Labor vs Capital

Pigeon Park

Here are some scenes from Saturday's Support Workers Rally at Bayfront Park downtown Miami. Thanks to the organizers at Move On for staging this nationwide show of solidarity with the people of Wisconsin who are on the front line of the republican lead assault on workers unions. The GOP wants to bust all unions but their focus is on public employees. We are talking about the collective bargaining rights of police officers, school teachers and yes even the score of petty bureaucrats who make up the government of "we the people".

Torch Song

The event took place at the Torch of Friendship Memorial site honoring the continued cooperation among US and certain other countries of this hemisphere. Friendship is an illusive thing when it comes to national cooperation. Some would say "keep your friend close and keep your enemies in the closet.

Listen Up People

Defending the hard earned right of workers, public and private, should be a no brainer. Everyone should know by now corporate welfare make the bosses and shareholders wealthy beyond their need and greed. The corporate special interest's buying of politicians is not only easy, it is done in the sunshine with the blessing of the supreme court while workers struggle to keep the crumbs we scrape off the banquet table.

2 houses, one hotel

Mr. Monopoly explains why it is so important to get off the couch, put on your war-paint and take to the streets with an active participation in our government. Simply put, if you don't pass GO, don't expect $200.

Age of Aquarius

There were few people there under 30. This mature couple expressed concern for the lack of activism in young america. I told them young people are taking a wait-n-see attitude. While the old are waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop, the young are busy deciding what shoes to wear to the revolution.

You don't need a BFA to understand and/or create political art.

This is my favorite photo, Granny Get Your Helmet.

Fine ladies with floppy hats have a message for you.

This are the faces of what republicans would have us believe are the greyest threat to america.

Never too old to participate in the great american tradition of civil disobedience.

Your Honor, Labor Precedes Capital

The guy on the right is our brown knight, but many honestly have little faith in the establishment to do the left's thing. The guy on the right looks allot like a neighbor who used to parade around sporting purple velour jogging suits while munching on a cannoli back in the '80s when i lived in Brooklyn.

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Labor Pains

Same Old World

It is a well kept secret that labor precedes capital. Without the muscle there is no hustle. This fact is not lost on the titans of industry, multinational corporations and one-world elite who strong-arm unions and insidiously muddy the message to assure that the balance of power is tacked for their profit. Capital's contempt for Labor is proof enough that without the worker the boss has no job in the new world order.



Since the building of the great pyramids of Egypt the pharaoh understood the need to keep workers content, they gave them beer. More recently, after much unrest and bloodshed, president Grover Cleveland declared a national holiday to honor the lowly workers that built this great nation. Without them there would be no development, no progress, no fortunes. His gesture defused unrest and assured that the other 364 days of the year would be productive.




Then and Now

Not much changes in the work ethic.
A virtuous worker has always gotten the job done regardless of the compensation. Other less dignified workers will look for ways to game the system to get something for nothing. One is motivated by a sincere willingness to be contribute to the union, the other by sly self-serving contempt for humanity.




The Ultimate Resource

The human resource is largely untapped. When will we get with the program and lift humanity out of the dumb-age? When will capital temper its Darwinian impulse of predatory capitalism with compassion and social relevance? A quick look around makes it clear that a living wage for most of the worlds workers will not come any time soon.



Down-Time Deferred

For some of our most dedicated workers there is no time off from their job.
The rewards come not in a paycheck or long weekend, but in the form of honor from service to country. The front-lines may be a dusty outpost or a moldy office cubical, both are valid so long as the mission is for the betterment of civilization. Doing no harm is more than just a job, it is the guiding principal in considering any employment.



Now Not Hiring

With the unemployment numbers at stratospheric heights, the economy talking a double dip and the dollar in the dump, keep your head above the water line and figure out a way to get your overhead down. Keep in mind that there must be better times ahead, its the only prospect we have for now.



Official Humor

So on this celebration of Labor remember the boss is always right, to the left of center.

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