SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
October 22, 2024
Sullivan’s Salvos 10/24/24
In this edition:
*RIP Anita Sehr
*Happy Homecoming!
*Door Knocking
*Congratulations Lynette!
*Conservation Bond
*Can You Be Progressive Without Being Pro-Labor?
*Did You Know?
*RIP Anita Sehr
I was sad to hear of the passing of Anita Sehr of Sharon Center. Anita is a member of the Johnson County Democratic Party Hall of Fame, and though we often differed on political issues, she always treated me with kindness and respect. RIP, Anita.
*Happy Homecoming!
The UI celebrates Homecoming the weekend of October 25 & 26. Happy Homecoming to all the Hawkeyes out there! I love the traditions of Homecoming; the parade, the pomp and circumstance, alumni returning from afar. Homecoming is one of the real benefits of living in a university town. Be bold in your black and gold… but be safe, too! Go Hawks!
*Door Knocking
The Johnson County Democratic Party began knocking doors for the 2024 election in the fall of 2023. I took several shifts; all we did was ask folks, “What is important to you?”
We kept door knocking in the spring of 2024. These doors were folks who were not regular voters. I did several of those, too. And though it has shifted, the door knocking really has not stopped since July. I think I am over 30 shifts in the past 12 months. And you know what? It is making a difference! We may not win come November 5th – but if so, it will not be for a lack of effort!
We are in the home stretch. Please join me! It is not hard! And if you really cannot door knock, please find another way to help! It is crunch time, folks!
*Congratulations Lynette!
A huge congratulations to Johnson County Social Services Director Lynette Jacoby, who was honored by the City of Iowa City with a Human Rights Award for 2024!
The Johnson County Social Services Director position is a tough one. Most of the really big challenges that face us in this country are addressed by her department. Poverty, health insurance, affordable housing, food insecurity, childcare, transportation, caring for seniors, and on and on. All of these issues fall in the lap of Johnson County Social Services.
And I cannot imagine a person being better at taking on this challenge. Lynette is smart, hardworking, compassionate, kind, and willing to try new things. We are SO lucky to have her! Congratulations, Lynette!
*Conservation Bond
One of my proudest moments as a County Supervisor came on November 4, 2008. On that date, almost 40,000 Johnson County residents voted to approve the $20 million Conservation Bond to protect water, air, and soil quality, to protect animal habitat, and to purchase land for parks and trails.
This was the first such effort in the State of Iowa, and looking back over the past 16 years, it was even more successful than we could have hoped! The 2008 bond has been utilized, successfully, for 16 different projects. It has leveraged an additional $17 million in grants, donations and revenues; acquired 1,177 acres of land, and built 9.2 miles of hard surface trails throughout the County. This has all contributed tremendously to the quality of life in Johnson County.
These include the Clear Creek, Solon to Ely (aka Hoover), and Mehaffey Bridge trails; Ciha Fen and Cedar River Crossing near Sutliff; Pechman Creek Delta near River Junction; Cangleska Waukon and Two Horse Farm near the Reservoir; Melinda Reiff Reilly Prairie near Solon; and improvements to the lake at Kent Park near Oxford.
Despite all this good work, there is more work left to do. We still have air, water, and soil quality issues. We still need to protect animal habitat. And we still need more parks and trails. That is why we want to do it again!
The Board of Supervisors has voted to put a $30 million Conservation Bond on the ballot this November. I fully expect it to be just as successful as the last bond in contributing to the quality of life in Johnson County.
I hope you will support this effort. Please feel free to contact me with questions, or visit https://www.ourlandwaterfuture.org for more information. It is not a done deal! There will be moneyed interests fighting against this effort! We can only win if you help to spread the word!
*Can You Be Progressive Without Being Pro-Labor?
You can be pro-labor and not be progressive. We know this. There are lots of Republican union members. Some of them are anti-choice, anti-LGBTQ+, and more. They would NEVER consent to being described as “progressive.” Yet they appreciate the economic benefits that come from their status as a union member.
We hear about union members who are not progressive all the time. But we almost never ask the opposite question. What about the inverse? Can a person be progressive without being pro-labor?
We talk a lot about social justice, and we should. America has a history of intolerance based upon gender, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, and more. We need to recognize this, remember it, and strive to do better. Social justice deserves the attention it receives.
At the same time, we do not talk enough about economic justice. America has, for about 202 out of our 247 years, catered almost exclusively to the rich and powerful. Virtually all economic benefits flow to the top 1%, with most of those benefits flowing to the top 1/100th of a percent, or just a few thousand people.
Americans have fought back before. Just after the Civil War it was women who got the labor movement going. They were joined by recent immigrants. Many workers died throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s, and some gains were realized. But mainly, it is the Golden Age of 1935-1980 that saw workers finally achieve some semblance of economic justice. And not only did it help lower-wage workers; it helped everyone!
Consider a few of the economic justice initiatives that were instituted: child labor laws, 40-hour weeks, weekends, overtime, vacations, the minimum wage, sick leave, parental leave, OSHA, employment nondiscrimination, pensions, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP benefits (food stamps), health insurance, and so much more.
Progressives definitionally want progress; an improvement in the human condition. There was no period in American history where the human condition improved more than between 1935 and 1980. What made this progress happen? Organized labor fighting for economic justice.
But fast forward to today, and some folks seem to think they can be progressive without fighting for economic justice. Our greatest activists knew better. No one fought harder for economic justice than MLK. He was murdered the evening before a rally for striking sanitation workers in Memphis, TN.
Too many people who want to wear the “progressive” label support Uber over cabs, buy stuff from Wal-Mart and Amazon, buy shoes made in sweatshops, and fail to join unions when they are available. They feel unions have a place; just not at the place they work/own/manage.
In the Democratic Party of the 90s, Bill Clinton catered to a certain wealthier, white group. We called them “limousine liberals.” They wanted things to be better for minorities; they just didn’t want to live near them. They wanted to help the poor, but not at their own expense. They blamed the poor for making choices that were economically necessary but environmental harmful. They simply couldn’t understand “those people” who smoked, dropped f-bombs, listened to rap (or country), and had to shower after work rather than before work. Needless to say, it was a much smaller coalition.
I am also reminded of the ill-fated attempt by my friends at SEIU to unionize the Professional and Scientific (P&S) workers at the UI in the mid ‘00s. The UI workers voted the union down. Many laughed at the organizers, saying, “You don’t understand – I have a Ph.D.!” Unions were for “uneducated” people. Fast forward 20 years and that Ph.D. hasn’t gotten them jack shit. P&S missed the boat when they failed to unionize. It has been a difficult 15 years for them as a result.
Following an Iowa City Federation of Labor Candidate Academy a few years ago, an Iowa City Councilor (who always made a point of noting their registration as a Democrat) actually told Pauline Taylor and I, “People here were smarter than I expected.” How much more condescending can a politician get?
This attitude affects local politics, too. Do “progressives” care if municipal workers are underpaid? Do “progressives” overpay bosses at the expense of front-line workers? Do “progressives” care if municipalities rely upon temporary workers where permanent workers should be used? Do “progressives” care if municipal projects get built by union labor? Do “progressives” oppose sales taxes when property taxes are available? Do “progressives” oppose outsourcing? Do “progressives” support efforts to end wage theft?
Why is it that people who would draw a line at a candidate being anti-gay are so willing to look the other way when the candidate is anti-labor? Is it just an issue of social class?
We have a handful of immigrant rights activists in Johnson County who undoubtedly consider themselves progressive, but have tried to undermine local unions and the Center For Worker Justice at every turn. I don’t find these folks very progressive. I find them to be egotistical, hypocritical assholes.
To answer my own question, no, I do not believe one can be truly progressive without a commitment to economic justice. Economic justice is at the root of being a true progressive.
I leave you with the following quote from William Jennings Bryan:
“The poor man is called a socialist if he believes that the wealth of the rich should be divided among the poor, but the rich man is called a financier if he devises a plan by which the pittance of the poor can be converted to his use.”
―
*DID YOU KNOW? The first University of Iowa Homecoming was celebrated on November 23, 1912.
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
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---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 7:38 AM
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