This is what we union thugs do: Care for the sick and the grieving

Hat Tip to Omaha Steve at the Democratic Underground for sharing this letter from the Omaha World:

Teamsters met our family need

I keep reading how people seem to think of labor unions as a bad thing. After reading David Getzschman's Sept. 9 letter, I decided I need to inform people about the good side of labor unions. My late husband was a member of the Teamsters Union, Local 554.

In 1999, he died of melanoma cancer. During his illness, the health insurance we had through the union paid for all of his medications. One course of medication cost $3,000 a month — not something we would be able to afford by any means.

After his death, the Teamsters were still there for me. They provided my health insurance at no cost, a small pension and life insurance, which helped me get my life back on track.

I'd be the first to tell the world how many things the union did for me. I wonder how many companies would do that for the regular employee. Our local union helps people in many ways every day and is not the bad big wolf, as some would have us think.

Susan Tafini, Springfield, Neb.

Teamster rally recaps from CA, NE

Rally Girl is a Cornhusker, so her report on Local 554's rally in Omaha on Friday is especially insightful:

Even in Nebraska—home to some of the country’s most anti-union cities—supporters of Wisconsin workers turned up in great numbers over the weekend to protest a proposed budget bill that would end collective bargaining for government employees.

Braving below-freezing temperatures, hundreds, including Teamsters from Local 554, gathered at 72nd and Dodge—Omaha’s main intersection—holding signs and singing songs. Their demonstration was one of hundreds going on across the country to show solidarity for workers in Wisconsin.

Brother Scott Utech, an organizer with 554, said

The rally was very successful—a lot of brothers and sisters in organized labor and those who just wanted to support us participated. The public response to our rally was really positive and upbeat. I think these rallies are going to continue to grow.

What makes Omaha’s demonstration so inspiring is the fact that Nebraska is a traditionally conservative, right-to-work (for less) state, where unions are looked down upon and individual pride is placed above all else. Here, child labor laws are overlooked when it comes to the backbreaking work of detasseling. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of undocumented workers slave away in wretched meatpacking plants.

Yet, the voices of Nebraska unionists, concerned citizens and local politicians give me hope that even here, in the middle of the Midwest, tides are turning. Like others across this great nation, Nebraskans are waking up, taking a stand and letting their voices be heard. It is with solidarity and gusto that I proclaim, GO BIG RED!

Teamsters from Local 36, 481, 683, 542 and 911 participated in Saturday's "Support Wisconsin Rally," organized by the San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council. More than a thousand people joined the action. Local 542 Business Agent Alvin Mitchell drove the San Diego Teamsters tractor trailer in the event. Let's hear it for our southern California brothers and sisters

The arrival of the truck got the twitterers going. @jasminepw tweeted

San Diego Teamsters making their presence known (honking) in support of Unions and Wisconsin! #WeAreWI