Newspaper striker marks 15th anniversary of 'stand against corporate evil and greed'

**RealityCheck** · July-07-10, 03:06 PM

Gary Dymski, an alum of Dearborn Fordson and Wayne State, checks back in today from self-exile on Long Island to note in a Metro Times letter that it's 15 years [[next Tuesday) since the start of "a conflict that reshaped the landscape of the city's dailies."

I knew Gary slightly while he was a News sports copy editor and writer, and admire the passion of his recollections. There's no "right" or "wrong" about those sentiments, by definition. And I join him in not wanting to "rehash the issues."

One point by the Newsday home improvement writer certainly didn't take a decade and a half to come true . . . and should bring nods of agreement from any strike veterans:

The city lost many great journalists in the strike and its newspapers were never the same.

True that.

His is the third letter here. And yes, Redfordette: This one's for you.

**jbd441** · July-07-10, 03:20 PM

The city lost a lot of good newspaper carriers too when didn't qualify for strike pay or unemployment.

**oldredfordette** · July-07-10, 06:05 PM

All my striker pals sent it to me earlier, but thanks.

No need to rehash; all you have to do is look at those poor little papers to understand the papers are still suffering from their stupid decision to wage war on their workers.

A group of us will get together next week, we will toast each other and celebrate our solidarity, our bravery and our integrity.

**Detroit500** · July-07-10, 06:09 PM

It is truly sad what has happened to these once great papers. Every day when I pick up my copy I feel so sad.

**dookie joe** · July-07-10, 11:39 PM

The strike isn't what brought the News and Freep down. Most of the writers eventually came back from the strike.

Lots of newspapers that didn't go through strikes are in far worse shape than Detroit's two dailies.

**MCP-001** · July-08-10, 12:10 AM

It should be noted that there were others who worked for the paper that were also affected and were not journalists or carriers.

Drivers, Jumpers, District Managers, Relief, Warehousemen, and Mailers [[just to name a few).

People who helped put the final product together and get it out into the customers each and every day.

They shouldn't be forgotten.

**oldredfordette** · July-08-10, 07:08 AM

Dymski pointed out newspaper workers in his piece.

Many of the writers did not come back, and their presence is sorely missed, both in the city and in the pages.

**Mikeg** · July-08-10, 08:29 AM

It should be noted that there were others who worked for the paper that were also affected and were not journalists or carriers.

There were others who didn't even work for the paper and were also affected, such as the taxpayers of Sterling Heights who had to pay for the tons of Police Department overtime caused by all of the "peaceful" picketing on Mound Road.

Mikeg
[[who still remembers his nine months loss of income [[about $1,000, including the Christmas tips he never received) in 1967-1968 from his 120 Free Press paper route customers)

**DanFromDetroit** · July-08-10, 09:56 AM

Originally Posted by Mikeg

There were others who didn't even work for the paper and were also affected, such as the taxpayers of Sterling Heights who had to pay for the tons of Police Department overtime caused by all of the "peaceful" picketing on Mound Road.

Mikeg
[[who still remembers his nine months loss of income [[about $1,000, including the Christmas tips he never received) in 1967-1968 from his 120 Free Press paper route customers)

Peaceful... sure it was [[I get the sarcasm). I for one would like to thank those "peaceful" striking workers for the 3 new tires I had to help my grandfather change as he went in and out of that facility. It was so nice of them to litter the entrance with nails so an 70yr old man could drive over them. Unions haven't been necessary since the 50's. Just ask all those Northwest mechanics how striking in modern society works.

/Thanks for the 40h work week
//double thanks for being wildly unreasonable and driving up health care costs so jobs moved to Mexico

**MCP-001** · July-08-10, 10:49 AM

Originally Posted by Mikeg

There were others who didn't even work for the paper and were also affected, such as the taxpayers of Sterling Heights who had to pay for the tons of Police Department overtime caused by all of the "peaceful" picketing on Mound Road.

Mikeg
[[who still remembers his nine months loss of income [[about $1,000, including the Christmas tips he never received) in 1967-1968 from his 120 Free Press paper route customers)

The [[then) DNA made sizable "contributions" to the cities whose police services they contraced out.

Regarding Sterling Heights, I would say ask Duchane and Derocha about that, along with the sizable contribution they made to Sterling Heights for all that riot gear...about six months before everything hit the fan.

Doesn't it appear strange that a company would buy a city riot gear in "anticipation" of a strike?

Sadly, those two are no longer around having left in shame from the employ of Sterling Heights. But go ask Notte at their next city council meeting just how much the taxpayers were on the hook for?

**MCP-001** · July-08-10, 11:00 AM

Oh, yeah.

One more reason that things cost so much for Sterling Heights.

Remember this?

http://www.daymonjhartley.com/Strike/kicker.jpg

Sterling Heights "finest" in action.

**Danny** · July-08-10, 11:55 AM

Well, that's solidarity forever! Our socialist unions will rise again!

**GPCharles** · July-08-10, 12:35 PM

Face it - there has been a very quiet, but effective revolution in this country and it has been the transfer of advertising, particlularly classified advertising, from newspapers to the internet. Even 10 years ago the newspapers carried pages of items for sale, all of which is now on Craigslist. The newspapers made a boatload of money from that advertising, a revenue stream that has all but disappeared for them. THAT REVENUE IS GONE FOREVER!

Additionally, if you can get most of the newspaper content on the internet, why buy the paper? I think the newspapers made a big mistake by giving it away for free initially, but now they have to. It is their way of capturing part of that internet advertising dollar.

**1KielsonDrive** · July-08-10, 01:33 PM

Originally Posted by DanFromDetroit

Peaceful... sure it was [[I get the sarcasm). I for one would like to thank those "peaceful" striking workers for the 3 new tires I had to help my grandfather change as he went in and out of that facility. It was so nice of them to litter the entrance with nails so an 70yr old man could drive over them. Unions haven't been necessary since the 50's. Just ask all those Northwest mechanics how striking in modern society works.

/Thanks for the 40h work week
//double thanks for being wildly unreasonable and driving up health care costs so jobs moved to Mexico

Why is it the examples used in these situations are always ones like, 'my poor, old grandpa, my disabled grandma'. Then there are the ones like 'my little girl, my blind cousin, or my wheelchair bound auntie'. Like they're all so helpless in the face of the big, bad boogie man. Whomever they choose the boogie man to be. I mean, it's got to be a boogie man if they're opposed to these poor, helpless creatures. I'm curious, if grandpa was smart enough to work there, was he smart enough to know the risk involved in crossing the picket lines, possibly resulting in someone losing their livelihood and him losing his tires? Sad to say, if his attitude about unions and working class people was the same as yours, he might've gotten what he deserved. Poor grandpa.

**MCP-001** · July-08-10, 01:38 PM

Originally Posted by 1KielsonDrive

Sad to say, if his attitude about unions and working class people was the same as yours, he might've gotten what he deserved. Poor grandpa.

Or, he may have been one of them who drove over people picketing.

In that case, a few flat tires isn't anything near what he deserved.

**jt1** · July-08-10, 01:58 PM

Originally Posted by 1KielsonDrive

I'm curious, if grandpa was smart enough to work there, was he smart enough to know the risk involved in crossing the picket lines, possibly resulting in someone losing their livelihood and him losing his tires?

What a load of garbage. Because someone chose to keep his job and report for work he should be subjected to flat tires? Disagreeing with the unions is cause to deserve property damage?

Strike and picket all you want but you nor the union thugs have any right to perform and support these tactics.

And you wonder why so many in the US either dislike or are apathetic towards unions.

**jt1** · July-08-10, 02:00 PM

Originally Posted by MCP-001

Or, he may have been one of them who drove over people picketing.

In that case, a few flat tires isn't anything near what he deserved.

Or he was trying to drive in the road that the unions thugs tried to block. Or he felt that unions thugs circling his car was a threat and he did what he had to for his own safety.

I'm sure people were just driving all over the place to run over peaceful picketers.

When you join a union are you required to forego all logic when discussing striking workers?

**detmsp** · July-08-10, 03:01 PM

You can think what you want about the strike and the unions, but saying it was peaceful is a complete distortion of fact.

"The police say at least two strikers have been charged with robbing carriers of their newspapers. Another striker was arrested today for kicking in the door of a carrier's car and breaking off its windshield wipers, the police said. "It's escalating," said Sgt. Robert Leman of the Warren Police Department, just north of here. "
http://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/19/us...r-history.html

"In Monday night's melee, police officers in riot gear fired pepper spray at pickets who pelted them with auto parts and swatted them with their signs."
http://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/06/us...lent-turn.html

I remember star nails, pellet guns, spitting on security guards etc. Hardly peaceful.

**Detroitnerd** · July-08-10, 03:03 PM

Yup, all those labor goons are always attacking. And the company and cops never lay a hand on them.

http://iconicphotos.wordpress.com/20...-the-overpass/

**MCP-001** · July-08-10, 04:32 PM

Originally Posted by detmsp

You can think what you want about the strike and the unions, but saying it was peaceful is a complete distortion of fact.

"The police say at least two strikers have been charged with robbing carriers of their newspapers. Another striker was arrested today for kicking in the door of a carrier's car and breaking off its windshield wipers, the police said. "It's escalating," said Sgt. Robert Leman of the Warren Police Department, just north of here. "
http://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/19/us...r-history.html

"In Monday night's melee, police officers in riot gear fired pepper spray at pickets who pelted them with auto parts and swatted them with their signs."
http://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/06/us...lent-turn.html

I remember star nails, pellet guns, spitting on security guards etc. Hardly peaceful.

I can't speak for the first example, but I was there during the second.

The people responsible for going to the Ex-Cell-O plant, stealing those parts and throwing them across Mound were NOT striking employees!

The were outside agitators [[college/young punks) from BAMN and Workers World party who came uninvited.

After they P.O.'d the cops enough to get them to cross Mound, they ran like hell to the back as fast as they could, while the people in the front were getting gassed and clubbed.

One of the Jumpers who was taping things that night caught them on video.

I've lost track of him, so I have no idea whatever became of his tape, or the people actually responsible for stealing and throwing the parts.

**MCP-001** · July-08-10, 04:42 PM

Originally Posted by jt1

Or he was trying to drive in the road that the unions thugs tried to block. Or he felt that unions thugs circling his car was a threat and he did what he had to for his own safety.

I'm sure people were just driving all over the place to run over peaceful picketers.

When you join a union are you required to forego all logic when discussing striking workers?

Interesting question given you mentioned someone going down a blocked road.

Logically, you would a.) find another road or b.) do not drive down the blocked road and find some other means to enter.

**detmsp** · July-08-10, 05:20 PM

Originally Posted by MCP-001

Interesting question given you mentioned someone going down a blocked road.

Logically, you would a.) find another road or b.) do not drive down the blocked road and find some other means to enter.

Are you seriously suggesting that if you feel like blocking a road, you can and that it's up to others to find an alternate route, and if they are too illogical to do so, you have the right to puncture their tires and cause other kinds of property damage?

**MCP-001** · July-08-10, 06:24 PM

Originally Posted by detmsp

Are you seriously suggesting that if you feel like blocking a road, you can and that it's up to others to find an alternate route, and if they are too illogical to do so, you have the right to puncture their tires and cause other kinds of property damage?

No, what I'm saying is that the driver ought to use some common sense.

As to what happens to the vehicle, well, that depends on what the driver does.

If they try something stupid like running their car into a crowd, don't act so surprised if those people in the crowd take offense to that action and respond.

**Detroit500** · July-08-10, 09:59 PM

Like everything it is a complicated situation. Both sides probably have blame to share, we are lucky the News was not closed, mostly since it seems to be doing about 85% of the actual reporting around town these days. It must have been an interesting time. I wonder what happened to the international correspondents and bureau workers during the strike.

**Det_ard** · July-08-10, 11:02 PM

Originally Posted by 1KielsonDrive

Why is it the examples used in these situations are always ones like, 'my poor, old grandpa, my disabled grandma'. Then there are the ones like 'my little girl, my blind cousin, or my wheelchair bound auntie'. Like they're all so helpless in the face of the big, bad boogie man. Whomever they choose the boogie man to be. I mean, it's got to be a boogie man if they're opposed to these poor, helpless creatures. I'm curious, if grandpa was smart enough to work there, was he smart enough to know the risk involved in crossing the picket lines, possibly resulting in someone losing their livelihood and him losing his tires? Sad to say, if his attitude about unions and working class people was the same as yours, he might've gotten what he deserved. Poor grandpa.

OK, you or your friends owe my wife $120 for the tire you punctured as she drove up Mound Rd. one night. She wasn't crossing a picket line, she was coming home from work at 15/Mound like she did every night, driving on a public road.

The union's antics during that strike are one of the things that moved me from ambivalence toward unions to anti-union. Congratulations. Have a great 15th anniversary pity party. Know that all you did was help take down a business, hurting thousands, and turned many thousands more into folks who look for the non-union label.