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The Western Kentucky Worker | |
Official newsletter of the Western Kentucky Area Council, AFL-CIO
Prepared by Berry Craig, KEA-NEA and AFT Local 6038
Volume 6, Number 7, August, 2005
Dan Seals will croon in Carson Park on Labor Day
Remember England Dan & John Ford Coley?
"One half of that famous 70s musical duo will be the featured performer at this year's Labor Day program," said Jeff Wiggins, president of the Western Kentucky Labor Day Committee.
Wiggins meant Dan Seals. "I don't know of many performers who have been successful in pop and country music," he added.
Seals will perform at 2 p.m. on Labor Day at Carson Park. There is no admission charge.
"I challenge anybody to show me a better free show on Labor Day anywhere," Wiggins said. "We couldn't be happier bringing Dan Seals to Paducah."
Seals and Coley became one of pop music's most consistent acts. Their
hits included "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight" and "Nights are Forever Without You."
After Seals and Coley parted company, Seals turned to country music, a tradition in his family. Seals' father was a musician and lifelong friend of country music hall of famer Ernest Tubb. Seals' uncle wrote Ray Price's 1956 hit, "Crazy Arms."
Dan Seals topped country music charts with "Everything that Glitters" and "You Still Move Me." His other hits include "Bop" and "Let the Good Times Roll."
Seals was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1989 for "Addicted."
"We've always tried to provide quality entertainment on Labor Day," Wiggins said. "But we are especially proud to have Dan Seals. We expect a big crowd, so come early."
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Deadline for Labor Day parade entries is August 24
Noon Aug. 24 is the deadline for entries in this year's Labor Day parade. "Any entries received after that will be placed to the rear of the lineup," said Jeff Wiggins, president of the Western Kentucky Labor Day Committee.
Wiggins said groups or individuals participating in the Sept. 5 parade will be notified of their position in the lineup by Aug. 30.
"The parade starts at 9:30 a.m. on Labor Day at Second and Broadway," Wiggins said. "Parade participants should arrive by 8:30 a.m so our volunteers can get them into their assigned positions."
The Western Kentucky Labor Day Committee is an all-volunteer group that puts on the city's Labor Day program. "This will be our 30th annual Labor Day parade," said Wiggins. "We have one of the largest Labor Day programs in the state."
As usual, the parade will go up Broadway to 17th Street. The Labor Day weekend program also features food vendors and a flea market in Carson Park on Sept. 3-5.
"Because there is no election this year, there won't be the usual political speaking," Wiggins said. "The politicians will be back making speeches next year."
More information about the parade is available from Wiggins at (270) 898-2558 and Howard "Bubba" Dawes, parade coordinator, at (270) 395-5892.
Paducah's first Labor Day parade was in 1893. "America's first Labor Day parade was just 11 years before," Wiggins said.
The first parades were sponsored by the Paducah Central Labor Union. The CLU became the Paducah Central Labor Council. The CLU and CLC are the ancestors of the Western Kentucky Area Council.
For reasons not clear, the Paducah Labor Day parades stopped after
World War II. A group of local labor leaders organized the Western Kentucky Labor Day Committee and resurrected the parades in 1975.
Glenn Dowdy, a former Area Council president, was also Labor Day Committee president for many years. During part of his tenure, the Paducah parade was the official Kentucky State AFL-CIO Labor Day celebration.
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Earle expected to talk about AFL-CIO convention
Steve Earle is expected to report on the AFL-CIO's 25th Constitutional Convention at the August Area Council meeting, according to Jeff Wiggins, council president.
"Steve represented our council at the convention," Wiggins said. "We look forward to hearing from him."
Earle, based in Madisonville, is an international representative for the UMWA. He was one of more than 1,000 union members who met in Chicago to participate in the convention as delegates. The gathering celebrated the 50th anniversary of the merging of the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations.
The convention's main topic was an AFL-CIO self-examination that looked at "how to strengthen our union movement to improve the lives of working families." The AFL-CIO said it spent months going over "proposals from unions, state labor federations, central labor councils, constituency groups, community partner organizations, academics and thousands of union members."
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Council to elect delegates to state federation convention
The Area Council will elect delegates to the state AFL-CIO convention at its August meeting.
The state convention will be held in October in Owensboro. The gathering will mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the state AFL-CIO.
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Ever wonder why high paying jobs are scarce in America?
Glenn Dowdy, a former council president, sent us the following story. We found it very nourishing food for thought.
"Joe Smith started the day early having set his alarm clock (MADE IN JAPAN) for 6 a.m. While his coffeepot (MADE IN CHINA) was perking, he shaved with his electric razor (MADE IN HONG KONG).
"He put on a dress shirt (MADE IN SRI LANKA), designer jeans (MADE IN SINGAPORE) and tennis shoes (MADE IN KOREA). After cooking his breakfast with his new electric skillet (MADE IN INDIA), he sat down with his calculator (MADE IN MEXICO) to see how much he could spend today.
"After setting his watch (MADE IN TAIWAN) to the radio (MADE IN INDIA), he got in his car (MADE IN GERMANY) and continued his search for a good-paying AMERICAN JOB. At the end of yet another discouraging and fruitless day, Joe decided to relax for a while.
"He put on his sandals (MADE IN BRAZIL), poured himself a glass of wine (MADE IN FRANCE) and turned on his TV (MADE IN INDONESIA), and then wondered why he can't find a good paying job in AMERICA."
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Council meets chaplain of The Rank and File Catholic
The first issue of The Rank and File Catholic is expected to be out Labor Day weekend.
"It's a newsletter geared to the Catholic union member," said Father Tony Shonis, a Paducah priest and newsletter chaplain. "It's subtitled 'Connecting the teaching of the church with the struggle of labor.'"
Mike Roby, recording secretary of IBEW Local 1701 in Owensboro, is newsletter editor, said Shonis, associate pastor at St. Francis de Sales Church. The Rank and File Catholic will be published in Paducah and distributed to Catholic trade unionists in Paducah and Owensboro.
It is no secret that labor's enemies use religion to split the union vote, especially in Bible Belt states like Kentucky. Some of the GOP's Christian soldiers go so far as to claim you can't be a Christian and carry a union card.
"Unions are one of the organizations leading the world to wickedness," said the Rev. Tim LaHaye, author of the Left Behind series of apocalyptical novels, a leader of the Religious Right and a Republican.
Shonis said he generally shuns partisan politics. But he added that historically the Catholic church has viewed the right to join a union as a basic human right.
"Fundamentalists see something sinister when people come together for justice and freedom and to promote a better world. I see the Holy Spirit at work.
Where I grew up, if you were a worker and a Catholic, part of being a responsible Catholic was joining the union.
"There are conservative Catholic commentators. But overall, the church has traditionally been very positive toward unions, a position that filters down to rank and file Catholics."
Shonis introduced himself to the Area Council at its July meeting. He was a regular guest at the Owensboro Area Council when he was a priest in that western Kentucky city. "We were glad to have him, and we hope he comes back," said Jeff Wiggins, Western Kentucky Area Council president. "I'm a Baptist. Most of our delegates are Christians. We open every meeting with a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance."
Shonis grew up in a Pennsylvania union family. Seconda Shonis, his mother, belonged to the old International Ladies Garment Workers Union. His father, Anthony, carried a Bakery and Confectionary Workers union card. "I learned a lot about unions from my parents, especially my mother," he said. Shonis said he experienced first-hand the need for a union when he was employed in a non-union factory before he became a priest. "It was a dirty, unsafe place to work," he said.
Religious Rightists also imply, or say flat out, that laissez-faire capitalism has the Almighty's blessing. "The prophets in the Old Testament warned against worshiping Yahweh and Baal," Shonis said. "Today, we have this sort of consumer Christian mentality that you will prosper financially if you accept Jesus as your personal savior."
Shonis said he sees Christian principles in organized labor. "The rights of working women and women are inviolable, like the rights of the unborn. So when companies bust unions and bring in high-powered attorneys to keep unions out, I see them violating inviolable human rights." Shonis is happy to provide more information about The Rank and File Catholic. He can be reached by phone -- (270) 442-1923 -- at St. Francis de Sales.
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Got news? Email it to Berry Craig at bcraig8960@charter.net or Jeff Wiggins at JLWiggins2@Juno.com.