Capital and Labor

Capital  

The Circuit Court in Washington, D.C., a court dominated by Republicans, ruled that businesses could not be required to post a notice that workers had a right to form a union.  Local businessman John Brinson, who owns a chain of fitness centers in the Lehigh Valley, was a plaintiff.  He was quoted as saying, “I feel very strongly that I do not want unions in my business.  In fact, I don’t want unions in any business.”

Of course he doesn’t.  He can abuse and exploit individual workers.  When they stand together in a union, he can’t do that.  Brinson, by the way, declared bankruptcy a few years ago.  Another phrase for bankruptcy is “a way to stiff one’s creditors.”  That tells you something about Mr. Brinson.

Labor

Volunteers from the Carbon County Labor Chapter, assisted by members of the Lehighton Area Democratic Club along with Franklin Township employees who provided a truck, worked in the rain today to clear away a large tree that had fallen on the historic  Bunker Hill cemetery.  Bunker Hill cemetery is where Col. Jacob Weiss, founder of Weissport, is buried.

Yes, we got soaked.  And yes, we had a good time.  One of the chainsaw-wielding volunteers, Chubby Kintz, mows the cemetery, but had no means of removing the tree.  The other chainsaw guy was Richard from Hamburg, who is a history buff.  The rest of us clipped, shoveled, raked, carried, and loaded.

  

After we quit for the day, we repaired to Mario’s Pizza in Weissport for lunch.  We plan to finish the cleanup on May 18.