October 4, 2024
It seems that people doing — or not doing — their jobs has popped up in the news a bit over the past 24 hours…
Couple Days Off
The potential crisis of a long, drawn-out strike was temporarily averted yesterday, as the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) agreed to return to work after only three days of a work stoppage all along the eastern seaboard and gulf coast. Workers got a potential 62% raise over the course of the next 6 years, but there are still some details to work out — particularly in the realm of automation. The good news for both union members and management is that they have until at least January 15 to work out those details.
The good news for President Joe Biden — and by extension, Vice President Kamala Harris — is that a potentially costly combination of work stoppage and supply chain issues has been averted until well after the election. Harris has voiced strong support for the ILA throughout this week. However, she still has failed to secure the endorsements of some other key union groups, including the Teamsters and the International Association of Fire Fighters, who just this week announced that, like the Teamsters, they would not be officially backing a candidate this year. (It should be noted that both groups endorsed Biden in 2020.) That said, other groups, such as the AFL-CIO, United Auto Workers, the National Education Association, and others have all announced their support for Harris.

Bad Is Bad
Former Mesa County, Colorado clerk Tina Peters was sentenced to nine years in prison yesterday, after conspiring to give access to the county’s voting machines to some of the folks behind the 2020 “Stop the Steal” movement. Peters has remained unapologetic about her actions, in which she stole a county employee’s security badge to get at voter systems, and to assist MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell’s false conspiracies about the validity of the 2020 election results. Moreover, during her sentencing, Peters continued to state more false claims, and broke down into tears when she talked about how she couldn’t go to prison because of her need to sleep on a “magnetic mattress”.
Judge Matthew Barrett appeared completely unimpressed, stating that the defendant was, “as defiant as any defendant this court has ever seen.” He continued, “You are no hero. You abused your position, and you’re a charlatan.”
Doing It All for My Baby
Fresh on the heels of former Representative Liz Cheney campaigning with Kamala Harris yesterday, Elon Musk has announced that he will attend former President Donald Trump’s rally tomorrow in Butler, Pennsylvania, the same place where Trump was shot in the ear during a speech in July. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO — and owner of eX-Twitter — has become increasingly critical of Democrats, after supporting the Blue team for years. And his recent “conversation” with Trump, broadcast via X, where they both expressed their disdain for unions is strongly indicative of his position on things now. LINK
In contrast, former President Barack Obama has announced that he will be stepping up his campaign appearances for Harris over the next month, starting next Thursday in Pittsburgh. Harris and Obama have had a friendship that goes back 20 years, from when he was running for Senate. LINK
Hip to Be Square
It may be lame, but I had another music-inspired day of headlines today. While some of the connections between headlines and stories have been walking on a thin line, I know what I like when it comes to being creative. After all, in a perfect world, it’s the heart and soul of writing, right? Not to mention the heart of rock and roll, for that matter. So let me know in the comments who you think it is!
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