If I were to suggest that the good people of Northwest Iowa were getting snookered by politicians, it might affect our self-esteem as astute civic participants. A curious fact does come up: Folks like Rep. Randy Feenstra and Sen. Joni Ernst are busy beavers chewing on Chinese Communists buying our farms, while Gov. Kim Reynolds went down to patrol the Mexican border. Feenstra and Ernst have been in the pocket of Smithfield Foods, a wholly owned subsidiary of China, Inc.
Art your column reminds me of the 1960 LBJ quote, as related by press secretary Bill Moyers: "I'll tell you what's at the bottom of it," he said. "If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you."
Substitute "immigrant" for "colored man."
As far as your observations about IBP/Tyson go: The United Auto Workers have a master collective bargaining agreement for all the plants within John Deere governing pay, benefits and working conditions. The United Food and Commerical Workers does not for the various IBP/Tyson plants - including your community, Waterloo, Columbus Junction and elsewhere. I'm sure that helped allow Tyson to play a shell game during COVID, moving production from plant to plant -- until my friends at the Waterloo Courier (and you had similar concurrent coverage) broke the story about an ultimately fatal COVID outbreak at the Waterloo Tyson plant. It evoked the ire against the company of our county sheriff (who happened to be a Democrat) on our COVID response team and brought lawsuits and the national media down on company officials' heads.
In an April 16, 2020 article, the Courier reported: "Hundreds of Tyson employees in Waterloo have refused to work in recent days, according to multiple people who have reached out to The Courier. They say the company is not protecting workers from coronavirus spread." Others were going to work sick for fear of losing their jobs.
When those workers didn't get satisfaction from the company, or their union, they reached out to the Courier.
And that is why any community needs a strong local newspaper. You know it. I know it. And all of our friends and neighbors need to know it.
I had a priest once tell me that I performed "a valuable work of humanity" working for a paper. That is no more apparent than at times like these, when people are being exploited by those in power. That's why we do what we do, and God bless you for continuing to do it.
Silly Republicans. The Chinese aren't buying up all our farmland, Bill Gates is!
Reynolds' old boss, Ambassador Branstad, brought IBP into Iowa and that broke the old traditional meatpacking plants along with their unions. Over 100,000 Iowa workers left during Reagan's first term and blue collar pay in Iowa has been abysmal ever since. (Workers, not families. The families followed later and the seven House seats of my youth dwindled to just four.)
I left Iowa in 1968 because I was not in the Que to inherit and Farm the Quarter Section in Oceola County. I wound up in Texas and spent Fifty Two years doing Concrete Work. Who are y work mates? Men from Mexico that would rather be Farming but NAFDA ruined farming in Mexico. Now , at age 72, I have inherited that Quarter Section in Oceola County. I am visiting Iowa in December and am going to look you up. I have been following your work for several years and am appalled by the state of agriculture today in Iowa. That Farm will achieve Century designation in 2027. Thank you. Brian Elvin
Art your column reminds me of the 1960 LBJ quote, as related by press secretary Bill Moyers: "I'll tell you what's at the bottom of it," he said. "If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you."
Substitute "immigrant" for "colored man."
As far as your observations about IBP/Tyson go: The United Auto Workers have a master collective bargaining agreement for all the plants within John Deere governing pay, benefits and working conditions. The United Food and Commerical Workers does not for the various IBP/Tyson plants - including your community, Waterloo, Columbus Junction and elsewhere. I'm sure that helped allow Tyson to play a shell game during COVID, moving production from plant to plant -- until my friends at the Waterloo Courier (and you had similar concurrent coverage) broke the story about an ultimately fatal COVID outbreak at the Waterloo Tyson plant. It evoked the ire against the company of our county sheriff (who happened to be a Democrat) on our COVID response team and brought lawsuits and the national media down on company officials' heads.
In an April 16, 2020 article, the Courier reported: "Hundreds of Tyson employees in Waterloo have refused to work in recent days, according to multiple people who have reached out to The Courier. They say the company is not protecting workers from coronavirus spread." Others were going to work sick for fear of losing their jobs.
When those workers didn't get satisfaction from the company, or their union, they reached out to the Courier.
And that is why any community needs a strong local newspaper. You know it. I know it. And all of our friends and neighbors need to know it.
I had a priest once tell me that I performed "a valuable work of humanity" working for a paper. That is no more apparent than at times like these, when people are being exploited by those in power. That's why we do what we do, and God bless you for continuing to do it.
Thanks brother trucker
Silly Republicans. The Chinese aren't buying up all our farmland, Bill Gates is!
Reynolds' old boss, Ambassador Branstad, brought IBP into Iowa and that broke the old traditional meatpacking plants along with their unions. Over 100,000 Iowa workers left during Reagan's first term and blue collar pay in Iowa has been abysmal ever since. (Workers, not families. The families followed later and the seven House seats of my youth dwindled to just four.)
This is so spot on Art Cullen.
Every point you made here needs to be in our dialog when confronting the actions of the Republican mindset.
A revealing look inside the cyst they've become.
I left Iowa in 1968 because I was not in the Que to inherit and Farm the Quarter Section in Oceola County. I wound up in Texas and spent Fifty Two years doing Concrete Work. Who are y work mates? Men from Mexico that would rather be Farming but NAFDA ruined farming in Mexico. Now , at age 72, I have inherited that Quarter Section in Oceola County. I am visiting Iowa in December and am going to look you up. I have been following your work for several years and am appalled by the state of agriculture today in Iowa. That Farm will achieve Century designation in 2027. Thank you. Brian Elvin