Hoffa's Pennsylvania Convoy for Change - Day One

[Coexist]

posted by Teamster Power on kos:

Follow their journey on this Google map.

The day started early, with the wheels rolling at 6:30 a.m. to Ocean Logistics, a warehouse distribution company that supplies health and beauty products to A&P stores up and down the East Coast.

Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa began campaigning with his first handshake with Local 229 principal officer Bob Webber. "This is all about Obama. He's talking about striker replacement, you know, things we were talking about ten years ago; things we've forgotten about; EFCA, this is important."

The diary discusses how Pennsylvanians are losing their jobs to Mexico- the Tops Bubble Gum factory, the York Peppermint Patty factory, but this part really hit home; it shows how important this convoy is:

"This is great," said driver Rodney Collins. "I thought we were in a forgotten area up here. But seeing (Hoffa) here, it feels like we are an important part of the Teamsters.

When asked if this will have an impact on his vote, he said: "Without a doubt. With him being here, being a part of us I think it's great. It's not like sending a letter, anybody can send a letter. This shows we matter."

<snip>
These are real Americans, not campaign speeches. They bend their backs every day to keep our shelves stocked and our products arriving on time. And they all share the same concerns. It's the economy. It's job security. Will my job, my neighbor's job be here tomorrow.

and if you have time, read through the comments, too. There are many that give me chills:

Man, out of all of the posts...I read during this countdown to April 22nd, these updates about the Teamsters getting to work is probably the one that gets me jazzed the most!

The imagery of the semis rolling down the street in a convoy, with the no nonsense approach, going right for the jugular and aimed at such a crucial demographic, is incredibly vivid and positive in my mind.

Keep 'em coming, TP!!!

and

our trucks are rolling billboards


and

The numbers of people will be tremendous. Speaking as a father, an artist, a Teamster and a burgeoning grass roots organizer I would like to say that regardless of whom the Democratic nominee is, good times lay ahead for working Americans.

Labor will have a real voice at the table and we living wage campaigners will be there to get your back. The sheer numbers of people demanding our say will be too tremendous for the union busting, labor devaluing market fundies to resist.

This is very exciting!

Go Teamsters!

[grantcart]

1. Go 'Bama

[Coexist]

2. I keep going back for more comments - this exchange is awesome:

... Having Hoffa out hitting the road making direct contact with the rank and file gives me hope that we can, indeed, take our country and the Democratic Party back from corporate shills and union busters like Mark Penn. Thank you for keeping us updated. Go Teamsters!

....... Woo! Honk your semi horns if you love Obama! This is great. Make sure to blast those horns on the highway for those of us following along at home!

.......... We blasted them in Scranton And will be blowing them as we roll into downtown Wilkes-Barre (in about 10 minutes) -- Anyone at last year's YearlyKos can attest to what it means for us to blow our own horns! These babies will rattle your fillings loose.

[Coexist]

3. there are photos now - does that help?

?v=0

I think this is great - I guess I'm the only one.

[Heathen57]

10. Union Guy here

and I think it is GREAT! Living in a "right to work" state the unions are not all that strong here (except the grocery workers and the teachers) but we all seem to be in support of Obama.

In the IATSE office, the subject of Mark Penn is a very touchy one. People seem to be finding all kinds of new profanity to describe him. :evilgrin:

[Life Long Dem]

4. Hillary is connected with a union buster, therefore she is part of the war on the middle class.

I'm waiting for someone to debunk my logic on this statement before I use it for my signature or something.

[truedelphi]

5. Some one of her shills may try and debunk it

But Youtube has videos of her saying that she will ensure that the guest worker visas are ample and in numbers to the liking of the Silcion Valley corporate executivesd.

And in the same speech - she says that we need to think up ways to encourage our children to study math and the sciences...
Why should they study? The engineering jobs are jobs she is guaranteeing to foreigners. She is so disconnected that she doesn't even get it!

[Life Long Dem]

7. Yeah, she says one thing and does another.

I posted that sentence after a little fixing up due to a failing logics grade by a Hillary supporter. I knew I should have studied more for that Logics class.:-)

You probably saw this about Tata and Hillary but here is the title and link: Critics tie Clinton to offshoring http://www.nohillaryclinton.com/2007/09/23/critics-tie-clinton-to-offshoring/

[thevoiceofreason]

6. Great job, everyone

Let's wrap this up now.

[BumRushDaShow]

8. Wow.

If the Teamsters are out there like that, that will definitely help! PA is a big union state. With them and some of the AFL-CIO, this will energize a nice chunk of folks. :woohoo:

Under AFL-CIO, SEIU sent out Obama mailers and the IILWU has endorsed Obama (and we have some big ports here in Philly along the Delaware River). The TWU is another biggie around here.

Some AFL-CIO endorsements: http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/03/03/ilwu-backs-obama-for-president/

[Hope And Change]

9. K&R!

:kick: