So, I have been at a work event all week and unable to read anything much less post. So, today, for lunch, I decided I'd troll the tubes and re-educate myself, and that's when I ran across a posting on Dailykos:

There, in this street theater production, the puppet attempted to confront corporate lobbyists, CEOs and Bush administration officials meeting at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. "Toxic Trader" wanted to eliminate trade barriers and implement voluntary standards for safety instead of instituting government inspections for consumer protection against unsafe imports. But union supporters dressed as the red-caped "Toxic Avengers," saved the day.

Later, steelworkers also dropped a huge banner inside the hotel as the Import Safety Summit completed, announcing to the participants “Unfair Trade Kills.” These victims have included a four-year-old boy who died after swallowing a lead pendant that came on his shoe, 81 patients who succumbed after using contaminated heparin blood thinner imported from Chinese manufacturers, and two Philadelphia carpenters who died in a car crash caused by defective imported tires.

These deaths are detailed in a report issued yesterday called “The Toxic Truth: Unfair Trade Kills,” available at http://usw.org.

Damn, wish I'd been there. And right now, I'm really wishing I had links to pictures of this to post!!

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Last night, the Van Wert city council met and the mayor decided to make a statement about the Lock Out. From the Times Bulletin:

Van Wert Mayor Louie Ehmer took an opportunity to clarify the city's neutral position in the matter, saying, "I would just like to point out that Clair Dudgeon, Nancy Bowen and myself made a visit to Kongsberg Automotive. We were out there just to convey that we want the plant to remain in Van Wert, and we wanted to maintain open communication during this time... We also made a conference call to the governor's office, and they also stressed the importance of keeping the plant here in Ohio. Our purpose was to show the importance of keeping the facility in Van Wert and that the city and the county are concerned about the outcome for the company and the people they employ.. "

When questioned further about the administration's role, Ehmer emphasized, "We do not want to get involved in the negotiations... Whatever we can do to keep the lines of communication open, that's all we can do, to help the company as well as the workers."

The company locked out the employees. I’m not really clear on why the Mayor would want to stay neutral. These are, after all, neighbors and friends, aren’t they? Well, I didn’t have to wait long, there is support in local government. Again from the Times Bulletin:

City Law Director Greg Unterbrink offered words of praise for the locked out workers. "If [the lockout] is prolonged, there will be the chance of provocation, but I can tell you from sitting in on some union meetings, their union rep is telling them it's a lockout and they aren't supposed to do anything to provoke either side," reported Unterbrink.

However, he did not share the same opinion of Kongsberg management. "But I can't say the same for management," he stated. "I feel that companies in Van Wert should be good corporate citizens."

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