Raw Knuckled Politics
When political elites hold people back.
This is my story of working with organized labor and an impression of political elites. I write about the WinCo grocery store being denied a permit to operate in North Seattle.
I have been a union member most of my working life. Even famous musicians can be part of a union.
I started working while still attending high school. I worked evenings at a Taco Bell. After graduating, I worked odd jobs, including gigs at Sears and a pizza joint. This was the early 1980s and I was earning $3.35 an hour.
Then a revolutionary event occurred. I got a job with Root Paint in Hoquiam, This was a unionized, industrial painting company. As an apprentice, I painted in paper mills and aluminum smelters. I painted office buildings at a Boeing facility in Tukwila. This was revolutionary because I was earning $6.00 an hour.
My income doubled and it changed my life. I felt like I moved up in the world.
I worked days and spent most evenings and weekends practicing with my band or playing shows. I had more money for music gear. My boss, Fred Root helped me buy a used Dodge van. The band kept getting more shows and the Seattle music scene was gaining world acclaim.
I left the painting gig so I could travel with the band in the van. Sorry Fred! I did odd jobs between tours. Sometimes worked for cash. WorkSource was another good way to make some money without committing to a job. I would get temporary gigs at places like sheet metal producers who needed extra help.
One thing lead to another and my band got a major label record contract.
The band started working with a CPA, and signed up for health insurance through the American Federation of Television and Radio Actors. I was back in a union and a member to this day.
The people who brought us the weekend.
Organized labor are part of the tension which holds America together. The magic is the push and pull between capitalism and socialism. The United States is a rich country and unions have traditionally won concessions from elites.
Washington State has lost the sweet spot and we've gone too far to one side. The notion of socialism is du jour here, driving the forces dominating our state’s ruling party. Labor unions are major players in the current power structure.
Elites run amok.
One such labor group, the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW), apparently was able to scuttle a new grocery store in North Seattle.
It’s being reported the UFCW worked through an astro-turf group to deny an application for a proposed worker owned grocery store. WinCo Foods is a privately held, employee-owned supermarket chain known for its no-frills, warehouse-style shopping experience and high-volume, low-price strategy.
Minty Hawk covers the matter on an X thread. He says, “The UCFW has been trying to organize WinCo for decades and failing. WinCo employees repeatedly decline unionization because they don't want to risk their Employee Stock Ownership Plan. So the UFCW adopted a different strategy: if you can't organize the workers, block the stores.”
You can read more about the situation . I’m not criticizing organized labor, my point is about raw-knuckled politics.
Stopping a business from opening is scorched earth political strategy. There is real damage.
The proposed WinCO site has been vacant on Aurora Blvd for years. Empty retail is a form of blight.
Local consumers, dealing with high cost of living, are denied an option for discounted foods.
A worker-owned model of business now cannot hire people. Jobs which offer a stake in the company were squashed. Opportunities for people to move up in life were blown up.
The owners of the property still have a vacant retail space — and lost an opportunity to host a good tenant.
These are the consequences when political elites run amok. UCFW are part of the ruling party coalition. There will be no calls for accountability from our current elected leaders.
Instead, we’ll keep hearing about “food deserts” and how public grocery stores are the solution — as if nothing ever happened with the WinCO in North Seattle.
Krist Novoselić is Cascade Party Chair. He serves on the board of directors in an at-large position.
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