can bet they’re motivated by money, not concern for your paycheck or pension.
How fair is that?
Sure, the name sounds great – but since we all already have a “right” to work, when you think about it you’ll realize that name was carefully chosen to obscure the real agenda by keeping us from thinking hard about what’s actually in the bill.
Workers in and out of unions must fight back against the negative stories the national news media is parroting from talking points only vaguely connected to reality. The AFL-CIO is spear-heading an overdue pushback about how critical the middle-class wages and benefits are to our future and our economy by establishing a Message Movers team–folks who are willing to talk back when they hear biased stories about unions and big business by politicians or through social media and email. Read the rest of this entry
Operating Engineers Facebook Timeline banners: leather, marble, and blue flair
Three similar options feature the Local 49 logo for your Facebook timeline profile banner. Download one, two, or all three, then upload your choice to Facebook to remind friends that you’re pulling your weight as a member of Operating Engineers Local 49.
click to enlarge and download
Facebook timeline banner: IUOE Local 49
Want to show off your Operator pride and put the Local 49 logo up on your Facebook timeline? Download this image to your local computer, then upload it to Facebook and everybody who visits your timeline view of your profile will know exactly how proud you are to be part of Operating Engineers Local 49.
Find us on Facebook!
Upload it and your picture will fit in nicely.
Of course, if you’re not using facebook’s timeline feature there are other, better choices for other devices. Just look around here for the image that suits your style and taste.
Minnesota Media Sides With Anti-Union Forces By Adopting “Right To Work” Framing
On the abortion issue, one group of advocates says “Right to Life,” the other side says “Pro-Choice” and the news media usually opts for the more neutral term, calling it a debate over “abortion rights,” or describing the protagonists as being “anti-abortion” and “pro-abortion rights.” Fair enough. On that issue, reporters have done a pretty good job of striking a balance on the language they use.
What Social Media Teaches Us About Life
What matters to you?
Near the end of 2011 Jessica Hagy made the not-terribly-startling observation that, “the echo chamber is where all the boring people hang out.” And there’s obviously a lot of echoing going on via social media, but at the same time Facebook, Google+, Twitter, YouTube, Digg, StumbleUpon, and all the rest are also part of the remedy.
