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CorporatistNation

(2,546 posts)
Tue Apr 12, 2016, 06:58 AM Apr 2016

Bernie Rocks Buffalo. He Also Did Something Else. Visiting Local 1122

Sanders turned out a huge crowd. He also took a notable detour

I sincerely hope that nobody has a problem with this post....

Before Bernie Sanders spoke to over 11,000 people on Monday at the University of Buffalo, he made a brief unscheduled stop. The crowd in the alumni arena was more diverse than most Sanders rallies—not as diverse as Buffalo itself, a city where non-Hispanic whites are in the minority, but with a greater number of black and brown faces than I’d seen in other rallies in other parts of the country. And like every Sanders rally I’ve been to, the crowd was happy to be there, shouting “Ber-nie! Ber-nie!” at every rumor of the candidate’s appearance, and gleefully taking selfies of one another before, during, and after Sanders’s 90 minute speech.

The audience at Sanders’s first stop was a lot quieter, a lot older, a lot whiter—and a whole lot smaller. They were pleased to see Sanders, but there was no mistaking the scene at Local 1122 of the Communications Workers of America for a rock concert or a sporting event. These were 25 shop stewards at Verizon who had to prepare their members to go on strike on Wednesday morning, and the mood in the room was a mixture of anxiety and defiant anger.


“It’s getting old, having to fight just to keep our jobs,” said Larry Turner, a 25 year veteran. “Ever since the merger with Bell Atlantic it seems like we have to keep fighting just to stay in place. They were supposed to be building FiOS here in Buffalo and they just stopped.”

When Sanders arrived, the stewards, who had been discussing the likelihood that Verizon would try to discipline or discharge members, interrupted their strategy session to listen to the man Larry Cohen, the former president of the union who now leads Labor for Bernie, told them had always had their backs. “I want to thank you for standing up to the outrageous greed of corporate America,” Sanders told them, pointing out that Verizon had booked $ 39 Billion in profits over the past three years. The company recently bid billions for the loss-making Yahoo—yet continues to demand its workers pay more for their health coverage.


http://www.thenation.com/article/bernie-rocks-buffalo/
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Bernie Rocks Buffalo. He Also Did Something Else. Visiting Local 1122 (Original Post) CorporatistNation Apr 2016 OP
My favorite part.. Kentonio Apr 2016 #1
Integrity, Character, Honesty... Let's Hope New York Pulls Through For The REVOLUTION! CorporatistNation Apr 2016 #2
My hubby is from Saratoga Springs...when we lived in NY he traveled the state for business. Punkingal Apr 2016 #4
Now it's on to Rochester!!! ViseGrip Apr 2016 #3
K&R me b zola Apr 2016 #5
 

Kentonio

(4,377 posts)
1. My favorite part..
Tue Apr 12, 2016, 07:04 AM
Apr 2016
A candidate fixated on the White House doesn’t keep 11,000 people waiting so he can cheer up a couple of dozen shop stewards nervous before a big strike. But Bernie Sanders did. Because for him, too, this has never been just about winning the nomination—or the presidency.


CorporatistNation

(2,546 posts)
2. Integrity, Character, Honesty... Let's Hope New York Pulls Through For The REVOLUTION!
Tue Apr 12, 2016, 07:13 AM
Apr 2016

Being originally from Buffalo... I am proud of Buffalonians!

Punkingal

(9,522 posts)
4. My hubby is from Saratoga Springs...when we lived in NY he traveled the state for business.
Tue Apr 12, 2016, 10:18 AM
Apr 2016

He always said the people in Buffalo were the nicest of anywhere in the state!

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