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Health & Fitness

Public Access TV Producer: "Neighbors"

Elect union shop stewards, state and national union representatives who know how to play Chess.

 

Elect union shop stewards, state and national union representatives who know how to play Chess. That’s what I got from the Hostess Union debacle (RIP, Wonder Bread and Twinkies). 

In between worrying about Super Storm Sandy (which the Town of Greenwich handle excellently) every now and again I’d hear on the radio something about the Hostess employees being on strike. Then the newscaster would go back to talking about the super storm which caused high electrical outrages and then something about Hostess closing if the workers didn’t get back to work. I know it’s a little too late, but for future reference let me tell the unions that strikes work because of the public’s attention to their cause. I couldn’t believe that during an epic storm and another monumental presidential election some non-Chess playing union bosses called/continued a stop work strike. Don’t seem like there was any strategic thinking or forethought on the union’s part.

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The Hostess company had a boardroom full of Chess professionals. As I was mourning the loss of the Twinkies of my childhood, (Lord knows the last time I brought a package of Twinkies I had to eat it in slices over a period of days.) my daughter said, “Don’t worry Ma, Hostess is just going to make specialty  satellite stores – like Dunkin Donuts”. She could see that I wasn’t convinced that Twinkies would come back until she said, “Imagining eating nice warm moist cake and cream Twinkies.” That did it for me, I could image that, long live the Twinkies! Too hot to stop, my daughter said, “And don’t worry about the people who didn’t strike, the company will look out for them.”

Well, I couldn’t swallow my daughters’ last statement, Hostess is a business not a nonprofit. I must have frowned because she kept trying to cheer me up.  “And the dummies that couldn’t see the handwriting on the wall to keep their jobs - thanks to President Obama getting re-elected they’ll have unemployment and Obamacare. The Hostess company knew the time was right”, she smiled self-satisfied that everything would workout.  

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My heart goes out to those families who will be greatly affected by the lost of so many incomes due to the lack of critical thinking by some workers and the union. To the former workers, in between your job interviews, unemployment checks and vocational training, consider giving the brain a real good exercise. An exercise that will help you think ahead – battle mind to mind – make you not be left behind. Think CHESS. You can watch NEIGHBORS a little at a time and work your way up. You can call your recreation department, library, and /or community center and ask them about their Chess programs and if they don’t have any, let them know you want one.

The Greenwich and Byram Libraries have Chess programs. If you need motivation tune into NEIGHBORS,  Greenwich's Community Access channel 24 Verizon FiOS; Government Access Ch. 79 check GCTV website and Ch 88 Cablevision Wednesdays at 6pm and Sundays 8:30am. Community Access Ch 23 at 8:30 pm Mondays and phillyCAM.org Video On Demand. Like us at https://www.facebook.com/neighborstv
our Matthew at https://www.facebook.com/YourCruiseTA.  Thank you for supporting NEIGHBORS.

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