kaffy_r: Joe Hill's last words - "Don't mourn; organize." (Joe Hill)
May Day 

Here in the U.S. and up in Canada, corporate greed-head capitalists and their political minions decided they'd move Labor's holy day from May 1 to September, because they were scared to death of the international labor movement. As well they should have been, and should still be.* 

Rather than me go on at utterly mind-numbing length, here's music to celebrate the day, because the revolution should always have music.

I don't mind sharing "The Internationale", because a) this is Billy Bragg's version and b) folks who connect the song to the USSR and/or Russia forget that the Revolution over there was betrayed by Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov almost before it drew its first breath.*  And the words are pretty inspiring. 



I share these two versions of Woody Guthrie's "Union Maid" because that's who I have striven to be all my working life. Pete Seeger's version will never not be wonderful, even if some of Woody's words are a tad ... let's go with old-fashioned (Pete's last lines in this version made me giggle; it's clear he thought the whole "auxiliary" bit was worth at least a little eye-roll.)



The second version was done at Pete's 90th birthday celebration, features Bragg again, among wonderful others, and updates the words a bit. 







And finally, you have to ask yourself - "Which Side Are You On"?




*Fucking capitalists
**Fucking Lenin 

kaffy_r: Joe Hill's last words - "Don't mourn; organize." (Joe Hill)
Mastery of Master of Kung Fu

It's Saturday, the first day of the weekend, and instead of being too sad or mad or otherwise negatively exercised, I'm focusing on a couple of positive things. 

First, I had the chance to use my comic book nerd history to help a fellow writer. No, really. Since NaNoWriMo, I've been taking part in a morning writing sprint group on Zoom (30 minutes of writing, and 10 minutes following for chat, until the free Zoom meeting abruptly cuts out.) Most of these folks, both retirees like me and younger people, are trying to get published, and talk a lot about how to do that. I'm just honing my writerly skills for fun, so I generally say little during this conversations. 

However, the lady who runs the group is trying to write a YA novel that involves, for various reasons of plot and character, the Kung Fu world of the 1980s. She mentioned that one of the bits of pop research she was trying to do was read copies of Marvel's "Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu" comics from that era. She lamented at how difficult that was, because she couldn't get her hands on any of them. 

Well ...

Bob and I were dedicated comic book buyers in the 1980s and early to mid-1990s (and maybe later). We were largely, although not completely, Marvel fans. And among the titles we bought? You guessed it. I diffidently mentioned that we probably still have that title in one of two boxes of titles we've kept to read and enjoy from time to time and boy howdy, did her eyes light up with disbelieving joy. Could she borrow some, she asked. She said she'd be happy to wear gloves to look at them, and I assured her there was no need for that. We aren't collectors or speculators, I said; we read them for love. 

So down Bob and I went to our storage cage; we manhandled the very heavy box with M-Z titles out to the basement floor, and I got out all the Shang-Chi books. We had more than I'd remembered; about 100. I let her know, and we'll set up a time where I can drop them off at her place. So my nerdy geekdom may help someone who is very definitely not a nerdy geek. I am amused. 

Oh, and a big Union Win!!!

Workers at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island won their union election. It's a first for workers fighting against Amazon, and could prove to be a turning point in that effort elsewhere. The man Amazon fired for leading a walkout during COVID, to protest working conditions, and who they insulted as not being intelligent, went on to completely organize the warehouse with his comrades who were still on the job. Once again, management (who is swearing to fight the results, because of course it would) was the best organizer this grass-roots union could ever have had. 

In other potentially positive news, the new union election at Amazon's Bessemer, Alabama, facility - the one the National Labor Relations Board ordered after finding that Amazon management used illegal methods against Bessemer's first vote - is now too close to call. 

Hey, Bezos; I hope your head is pounding and your stomach is roiling. The employees you think of as peons are getting up on their hind legs, you revolting American oligarch. 


Dept. of Joe Hill

Thursday, 6 February 2020 05:37 pm
kaffy_r: Joe Hill's last words - "Don't mourn; organize." (Joe Hill)
Why Unions Matter to Journalists (and Everyone Else), Part the Billionth

I am back from South Bend, Indiana, where I had the extreme honor of celebrating a successful union election with some of the South Bend Tribune* reporters, photographers and others who organized their colleagues to become one of the latest newsrooms to join NewsGuild-CWA. The vote was overwhelming; out of a newsroom unit of 27, 23 journalists voted to join us. One person couldn't make it to vote, and only 3 people voted against Guild representation, for an 88 percent level of Guild support.

I helped peripherally - very peripherally - in this campaign. Two other organizers did a lot more to help guide the newsroom leaders. But the plaudits, the kudos, should all go the members themselves. They did the hard work of educating themselves and their colleagues about the union, about the reasons why The NewsGuild was right for them. They still have miles to go to get a first contract, but the energy and determination they showed in this effort will serve them well in the coming fight. 

I'm really tired, so I'm not going to go on at length about why the union movement, which is always important, is even more so for modern journalists. I'm sure you've heard me do so before and I know I'll probably do so again, possibly articulately. There's certainly enough to say (and here's a dispiriting look at American journalism's horrid reality, at least for folks in my immediate vicinity.)

But in a week where evil shits were winning the day everywhere I looked, this victory gave me a little bit of much-needed hope. 


*This Tribune is not connected to the Tribunes that I've worked with elsewhere. Just wanted to make that clear. 

Dept. of Working

Tuesday, 19 November 2019 08:08 pm
kaffy_r: Shot of character from Newsies, w/word "News" (News!)
It's Been a Long Day

And I'm happy that it's been a long day. I'm working again on things that are meet and right. 

Also, BB and I are heading up to Windsor, Ont. on Thursday, to complete the banking business we weren't able to do when his passport went walkabout in August.  This is also good.

And now, off to supper, and some small relaxation. 

Am I going to talk about the fact that a) the Trib is shutting down its Hoy Spanish-language newspaper in a town where 29 percent of the population is Latinx, and offering its remaining editorial staff - whittled down and nibbled to death by managerial ducks over the past five years - non-union jobs instead of the union jobs they have now? Or that Michael Ferro, the odious former owner of both the Sun-Times and the Tribune has sold his remaining Tribune stocks to Alden Global Capital, the monstrous vulture hedge fund that has afflicted Digital First Media? 

No. No, I am not. Because that would make me scream, and I
 don't want to scream. Not tonight, when I've done a good day's work. 

Dept. of Friday

Friday, 15 November 2019 07:56 pm
kaffy_r: Heyer on dressing for dinner (One Must Dress for Dinner)
So Here It Is, The Weekend

Work situation: I made it through the week, and I ended up knowing who I'm reporting to, at least for now. I was right, it's someone I can work with,and that pleases me. I was able to hand off a particularly unpleasant situation to him, allowing me to potentially maintain or improve a relationship with a difficult union person, someone I need to deal with in future. I also got through a relatively frustrating conference call, and I have things that I can complete this weekend. So hurrah. 

Even better, though: I learned that the works of the late John M. Ford, most of which have been out of print for some time, are going to be reissued by Tor. I have only read one of his works, "The Last Hot Time," and I've read it five or six times, possibly more, but this gives me the chance to look forward to reading more. Ford, who died too young in 2006, was known and loved by people I know and respect. He was, by all accounts, a brilliant polymath, equally gifted in poetry and prose, and much much more, and blessed with both mordant wit and rampant silliness - I've long regretted that I never took the time at Minicon to watch his "Ask Doctor Mike" presentations. So yes, better late to the party than not at all. (Oh, and how much do I love "The Last Hot Time"? Enough to want more of that world, enough to wish that, in his tragic absence, there was someone to write good fanfic in the world, enough that I'm glad that no one has attempted it.)

And finally, in the Yes, I'm Too Obsessive department; am I completely delusional in seeing a particular Crack at around 32 seconds into this delightful fanvid by 
[personal profile] such_heights ?

Now, off to clean my teeth and build a Big Ass Martini with which to enjoy far too much anime. 

Dept. of Lists

Thursday, 14 November 2019 08:07 pm
kaffy_r: The TARDIS says hello (River and Eleven)
I'm Thinking About Things. Respect the Things.

I've been collecting pins of Eleven and River, and remembering how much I loved them. Of course, I've also been collecting pins of Twelve and River, because I love them, too. But Eleven and River ... sigh. 

I'm slowly getting through the GO "therapy" fic, as I probably mentioned somewhere else, said she of the short term memory problems. It's very, very good. Good enough that even if I did mention it in another post, I'm happy to mention it here. 

Union stuff under here, avoid if not interested. )
For the first time in years, I've had the inspiration for an original story, one that might be good enough to follow, finish, polish and possibly send off (although that's looking too far into the future. It involves one of those awful, but apparently necessary (or why else are they proliferating across urban and other landscapes? A whole paper could be written about the sociological permutations of the damned things) massive rental storage places, a character with no home and failing magic, and ... yeah, we'll see. 

That's it. 

Impeachment inquiry hearings? Augh. GymJim Jordan, double augh. Devin Nunes, triple fucking augh. 
kaffy_r: Joe Hill's last words - "Don't mourn; organize." (Joe Hill)
Why Newsrooms Are Unionizing

As the headline says ... this story from Nieman Reports on why newsrooms are unionizing is a good one. It seems very apropos to the Labor Day weekend, and to my interests in the business I love, the business I believe is crucial to the maintenance of democracy. 

(On another note entirely, BB and I did get to the West Ridge Natural Area today. It was a lovely day, and we really enjoyed the experience. We want to go back, because we couldn't get to one area where they've reclaimed some oak savannah. We took some pictures, but those will have to wait until tomorrow. We're quite happily exhausted.)
kaffy_r: Diane/Leo Dillon illo of young black girl (House of the Spirits)
Thinkful Connections, Etc.

Excuse the completely ungrammatical title. I don't have a lot to say about myself right now, but I thought I'd link to a couple of interesting articles, which might make reading this post more worthwhile. 

News to Make One Weep or Scream )

Fic progress ) 

Eating, weight talk, if you want to skip. )
Huh. For having little to say, I've done so at length. Have a good week! 

Dept. of Epiphanies

Monday, 24 June 2019 07:36 pm
kaffy_r: (See the Sky)
A Very Pleasant Realization

Last night, as I drifted off to sleep, Bob and I were talking, and I said that in the past few years, especially the last year, I would see the end of the weekend, and look at the coming week very differently than I do now. I looked at each coming day differently now, I said, not just the weekend. Before, I might think about what the next day would bring, but most times, I would think of the coming day as a formless time period that was almost always at least somewhat negative. The times I did think about specific things I had to do, it was even more negative. 

Now, I told Bob, when I thought about what I needed to do the next day, I was doing it with ... excitement at some times, happiness at some times, and always with a positive feeling underlying even the challenging days I looked at. 

I'm doing something I believe in. People believe in me (oh god). I'm being paid a decent wage. I'm helping people, or at least I'm trying to help them. 

It makes all the difference in the world. 
kaffy_r: Joe Hill's last words - "Don't mourn; organize." (Joe Hill)
Working, Eating, Watching Anime, Sleeping ....

I've been adulting the fuck out of my life the last couple of weeks, being responsible, doing reports., talking to people to whom I'm introduced as "an expert on mobilizing" which has the expected result of triggering imposter syndrome like whoah. And I've learned that yes indeed, I will be expected to take on organizing efforts in Indiana, so there's that. 

It's making me tired, wired, and ... well ... I'm kind of liking it. 

The only problem is that I can't get enough energy up at the end of a day to post here, or to write any fiction. And there's part of me that's screaming to write some fic. Gah!

Still - I'm here, I'm determined not to disappear., and I hope I can share some of my adventures in the Union Adult Zone. Stay tuned. But don't hold your breath. That might be fatal. 

Dept, of Hello Again

Sunday, 26 May 2019 06:07 pm
kaffy_r: Dream Lord quote from Dr. Who, 11th Doctor (Poke a stick at the Unknown)
As June Approaches

... I've been familiarizing myself with my new job, learning that there's another segment of the job I hadn't expected to take on, struggling to remain organized as I try to become a mobilizer, and in general adulting the fuck out of life. It's been a challenge, but one that seems, at least at this point, to agree with me. 

I'm back on my back exercise kick. After my right hip and leg started giving me non-stop pain, I brought it up with my rheumatologist and she was blunt; exercise was really the only answer. And she's right, of course. I just hate exercise. Still, after only a couple of night's worth of minimal exercise, I'm not having nearly as much pain when I'm in bed, trying to sleep, and I'm pretty certain that it's not some sort of exercise placebo effect, so exercise I will, as long as my admittedly fragile self discipline holds out. 

I've been thinking, off and on, about the end of Game of Thrones.

Game of Thrones geekliness. Spoilers, y'all. )
kaffy_r: Joe Hill's last words - "Don't mourn; organize." (Joe Hill)
Waiting For the Plumber or Someone Like Him. Oh, and Advanced Policy-Wonking

I'm actually waiting for an actual plumber, who's set to come between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to evaluated our leaking garbage disposal unit and determine whether it can be reset in place to eliminate the leak, which would be the case if it had somehow been jarred loose enough to create an opening at the top for water, or whether there's an actual un-repairable physical crack or hole near the top. The guy said he'd bring a new disposal unit "just in case," so BB and I are set to question him sharply in an effort not to be talked into a new unit that we don't need. Wish us luck. 

I have actually tackled something that I've been avoiding for some three weeks; writing up a draft report on recommendations for possible changes to the Chicago News Guild bylaws. We got a start on that, as I said, three weeks ago, when I and another Guild member appointed to the task got together an did a rather rudimentary review of our existing bylaws.

The true wonkishneth begins hereunder )
kaffy_r: (Clara under pressure)
Still Alive

But goodness me, it seems to be taking too much energy.
kaffy_r: Joe Hill's last words - "Don't mourn; organize." (Joe Hill)
Boo-Yah!

Tonight, when I go to my monthly union local meeting, I fully expect my emotions to be, as the subject line says, whipsawed. 

Still mourning Jerry. Many of us at the meeting will mourn him as well. But we're also celebrating this news (it's been a long time coming), and I know Jerry would be so incredibly happy to hear this news. I'm hoping he's looking down (or up, or sideways, or from That Other Dimension of Perfect Justice) and cheering. God knows, he helped get us here. 

So on his behalf? 

BOO-YAH! 

(Yes, the union election has yet to take place, but our remarkable organizers wouldn't have announced it, wouldn't have gone public with the news — or the very sophisticated pro-union Trib newsroom employee website — if we didn't have a fairly strong expectation that we'll win this one. I'm knocking wood as I say that, of course.) 

Still ... 

BOO-YAH!

Dept. of Goodbye

Monday, 9 April 2018 08:13 pm
kaffy_r: Fantasia - night and the profile of a hill (Dark and lovely)
Jerry Minkkinen

One of my oldest and dearest union colleagues, Jerry Minkkinen, died Friday. I am still trying to come to grips with the news. 

He was the first Newspaper Guild official I met when I was hired by Pioneer Press in 1983. He didn't introduce me to unionism; I'd been a union officer at my previous newspaper job, and I already believed in the union movement. But he taught me so much about how to make day to day unions work for their members - for us - that it's a debt I could never repay.

Jerry combined a street fighter's instincts, with the seductive charm of a troubadour - he could hold a room in thrall, something I experienced many times - and the formula worked for us far more often than not, whether it was sitting at the table with successive waves of increasingly nasty managements, fighting grievances on behalf of individuals or the union as a whole, or giving us tips on how to fight for ourselves. He did this not just for my section of the union but for every Guild covered unit in the Chicago area. That's a lot of work for one person.

More than that, though, he was a good man, who gave his all to the union. He sacrificed health and family through much of his career, in order to help us. I am glad to know that in the last few years, he had much joy of his family.

He laughed often, was kind, was both fierce and gentle, and I am honored that we were colleagues and friends. There is so much more that I could tell you about him, but it all jumbles up in a tremendous Jerry-sized pile of stories. None of them will make up for the Jerry-sized hole his passing has left. 

I could only find one picture of him, but it's a fitting one; he was holding a union stewards' workshop. And here is a much, much better remembrance of him.  
Jerry Minkkinen )

Dept. of Union Stuff

Saturday, 27 May 2017 02:52 pm
kaffy_r: The newsies contemplate striking (Stop the presses)
Day Two of Vacation: A Request

After my brief, but heartfelt, snarl about one of the awful people with whom I'm forced to negotiate, I realized I haven't told anyone about the miserable news we folks at my immediate company heard concerning Chicago news. Michael Ferro, who bought the Chicago Sun-Times several years ago, drove it even further into the ground than Conrad Black had left it; who gave the Sun-Times holding company the ridiculous name Wrapports;who sold all the Sun-Times suburban publications to the Chicago Tribune Publishing Company, thereby freeing the suburban properties - we thought - from his bizarre, self-aggrandizing, and supremely anti-journalistic ass;  who then jumped ship so that he could become majority shareholder at Chicago Tribune Publishing, ensuring that we couldn't be free of the bastard; who proceeded to rename the Tribune after the sound a flatulent goose makes when trod upon (and even the Trib didn't deserve "tronc") - has now turned around and plans to buy the Chicago Sun-Times, which he ensured would be barely breathing by the time he did so. 

We believe he plans to kill the Sun-Times, somewhere between 18 and 24 months from the time he gets his claws on it. He's a mean, vicious creature, and we believe that -  not content with having used the Sun-Times as the platform from which he could reach his real goal, the Trib and it's network (the L.A. Times, Hartford Courant and others) not content with having sucked the lifeblood out of the Sun-Times in his quest - he actually wants to kill it, so that Chicago become a one-paper town, like too many major markets in the United States. As I said; mean and vicious.

Thus far the Department of Justice's antitrust division appears to be paving the way for Ferro to do this; here are a couple of stories about the proposed sale. You be the judge when it comes to how carefully the antitrust boys are looking at this. 

The NewsGuild is trying to stop this, or at least slow it down so that other potential buyers could be found to save the Sun-Times. Part of our strategy is this petition.
 Consider signing it; no matter where you live, the continuing health of news outlets should be a concern. If you decide to sign, thank you, from the bottom of my heart. 

Dept. of Union Stuff

Friday, 26 May 2017 01:01 pm
kaffy_r: Joe Hill's last words - "Don't mourn; organize." (Joe Hill)
My First Day of Vacation

I am in union negotiations. Yay. 

And one of the folks across the table from me is a World Class Grade A Union-Hating Dick.

A fucking dick.  

Dept. of May Day

Monday, 1 May 2017 10:16 pm
kaffy_r: Joe Hill's last words - "Don't mourn; organize." (Joe Hill)
The First of May

"The bosses gave us Labor Day. May Day we took for ourselves."  

I took this from a friend's Twitter feed, because it's certainly the truth in the U.S., where Labor Day, in September, is celebrated, and not International Workers' Day, on  May 1. And by "celebrated" I mean "The working class/political origins of Labor Day and May Day? La-la-la I can't hear you!"

(The reasons for Canada and other countries going with the fall holiday may differ, so I'm sticking just with what might be reasons in this country.)

There's some interesting suggestions out there about why the United States chose September and not May. Some people believe that Grover Cleveland signed the September date into law to help turn peoples' attention away from the troops he sent in to kill workers in Chicago during the Pullman strikes (sorry for the Huffpost link - not a fan of aggregation sites, me - but it's late and I'm too lazy to seek better links. I hope you'll forgive me), although that doesn't completely address the choice of date. Other sources say that the country's determined rejection of May 1 stemmed from general American government/capital mistrust of connecting American labor movements with international labor movements that had already coalesced around that date.

It seems fairly clear to me that whatever the specific source of the American disconnect from International Workers' Day, the general establishment dislike of an empowered working class had a great deal to do with the blindness to May 1 and the watering down of the September Labor Day from a celebration of workers to a picnic-oriented long weekend.

This year, though, more people in America paid attention to May 1. I hope the trend, if not the reasons for it, continue.


Dept. of Union Maid

Wednesday, 29 March 2017 09:20 pm
kaffy_r: Joe Hill's last words - "Don't mourn; organize." (Joe Hill)
Union Migraines

I don't know why I leave union meetings of any kind with upset stomachs and headaches. 

Oh, wait. I do. 

Luckily, my bed is awaiting me, and my beloved is giving me tender loving care. He is a jewel among men. 

Dept. of Minimal Effort

Wednesday, 8 March 2017 09:44 pm
kaffy_r: The TARDIS says hello (Bored in Porco Rosso)
This is a Placeholder Post

Because I'm exhausted. 

I can tell you two things that I have realized today. 

After getting a McDonald's Shamrock shake, I remembered that I don't like Shamrock shakes. It's a good thing I only got a small one, because I felt less guilty pitching it. 

Also? Meatball sandwiches are, architecturally speaking, stupid.

But I was a good union rep. today, and that makes up for the fact that I either have a hole in my radiator (my car's radiator), or a loose hose somewhere.  
kaffy_r: Animated Canadian flag (Canada!)
In (Very) Brief

Went down and visited the striking Chronicle Herald workers on their picket line, talked to several of the folks holding down their union strike office, took pictures, made a donation, told them I was hoping for the best. Come this morning, I hear that the Chronicle Herald has had to shut down its weekly edition in Cape Breton (the northern island part of Nova Scotia) because of - and they admitted this in their announcement - "a headwind of union sympathy." Good. Capers are good union folks, and this will hit them in their pocket, maybe go a ways to force them back to the table. 

Going to dinner tonight with an old friend. Going on the Bluenose tomorrow. Pics from both of those things Saturday, most probably. Boy, are the folks at Mac's local Tim Horton's ever getting to know me. (And Bob.) 

Dept. of Oh, Hell

Wednesday, 14 September 2016 11:08 am
kaffy_r: (Clara didn't ask for this)
 I Think My Laptop is Dying

And my company is deliberately not responding to my questions about my phone.

I do NOT need this. 

Must think of fluffy bunnies. 

Actually, thinking of the gorgeous day, and the fact that I'm gonna drop down to see striking Chronicle Herald workers this afternoon before heading up to the Valley to visit with my step-dad again. (We visited for awhile yesterday, and told him we'd take him out to have ice cream this afternoon.)

So, that's good. And laptops can be replaced, or fixed (preferably the latter.)

Huh - I actually feel pretty good now! Vacation magic ....


kaffy_r: Joe Hill's last words - "Don't mourn; organize." (Joe Hill)
I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night

It doesn't matter that Labor Day is almost over. That's because every day is Labor Day. On this Labor Day
, I remember Joe Hill
YouTube heavy post under here )
kaffy_r: Keep Calm and Carry on At Length poster (Carry On)
I Am Not - Repeat, Not - Going To Give Up On Posting. Or Responding To Posts

Because all of you out there are very important to me. 

I realize that the last few months have seen epic absence from me. Somehow, each day at work has been so much more stressful than it's been in the past, that getting off work in the evening doesn't leave me with enough energy to communicate. I haven't worked out why that seems to be the case - certainly, I've posted like mad during previous periods of extremely high stress - and perhaps it's counter-productive to wonder at the reasons. Poking a stick at a dead horse doesn't do anything for you or the horse. 

Exercise in writing something longer than a tweet )
What I've seen on YouTube )
Union work, huzzah! )
Jazz! )

Nova Scotia, television, gin and hernias )
Dear lord, I'm babbling like a brook. It's time for me to cease. But I can tell you that it's wonderful actually having the time and energy to post. I'm very happy about that. 

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kaffy_r: The TARDIS says hello (Default)
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