Mike Haynie, founder of the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) spoke with America’s Work Force on Nov. 5 about his organization and what they do.
Haynie talked about veterans and their reintegration into society and civilian life after they leave the military. He said that when someone retires from the military, they struggle to find a job and readapt to civilian lifestyle because they have been out of touch for however many years they were in the service. Haynie said that the IVMF works to teach these veterans skills and offers vocational training to help make the job search process easier for them. The program gives these veterans the training to earn labor market certification credentials so employers can know that they are well trained and their work will be able to meet their standards. Lastly, Haynie said that this organization has corporate partners such as Walmart and Starbucks that help provide funding to the institute.
Tim Burga, president of the Ohio AFL-CIO spoke about union brothers and sisters running for local offices during the upcoming election. He said that if they want something done about labor rights and issues, then they will run so they can speak for themselves. Burga said that there are 51 union brothers and sisters endorsed for this election and he hopes they will be able to shine light on labor issues they are facing and gain some traction in their fight against these issues.
Jon Reiss, executive director of the Cuyahoga County Veteran Services Commission talked about his organization and the support that they offer to veterans. He said that the CCVSC is having their third annual Winter Clothing Program where once a veteran or their dependent go through a screening process, will be provided a gift card to one of three clothing retailers to purchase jackets or other necessities for the winter months. Reiss also talked about the CCVSC financial assistance program and how they help veterans who are struggling financially and also help them work towards financial independence and stability.
AWF host Ed “Flash” Ferenc spoke about Ford Motors and the United Auto Workers reached a tentative agreement with a contract and Ford’s plans to invest $900 million into Ford plants in Ohio.
Vance began his time with AWF explaining what the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance is all about. He said that they work to preserve and improve America’s park infrastructure, such as docks, boat piers, park benches, picnic tables and park bathrooms. Vance said that there is a 14 billion dollar backlog to improve America’s parks and they are in desperate need of improvements. One of the major reasons they do what they do is to allow children and families to have access to a safe, clean and pleasant recreation area outside and have people experience the outdoors rather than avoiding it. The organization is currently working in underprivileged and underfunded areas right now to give kids the chance at a recreational area they had never really had the chance to experience before. Lastly, he talked about how they work to preserve outdoor heritage by providing firearm safety lessons, and expose kids to fishing and hunting.
Cimperman, former city councilman of 18 years for Cleveland and now president of Global Cleveland explained what Welcoming Week is all about. He said that everyone easily overlooks all the contributions immigrants have made to our country, cities, our art and our cultures. Cimperman first addressed that America welcomes everyone, especially those looking for a better life because that is what being an American is all about, and reminds everyone that they only got to America because of their immigrant ancestors. He then explained that Welcoming Week highlights, exhibits, and applauds various contributions that were made by immigrants and to show different companies and how they are global-friendly employers. Cimperman said that Welcoming Week shows unity between everyone and that we are all here for the same reason; to make the best life we can for ourselves.
Jesse Lee, Vice President of Communications at the Center for American Progress (CAP) joined AWF on August 6 to talk about President Trump and his broken promises. He talked about a running catalog that CAP keeps on the original promises that the President made during his campaign trail, categorized by state, and takes what he originally said and contrasts it with what he ended up actually doing. Some of these things included promises on healthcare, prescription drug prices and keeping jobs in the United States. Lastly, Lee spoke about the AT&T scandal where the corporation said that for every billion dollars in profit they made after receiving tax breaks, they would create 7,000 jobs, but ended up cutting 25,000 jobs and keeping all of their profits.
Kathryn Joyce, freelance journalist with Type Investigate and the Huffington Post, discussed the politics in the wake of school shootings in the United States. In referencing the Marjory Stone-Douglas highschool shooting in Parkland, Florida in February 2018, Joyce discussed the different narratives each side of the political spectrum pushed in regards to the shooting and who to blame. She said that the Left blamed the lack of gun control legislation and the Right blamed the school system for their lack of disciplinary action on the gunman from when was younger and lashed out in school. She also talked about racial disparity in America’s school systems and the statistics claiming minorities are more likely to commit crimes when lashing out and not disciplined in school when they were younger, even though the majority of America’s school shooters have been caucasian.
Michael Williams, the interim co-executive director for the Blue Green Alliance spoke with AWF on June 4 about rebuilding America’s infrastructure and preserving the environment. When talking about infrastructure improvements, Williams mentioned that it is good that there are all of these plans being brought up on the subject, but it will take real public investment to make a difference. He brought up that the more infrastructure improvements that are made, the environment will begin to be cleaned up. One example that Williams made is that if we were to fix our water systems, there would be less pollution in our water, and we will be able to move water around more efficiently. Finally, he talked about the Lift America Act.
Scott Paul, executive director of the Alliance for American Manufacturing spoke with America’s Work Force about keeping jobs in America. He talked about Chinese state-owned companies that are going around and underbidding companies in the United States by millions and performing shoddy work, costing the state more in the long-run to continue to use their business. He said, at first, using the lower bidding companies saves money, but costing more and more to maintain and improve as the years go on because of the poor quality of work that was done. Paul also talked about the new NAFTA, United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement, and how he would like to see it include more protections for workers.
Brown, who was a former marine, discussed going into the construction trades after he transitioned from active-duty back into civilian life and how easy he had assimilated to the training. He talked about programs such as Helmets to Hardhats, that provide training in the trades while guaranteeing job placement or an earn while you learn apprenticeship with a federally approved apprenticeship program. Brown talked about all of the benefits of an apprenticeship, such as free training, earn while you learn, good starting wages and a path to the middle class rather than going to college or university and taking on student debt without being guaranteed a job. He then talked about the quality of training in union construction and how they spend hundreds of hours perfecting their craft to make sure the work that they will be providing is well above the competition’s quality of work.
Bailey spoke about Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY 14th district) tax reform proposal that would essentially be a 70 percent marginal tax rate for an income of 10 million dollars and above. Bailey feels that the current tax system is rigged and unfair against the poor and is designed to help out the rich. Bailey believes that trickle-down economics is not helping anybody and is not creating new jobs like politicians claimed it would. He also mentioned how Trump’s GOP tax cuts are not helping the economy like he had said that they would.
Tim Burga, President of the Ohio AFL-CIO, discussed an increase in union membership in Ohio, compared to a slight decrease, nationwide, in 2018. He also said that teacher union membership is significantly growing compared to last year. Burga also believes the government shutdown will possibly resume on Feb. 15 and he feels that congress needs to find common ground on the border security issue that President Trump and Democrats have been butting heads over.
