Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain.
Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, political speeches and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States.
Independence Day is the national day of the United States.
It's just good to read those words sometimes.
God Bless America!
Hope that everybody who could drank from a IBEW 363 union can to celebrate!
The fight for workers rights continues on with various Governors throughout the country feeling empowered enough to attack middleclass workers under the guise of "cutting the budget".
Local School Boards are in turmoil trying to save their own budget bottomline. The problem is as plain as the nose on everyones face. Somehow, there is not enough money in the pot.
How did we get to this point? What happened? Is it really the "fault of the unions"? The answer to this is "No", it is none of those things.
The simple answer is that corporations pay just HALF OF THE FEDERAL TAXES that they paid in 1980 and now they want it to go lower. They helped to elect people in office who would cut THEIR taxes and leave the working middleclass holding the bag.
The blame game is on and the workers health plans and pensions are the cause of this evil. Baloney.
This is also at a time - from 1980 to now - where average CEO pay has risen over 300%!
It looks as though enough middleclass noses got pushed hard enough that there is finally going to be a backlash on these anti-worker politicians.
Recall elections have been petitioned for in numerous states and are expected to send some of those politicians packing back to the private sector.
Pay attention to politics this year - it will be very important for labor to send a loud message...............protect middleclass America or see you later.
Music and signs were part of a pro-union rally at the intersection of Routes 17K and 300 in the Town of Newburgh on Monday. Union members and backers protested efforts in other states to limit union rights.
The strains of "Power to the People" and "I Won't Back Down" blared from loudspeakers on a hill above the intersection of Routes 17K and 300 Monday afternoon.
In between tunes, IBEW union members, unions and their supporters put those sentiments into practice as they rallied in support of their brothers and sisters whose very right to bargain is being challenged elsewhere in the United States.
Organizers estimated there were 1,000 or more union members and their supporters lining all four corners of the busy intersection — teachers, iron workers, civil service employees, sheet metal workers, electricians and more. Horns honked almost continuously throughout the rally. This rally was bigger and more informal than one held about a month ago a few miles to the west, but its message was just as clear.
"We're here because the American worker is under attack," said Sam Fratto, senior assistant business manager for Local 363 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. "The middle class is under attack. Somebody needs to stand up for the workers. The unions are going to stand up for the workers."
The rally came on a symbolic day — April 4, the day in 1968 when civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated while in Memphis to support a sanitation workers' strike. Those workers, too, were fighting for collective bargaining rights.
"The (same) issues are still here, unfortunately," said Paul Ellis-Graham, president of the Hudson Valley Area Labor Federation.
The recent labor rallies have come in response to efforts by Republicans to strip union workers of their right to collective bargaining in states such as Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana. Adrian Huff, president of Teamsters Local 445, believes New York workers are safe for now, but need to stand up for those elsewhere whose benefits are in danger.
"That's what politicians want to go after — the contract and the protection it gives you," said Huff.
The members of all Hudson Valley Unions will meet at a rally for workers rights on Monday April 4, 2011 at 4:30 PM at the corner of Route 300 (Union Avenue) and Route 17K in the Town of Newburgh. See the copy of a flyer below:
"WE ARE ONE" Rally For Middleclass Workers
4:30pm April 4, 2011 4:30pm
Corner of Union Avenue / Rt. 17K Newburgh
Route 300 and Route 17K - South of the Newburgh Mall - "pick a corner"
Directions from NYS Thruway:
Take Thruway to the Newburgh Exit 17
After toll booth go straight through the middle exit road to RT. 300 / UNION AVE.
Take a right onto RT. 300 south
Corners are identified by numbers......
(1) Lowes -Fridays will be straight through intersection of RT. 300 UNION AVE / RT. 17K. Take a right into Lowes / Fridays/ Michaels parking lot.
(2) Gas station will be on your right. Take a right onto Rt. 17K West to find a place to park.
(3) Diner-Hotel-Chili's on your left at light before you get to the intersection of RT 300 / RT 17K
(4) Nissan-Adams-Home Depot is straight through RT. 300 UNION AVE / RT.17K and take left at Adams or Home Depot parking lot.
Directions from Rt. 84 - get off at RT. 300 / Union Avenue South and follow above.
We are hoping to get a really large crowd on April 4th. People in the public need to understand that they are ALL under attack - it isn't "just the unions". This is a middleclass issue. This is a National Republican attack on unions in an effort to weaken the American Workers.
They think they are coming in for the kill...........
...What they didn't plan on was they have actually MOBILIZED LABOR as NEVER BEFORE.
Come join Union Members and your Brother and Sisters in IBEW Local 363 and stand up for your rights as an American.
This is a call out to EVERYONE ASKING THEM TO COME - RETIREES AND ACTIVE.
Hope to see that IBEW Local 363 well represented on APRIL 4th as we should lead the other trades and the other unions in what will surely be the rebirth of the labor movement.
Almost 1000 people gathered to stand up for the rights of all American workers this past week in Rock Tavern, NY. It was a cold day and it was amazing to see all of the people there. There were men, women and children, there were college students and high school students along with those close to retirement.
Thank you to Pete Seeger for joining with us to sing Solidarity Forever and Which side are you on? The answer to that question was definitely the American worker.
Sometime in the future, the labor movement will look back and realize that Scott Wilson was the catylst this generation needed to energize the existing labor movement and to preserve the American Dream for the future generations of workers.
This movement is growing at an incredible speed. PLANS ARE BEING MADE RIGHT NOW FOR A BIGGER RALLY TO BE HELD SOON.
More information to come on that soon.....check here for info.
There will be a rally made up of various unions in the Hudson Valley to show support for the Wisconsin Public Employees and ALL EMPLOYESS RIGHTS TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.
The rally will be held at the Teamsters Local 445 Union hall on Stone Castle Road in Newburgh, NY and it will begin at 4:30PM.
If you are really not up on what is going on, the best thing you can do to really get a feel for what is happenening is to go to youtube.com and type in "Wisconsin protests".
You will come up with a large group of videos that will surely how you the struggle first hand. You will also see the rebirth of the labor movement right before your eyes.
This is much bigger than some Republican governor trying to balance his budget. This is about the Republican move to do away with unions a s a whole.
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