Firedoglake:This Miracle Brought to You by America’s Unions (AFA UFA USAPA NATCA SIU PBA)

[Omaha Steve]

Be sure you read the two bottom lines.

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2009/01/16/this-miracle-brought-to-you-by-americas-unions/

By: emptywheel Friday January 16, 2009 5:34 am

They're calling it a miracle--the successful landing of a US Airways jet in the Hudson and subsequent rescue of all 155 passengers. They're detailing the heroism of all involved, starting with the pilot and including cabin crew, ferry crews, and first responders. What they're not telling you that just about every single one of these heroes is a union member.

There's the pilot:

What might have been a catastrophe in New York — one that evoked the feel if not the scale of the Sept. 11 attack — was averted by a pilot’s quick thinking and deft maneuvers,



On board, the pilot, Chesley B. Sullenberger III, 57, unable to get back to La Guardia, had made a command decision to avoid densely populated areas and try for the Hudson,



When all were out, the pilot walked up and down the aisle twice to make sure the plane was empty, officials said.

Sullenberger is a national committee member and the former safety chairman for the Airline Pilots Association. He--and his union--have fought to ensure pilots get the kind of safety training to pull off what he did yesterday.

Then there are the flight attendants:

One passenger, Elizabeth McHugh, 64, of Charlotte, seated on the aisle near the rear, said flight attendants shouted more instructions: feet flat on the floor, heads down, cover your heads.

They are members of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. Yesterday's accident should remind all of us that flight attendants are first and foremost safety professionals--they should not be treated like cocktail waitresses.

There are the air traffic controllers:

The pilot radioed air traffic controllers on Long Island that his plane had sustained a “double bird strike.”

They're represented by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. Someday, they'll rename National Airport for the work these men and women do to keep us safe in the air.

There are the ferry crews:

As the first ferry nudged up alongside, witnesses said, some passengers were able to leap onto the decks. Others were helped aboard by ferry crews.

They're represented by the Seafarers International Union. They provide safety training to their members so they're prepared for events like yesterday's accident.

There are the cops and firemen:

Helicopters brought wet-suited police divers, who dropped into the water to help with the rescues.

They're represented by the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association and the Uniformed Firefighters Association. They're the men and women who performed so heroically on 9/11--and they've been fighting to make sure first responders get the equipment to do this kind of thing.

Bob Corker and Richard Shelby like to claim that union labor is a failed business model.

But I haven't heard much about Bob Corker and Richard Shelby saving 155 people's lives.

[rateyes]

1. Re: Corker and Shelby. Those two self-avowed "pro-lifers" are

in reality, merchants of death. I give you Iraq, and Gaza as but two examples.

And, KUDOS to the unions. You made us proud.

[Pacifist Patriot]

2. K & R

[malaise]

3. Ding ding

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4835792

[Sanity Claws]

4. I just want to mention other workers involved.

There was a tremendous amount of coordination on the ground that seems to be overlooked.
I was on Riverside Drive and saw what the police did on the ground. Miles north of the scene, NY police officers blocked entrances to the Henry Hudson so that emergency vehicles could use it to get to the scene. Also, across the Hudson, I saw a line up of emergency vehicles with flashing red lights lined up near piers in New Jersey, in case ferries or other vessels brought the rescued passengers to the Jersey side.

[Peace Patriot]

5. Now THAT is a great DEMOCRATIC, FDR, leftist, hell-raising post!

Kudos to emptywheel and Omaha Steve!

:applause: :patriot: :applause:

This what we are about, goddammit, not "reaching across the aisle" to corpo/fascists, thieves, murderers, torturers, robber barons and destroyers of our country!

Who made this country great? WHO?! UNION WORKERS!

[Spazito]

6. Excellent commentary by emptywheel!

She is so right, thank goodness for unions. They fight for the safety of their own members AND for ours, the public. Without them industry (profit over all) would prevail more than they already do.

BTW, Congrats, Omaha Steve, for your decision to run for a leadership position in your union, it is a courageous thing to do and I very much hope you are successful. I have read your OPs and posts and know you are a informed, dedicated defender of unions and rightly so!

[tomreedtoon]

7. Hail and farewell, unions. It was nice knowing you.

Before you ask, I'm a union member in a "right to work" state. The only real benefit I get is occasional holiday pay and the right to have a Sam's Club membership.

Not that it's any better in Northern states, from what I've seen.

Unions have been suffering for the last twenty years, at least, and will probably be extinguished in the need for Americans to get any kind of job. The corporations will make sure that unions will not be allowed to organize or hold representation elections or any such thing.

I am expecting, but not looking forward to, the last meeting of the United Auto Workers. The last ten members in the United States (there are only about thirty members right now) will split a bottle of champagne, then drive off to their non-union jobs...in Toyotas, because the cars they built under the orders of American auto manufacturers are unreliable and shoddy.