Conversation 461-014

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Well, how are you, Wes?

I'm sorry to give you away, but I used to see the child there, Bob Young, the actor.

He was just a little walker.

And we expect you to meet the guy.

He's going to sit out right here, here in the truck.

We'll be here.

You guys have a job.

This is the time.

We've got to do something like this.

So you can have your place.

Well, I wanted to, I told Chuck, of course, that you'd all have us, and that you are, you are going to see another suit.

And, uh, I mean, uh, I mean, of course, John Reiner, I could come, I could talk with him, but I want you to come in so that we can at least, uh, touch base, and you're, uh, you're, uh, you can be sure that you're talking to Chuck.

whether it's a matter of threat, as this exactly involves my house in the city, or if it happens to be that it goes to a related environment, some source information and so forth, that I am given instructions that I have a personal interest

It's very important that they be paid well, that their working conditions are good, that their morale is good, and mostly that the management cares about them.

And that's what I feel about it.

And as far as unions are concerned, as I told George Meany the time I had the most time, I was rather surprised and pleased to hear that.

I said, look, as I'm poor organized,

government employees.

I mean, I have to be against the right to strike in certain areas.

I mean, obviously, you can't strike a hospital, you can't strike a fire department, you can't strike a police department.

But it's better to have an organization led by a responsible man than a rattle led by a bunch of people that are going to just tear the place apart.

And I think you, Linda, you clearly proved that we're very glad that you

that you provided that kind of leadership that's responsible and where there were grievances can be brought to our attention on our side.

We want to hear, we won't always agree, but we'll come up on your side more often than not.

That's what we want you to know.

I know John just told you this, but I think he's told you.

Have you or have you?

You're not quite the top.

I was going to say this, but can I go back to

Well, you're a Massachusetts hero, aren't you?

You used to work at the center of the South.

I could go down here and ask you that.

Senator Solstaff introduced me to you, and he is there for a while.

I won't say many years ago.

Yeah, that's what we're doing.

We were a federal employees veterans association.

We started as a veterans organization, and then in 1961, we became a union, particularly in both veterans and white veterans.

I see.

Then we were just federal, and here, two years ago, we went into city and state, and our competitors, Jerry Griffin, were doing very well.

I thought your job was so good.

very courageous action on that Davis-Bacon situation because representing our blue-collar workers, we cover not only throughout the United States, but we also have blue-collar workers in Hawaii, Alaska, and so forth.

And every meeting I go to, it's the same thing.

White-collar work is fine.

The blue-collar work of the average blue-collar work in the federal government, $4 an hour, you see as electricity work in the construction trades, again, $8, $10, $12.

There has to be a stop.

I know if I ask you how to register, that's the first thing.

and go that way.

He gets very mad when he comes out and he says, how the hell come?

I can't get it.

And I know if I went to the car and was up and coming out the door, I said to the car, I said, you call the work, the federal government, $12 an hour, $10 an hour.

He'd throw me on it.

And they just wouldn't entertain that.

And I think something had to be done.

And

I agree with you 100%.

I'm sure that our blue collar workers in the federal government, seeing how that pay, their brother in the private sector is escalating to such a degree without any stock, that something had to be done.

I'm one, not only with you 100%, but I think that you showed great courage in doing it.

And I blame that the majority of the people in the country are going back to the U.S. as it pertains to that and many other things.

You know, you don't have to be running up and down the street

I know he supported the government during the FAA strike, and when we represented a large number of FAA controllers, we were told that it was completely wrong what was going on, and told the people to get back to work and man the planes.

And we definitely took a side of the government.

I'm not saying that we were always taking a side.

Well, I know that, for example, I know that you've been here.

We're distressed about that new common veto.

I was distressed about it.

I mean, well, I was the tough one.

Because basically, I looked at the whole thing.

I told Schultz and the others that came here, and I said, look,

I told these guys, it wasn't going to do much, and he said, well, he said, don't, don't.

I said, is this the last word?

This is the important point here.

It's not the last word.

The important thing is that now, you and I want you to let that wheel squeak.

Let that wheel squeak.

What you think of the blue collar, wherever the blue collar hurt is, or the adjustments and so forth, we'll adjust.

Because I've told you all this.

and all our other people, that's the way it is.

They just didn't feel that from an organization standpoint that it was the best way to handle the best time.

Chuck, you've got something to say about that.

I want to be, when you've got a responsible union leader, you've got to, he's got to be able to go back to his membership and he tells them to be responsible.

I'm not striking his government.

He's got to be able to tell them that he is

vigorously representing their views, you've got to do that.

Or you're going to keep the job.

I know that.

We don't want to hurt you on that.

We want to help you.

We want you to represent your guys.

But we're really on your side.

That's the point.

Government workers should be a proud professional.

People should be proud of them.

And they can't be proud of it if they feel that they're being discriminated against, either within the government or as against their brothers, as you call them, in private enterprise.

That's our deal.

Well, one of the greatest ways that I've done this before is if you were to tell a Jew this, the private sector was under our control, and the energy is not the rest.

And we know that we lost.

considerable number of people who worked in the federal sector to the private enterprise because of the the sons of money that was audited and uh the government was having a pretty tough job keeping some of their career people now i know that as i was telling chuck

Now the situation is reversed.

Many of the people that didn't leave because of this fancy salary, I think of the debt they stayed with the government.

Now everything is evened up.

As a matter of fact, it's going the other way where I classified it for you.

Now there's an overall factor as far as paying anything else.

The only statement now, of course, is the blue collar man.

But if something hadn't been done, if something isn't done to stop that terrible escalation as far as the

the construction industry, and it's just that segment that the blue collar worker looks to, and he'll stand up at these meetings, and I'm sure the country, and I can sense it when I come in.

How come this neighbor next door, he doesn't do any America, it's a cement truck drive, he's getting $9 an hour, and they get all unsettled.

And that was the thing that inspired me to do blue collar,

They look just to that construction phrase, only, and that's what they point out continually.

It's, look at the amount of money they're getting.

Look, we work for the federal government, and we're getting the, they're doing comparable work and getting $4 an hour.

That doesn't make a bit of sense.

Or at most, it doesn't, as I was talking about in Miami.

Did you know that in Miami, for a,

Or is it just a totally unsealed work in this land where it's supposed to be lower?

It's $6 an hour.

It's not sealed at all.

It started that way.

Well, I can't do that.

That's in the private side.

So how the heck do you inspect archives?

I can see it.

I'll go to the city.

Now, I said, what do you get?

What's your gross for the week?

This is $129 a week.

I said, what do you do?

He tries to try.

Now,

And yet no complaint.

The only thing that they wanted was coverage of a civil service.

No complaint of the pay.

And I don't ask them if they have any complaints of pay.

My God, I don't go looking for trouble.

And it's the same with the police now.

Of course, that's been good.

We have one.

This year, it seems to have quieted down most of the police departments there.

I noted that they're not going out to pay.

They're looking more for...

Um, a little more backing by the community as it pertains to the police, rather than everybody standing aside whenever they're doing it.

Yeah, yeah, blinging that every time some kid comes up and spits in their face, and they have to arrest them, they blame the policeman.

Chief Justice is just in.

I congratulate him on that.

I think the state is better to sit down and just let it go.

You can't, the police, you've got to back these people.

They're not right all the time, but after all, usually you've got to remember they're on our side, and the people that are out baiting the police are on the other side, usually.

They're out there for the purpose of causing, look, I would think that bombing of the Capitol would shake a lot of people, don't you think?

about this, some of this, about the, in terms of the violence and so forth.

I think the Capitol, if you would like, if you would enjoy, I think Chuck would get the Herald, Boston Herald this morning, and show us a picture of the Capitol, and it shows Senator Fulbright walking out of the Capitol and says, stop going in the way.

And it's a great job, it's a terrific job.

Jimmy, write a note, write a note about it.

and how it was brought to our attention by a Massachusetts guard.

And I know that the guard had prepared for my signature.

So if you want to have that, I'm going to tell Jimmy to send you down to the arrangement.

I know you're going to love it.

Fine.

Well, we'll go back and I'll tell you.

And I'll say this.

We had some, but on this one, I'm going to tell you a little story.

I don't want to discuss the guard, too.

That's true.

Stop bombing that.

Ken and I were running for president when he was acting back at Republican politics as well as he did.

Less members now in Massachusetts than he now is in California.

He's, by himself, given several hundred thousand.

You enjoy the work?

I love it.

I'm older than him.

I have eight grandchildren.

I'm late.

Do you?

Oh, yes.

Grandchildren?

I have six of my sons.

My God.

That's great.

I've got a 93-year-old photo that says,

He looks just like some of the solid cells.

He's got an eye on the 25-year-old.

That means you're going to live a long time.

That's the way it works.

You have eight grandchildren.

How many children do you have?

Three.

Three children.

How many grandchildren?

What is your group?

I have four.

Girls and four boys.

And your boys and your children are?

Well, I have one boy and two girls.

I have a boy now graduating from Rose Street Academy.

One boy and two girls.

We give you presents.

We always give presents to the special people coming here.

You've got a hundred customers now.

I mean, two girls, two boys.

Four girls and four boys.

Two girls, two boys, two boys.

Six girls, six girls, six girls.

All right, there's a lot of girls.

There's a lot of girls there.

If they like, hands.

Now, how do we count?

You have how many boys now?

Five heads.

Five boys.

No, I'm kidding.

I have my son, I have one boy, one girl.

One boy, two girls.

Done.

Here's the son.

No.

No, no.

No.

You have one son.

All right.

I'll keep it together.

Four grand.

I think that's gorgeous.

You're not talking to me at all.

We've had a day.

No, no.

I heard a lot you said this morning on the station.

Oh, is that right?

Yeah.

Congratulations.

Yeah, right, right.

Well, we're glad to have you here, and we're glad to have Chuck here, who took that ball, Massachusetts ball, and we try to work with you.

Thank you very much.

You have another great man, Paul Costello.

Yeah, we're over here talking.

And Elliot.

Oh, Elliot's done a great job.

He's a very well-organized, strong man.

Good man.

He comes over very well.

He's doing a good job.

I think he's valuable.

We're here every once in a while.

Yes, sir.