Resilience

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The Ridgefield Washington teachers strike is going into its second week with stalled contract negotiations hinging on funding for student mental health support, special education improvements, and a better program for student interventions.
While the school district management and negotiators are working to end the strike, the students languish without the normal support they would receive had they been in school. The most obvious loss would be the learning experience in the classroom itself but includes the social aspect involving sports and the physical exercise needed by growing young bodies, band, and other cultural clubs and after school activities held at school.
One aspect of this involves the school lunch program for students unable to bring or purchase lunches are now left with no lunch at all, for whatever reason. Whether they come from a home suffering from food insecurity or they are too young to make their own lunches at home, many are struggling.
The school district itself has essentially abandoned these children and has offered no support, shoving the blame on the striking teachers in the eyes of the parents and community. The teachers union stepped in and seized the narrative by offering free lunches to all students at local facilities and relieving the parents of a huge concern piled onto their childcare woes.
They've learned the power of narrative.
The Minnesota nurses strike, 15,000 strong, is calling for better care for their patients, shorter working hours and more staffing to combat burnout plaguing the entire industry nationwide. No mention of wages.
We all remember the trauma the nurses and doctors went through in the last two years with Covid devastating the country. Working long hours, some 24/7 for weeks at a time, many burned out and left the occupation feeling used and abused, unappreciated, and unable to serve their patients effectively.
Heros no longer work there, or was that just an empty narrative?
The barely averted railroad strike sounded similar abuses, long hours, often far away from home, industry safety lapses, and wages consistently falling behind inflation. The RR union is pushing the narrative of "If you think the Covid debacle disrupted the supply chain, wait until there is no rail traffic at all".
Working conditions in the rail industry have become so bad that younger people are even harder to find to replace the aging and retiring workers.
And Corporate America wails that they cannot find good help!
It's way past time for them to realize they must show current and future employees that they appreciate and welcome them.
Good wages are not enough. Protecting them from burnout is essential to keeping them focused and productive on their jobs.
Any hint of exploitation of the work force will result in blowback in spades. Learn the meaning of "quiet quitting".
The problem will only get worse, as indicated by the recent explosion of union activity increasing the wailing of the workforce that is your means of profit.
A union renaissance could be avoided with wise improvements in working conditions, affordable health benefits, secure pension plans, and inflation proof wages.
Sadly, the quest for billionaire hood will fail to see this truth and result in loss for all involved.
I will be at the farm and hopefully will be able to respond.
The floor is open.

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Granma's picture

Seems to be top of the list with strikers and potential strikers are the best interests of people they serve and working conditions. Wages are part of their protests of course. But promising a raise in pay isn't enough to get the workers to settle. They seem to hold out for improvements in working conditions.

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earthling1's picture

@Granma
In the case of nurses and teachers it's about serving their patients and students first.
Working conditions come next because burnout is prevelant with long hours and inadequate resources.
Wages, of course are important as they have not kept pace with inflation for decades.
But even employers know you cannot attract or keep qualified workers for minimum wages.
Even truckers are beginning to cite long hours and public safety as primary concerns.
Thanks for the post. Granma.

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Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ukraine-russia-donetsk-luhansk-1.6588501

Two Russian-controlled regions in Eastern Ukraine announced plans to hold referendums on joining Russia later this week and an ally of President Vladimir Putin said the votes would alter the geopolitical landscape in Moscow's favour forever.

The move, which seriously escalates Moscow's standoff with the West, comes after Russia suffered a battlefield reversal in northeast Ukraine and as Putin ponders his next steps in a nearly seven-month-old conflict that has caused the most serious East-West rift since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.

The Russian-backed, self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) and the neighbouring Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) said the planned referendums would be held from Sept. 23 to 27.

In a post on social media addressed to Putin, DPR head Denis Pushilin wrote: "I ask you, as soon as possible, in the event of a positive decision in the referendum - which we have no doubt about - to consider the DPR becoming a part of Russia."

It is a possibility!

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earthling1's picture

@humphrey
Russia will gather or accept any peoples who want to become a part of the multicolor world order.
Most sovereign countries realize the fall of Russia leaves only one powerful
domino left to push over. China.
And China knows this!
The Western powers that be are in panic mode.
The end of their rule is imminent.
IMHO
Thanks for stopping by, humphrey.

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Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

@humphrey

Ukraine’s Zaporozhye Region bids to join Russia

A vote on strategically important province's future is set to start on Friday

Earlier on Tuesday, a similar initiative was issued in Kherson Region, which is mostly controlled by Russian forces. The local administration’s head, Vladimir Saldo, ordered on Tuesday to hold a general vote on whether or not to join Russia.

Zaporozhye will be tricky as the people are split into different ideological regions.

https://www.rt.com/russia/563170-zaporozhye-region-referendum-russia/

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https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/09/on-the-upcoming-putin-speech-and-a...

On The Upcoming Putin Speech And Announcements
Moscow has made a decision how to proceed in the proxy war with NATO in the Ukraine.

We do not yet know what the decision is.

The President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin will hold a TV speech at 8 pm Moscow time (17:00 UTC) followed by an announcement by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

In July Putin has held a press conference or speech where he said with regards to Ukraine something like: "We haven't even started yet."

It may be that Russia will do that now.

That a decision had been made was noticeable.

Yesterday the parliaments of the Luhansk and Donetz People's Republics suddenly requested their government to immediately launch referendums about the republics accession to the Russian Federation. Today Denis Pushilin, the head of the DNR government, announced that a referendum will be held on September 23 to 27.

Also yesterday the Russian parliament introduced amendments to the Russian Criminal Code which will increase the prison penalties for 'voluntary surrender', 'looting', 'non-fulfillment of military orders' during a time of mobilization, martial law and war. Companies who reject to produce for the military will also be penalized. The amendments passed their second reading in parliament today and will become law after a third reading.

If the LNR and DPR vote to become part of Russia, and if Russia accepts it, any attack of them will be an act of war against Russia. The 'Special Military Operation', which Russia is currently proceeding with, would thus change into something way more serious. Russia could declare the conflict to be a war. It could then use conscripts in war functions, mobilize reserves and use its full arsenal against the Ukraine. Potentially also against those who support it with weapons and other war material.

Edited to add this:

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Of course he won't recognize the peoples choice. Too inconvenient.

Reacting to the announcement that the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics (LPR and DPR) will hold votes on joining Russia later this week, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday called them illegitimate and demanded more support for Ukraine from the “international community.”

https://www.rt.com/news/563194-nato-us-donbass-referendum/

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farms are the great escape from nutty governments.
Grow some food, or feed for livestock, know you are a good person.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981