Teamster Michael Savwoir: Kansas City Star OPED

[OT+]

Michael Savwoir is a retired member of Teamsters Local 41 in Kansas City and longtime member and Co-Chair of Teamsters for a Democratic Union.

Read more at: https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/readers-opinion/guest-commentary/article290302219.html#storylink=cpy?

[Thisischange?]

Excellent Michael!

[MSAVWOIR]

This morning I posted an op-ed piece to the Kansas City Star about General President Sean O'Brien's address to the Republican National Convention. Like many I was critical of this olive branch to the oppressors of Labor and certainly not naive enough to think that we might ever convert the Josh Hawleys and the JD Vances of our world to a pro-labor conservatives. I am reminded that through out my working career I made conscience effort to maintain a dialog with co-workers who were diametrically opposed to my political and cultural perspectives. I would hope that my conscious efforts did more than prevent a few fist fights. Hopefully it broaden my awareness of their perspectives and, I would hope, theirs of mine. It allowed me to be a bit more tolerant of their bigotry and them of mine. It made our union solidarity a little bit better, a little bit stronger. Worth the effort! A rush to judgement would have forever slammed those doors shut.

I did not talk to Sean O'Brien before i rushed to judgement, I only look at those facts that were on the surface. Tonight I heard NPRs This American Life. They aired a rather extended piece on O'Brien address to the RNC. They talked to him, they asked the questions, they listened carefully, they did not rush to judgement. They reminded me, as I already know, why rushing to judgement is always a mistake!

[OT+]