UAW member for Chrysler(Stellantis) on Kellogg
So this isn’t a question but I wanted to also add more info on how FCA/Stellantis are doing similar to things at out plants. I’ve been an employee for 10+ years here and started off as a Two tier worker. We have MANY TPT(temporary workers who should only work 90 days then be rolled over or let go) that have been working here for 2+ years without any word on being Hired full time. Since Returning from the first covid lockdown, we have worked 6 days a week pretty consistently. They called a Critical Plant Status(required to work 90 days in a row) at our plant (we build the RAM and TRX Rams trucks) at the end of September which will go til the day before Christmas eve. And they keep bringing in more and more tpts while still not hiring any of the currently working ones. We have TPTs training other TPTs how to do jobs all over the place here. While I’m happy the UAW is fighting for Kellogg’s workers, here at the plants, we trust our UAW about as much as Americans trust mainstream media. Not sure if this helps at all but thank you for all you guys do!
LtCol Stu Scheller - Accountability
Breaking Points, and Rising have done segments on Stu Scheller. Generally speaking, those segments were decent. There's some nuance to U.S. civilian / military relations and operations that was not completely accurate in your (collective) coverage - but not enough to take away from your main complaint (and Stu's) regarding accountability or, more importantly, the immunity from real accountability for individuals who choose to "serve" at the highest levels of power. The military judge has largely ruled in favor of Scheller and, if the SecNav is agreeable, LtCol Scheller could leave the military with as much as an honorable discharge - which is the least he deserve after 17 years of service. The Scheller story may just be getting going - who knows yet what he ultimately desires - but this is an important point in that story. And it's an opportunity to continue shining a light into the deep recesses hiding those who avoid responsibility and accountability, and personally profit from the military-industrial complex about which President Eisenhower warned. What's next?
Refusing the Child Tax Credit?
In a episode I watched recently (I'm a bit behind), you talked about the failure of Dems to make the case that the expanded Child Tax Credit is a result of their work/leadership. My sister (29 yo), who has a young daughter (4 yo), informed me not long ago that she decided to refuse the monthly payments. She stated her reason for doing so was that she would just have to pay back any money she receives (tbh, I'm not even sure whether or not this is true, though I told her I didn't think it was), that she usually makes too much money to get such welfare benefits, and that she's not really worried about missing out on the payments since she became an RN (after working as an LPN for several years) and is making more in income. She doesn't pay much attention to politics or discussions of public policy. In reality, it was most likely my mom using a combination of scare tactics and shame to convince her to refuse the payments - my mom is a fierce Trump supporter, and is very, VERY deep into the Stop the Steal stuff. While it's true that my sister is making more money, she is a single mom receiving no financial support from the father of her child, and also has a significant amount of credit card and student loan debt (she does not have a degree). My question then is if you know of any data regarding people refusing the monthly payments and their reason(s) for doing so. And how do you think this kind of culture war filtering, even from those who aren't themselves steeped in the culture war or ideological in really any way, impacts the potential success of populism? While I'm no apologist for Democratic ineptitude, is there really anything Dems COULD do to reach people like my sister, who despite directly benefitting materially from this policy, would choose to go without such additional support merely because it's a Democrat who put the policy in place. (Though it's not entirely relevant, I do want to add that my mom received support from multiple welfare systems throughout my entire childhood, and had the Tax Credit been a Trump policy, would have supported and celebrated it.)