Alexandria Knox "Union Members Don't Kiss Ass"

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[AUDUnionBagpiper]

Aww thanks for posting brother.

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Looks as though the brave musicians union Sister Alexandria is being swarmed by some "grown folks", and they sound nasty.

Sounds like they were rallying at the AFL-CIO Convention in Los Angeles to seek out the musicians union people so they could deal with Alexandria. Look at what Christi Hulme writes on her Facebook page about Alexandria highlighted here in red.

Is this an example of what union officers do when they can't intimidate a young Sister into complying with their ordering not to speak online about what she believes is good for the union movement. (Association for Union Democracy)

Seems to me that senior people in the AFL-CIO need examine this sort of arrogance and deal with it.

I think these people need to apologize to Alexandria before they embarrass themselves even more than they already have.

I stand with Alexandria because real union people don't kiss ass as she says in her video.

Especially arrogant union officer ass!

And we don't let "grown folks" get away with being bullies.

 

Christi Hulme
September 8 via mobile
Someone please show me the AFM Officers - I have an earful for them. Linda Horan Ray Jones Ilwu One-Union Melody Campbell
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3 people like this.

Melody Campbell hunt them down and get this out in the open.....
September 8 at 6:25pm · 1

Robbie Thiele Give 'em hell, as only you can!
September 8 at 6:29pm · 2

Catherine Castanon can you please take a trip and not seek out trouble
September 8 at 6:32pm · 1

Christi Hulme Nope..this cancer is the reason I made this trip . She has got to go. The little girl is messing with the grown folks and it is time she learned a lesson!
September 8 at 6:35pm via mobile · 1

Linda Horan please try to find bill brockmiller, afscme and the host for you know who. west WI state fed president. lacrosse WI
September 8 at 6:49pm · 2

Ilwu One-Coast One-Union What's done is done. Time for her to realize everything has a result
September 8 at 6:50pm via mobile · 2

Melody Campbell aboslutely
September 8 at 6:53pm

Christi Hulme Linda Horan - got it. Brett's table is in the middle of the Stare Feds table. Just sent him a text. I sure Charlie Flemming knows him so will ask him too.
September 8 at 6:58pm via mobile

Christi Hulme Just told my sister Catherine Castanon that this is how we all met.
September 8 at 6:59pm via mobile · 1

Christi Hulme You will see Catherine's name on the list for FUT and UTID . If you see her first please accept her.
September 8 at 7:01pm via mobile

Linda Horan ha! you both must be exhausted...long sad tale!
September 8 at 7:01pm · 1

Christi Hulme Yup...sad tale but the good part has been the laughs WD have gotten out of it.
September 8 at 7:02pm via mobile

Christi Hulme WD - we
September 8 at 7:02pm via mobile

Christi Hulme Robbie Thiele - hope you are doing well. Miss you brother !!
September 8 at 7:04pm via mobile · 1

Linda Horan laughing at a poor unfortunate is usually bad karma, but i'm willing to make an exception, she must learn a lesson. she'll be the better for it If she learns it.
September 8 at 7:08pm · Edited · 2

Ray Jones Here's a link to AFM Int. officers: http://www.afm.org/departments/international-representatives
September 8 at 7:21pm · 1

Ilwu One-Coast One-Union Hunt them down
September 8 at 7:22pm via mobile · 2

Ilwu One-Coast One-Union Don't forget to tell them that anonymous hacked FUT page.
September 8 at 7:26pm via mobile · 1

Christi Hulme Will do. Found their table ....now just waiting for the convention to recess. Spreading the word as well.
September 8 at 7:53pm via mobile

Robbie Thiele Christi Hulme I'm great, Charlotte came into the world loud and proud. Her mother is helping with church pre-school Mon -Thur so I get to sit with her for four or so hours each day. Retirement is wonder full thanks to my mom's estate. I get to pass on pro union posts on Facebook and bitch about FL and WN without fear of retribution. Couldn't be happier!
September 8 at 7:55pm · 1

Christi Hulme Robbie Thiele - I saw the photos ...she is adorable! Glad you are doing well.
September 8 at 7:58pm via mobile

[AUDUnionBagpiper]

THank you brother Perry for your solidarity. Here is an update on this ongoing situation. I got an email from the NH AFL-CIO president today posted below with names omitted:
Update on my situation. The outcome of today so far is not good. Here is the email I received from here in NH from the AFL. Looks like they agree with people with disabilities being called a cancer and others laughing about it on facebook.
 "Hi Alexandria,

 I have done some checking with the people. My sense is we all want you to
 have a good experience in the labor movement . Part of our responsibility as
 leaders is too help you. The labor movement can be a very dynamic
 organization and complicated at times. Navigating through this may take the
 help of some more experienced people . I know it is hard sometimes to take a
 step back and listen but in this case if may be good advise .

 Again we all want you to be successful and we are willing to help but first
 we need to build a trusting relationship between each other . Let me say in
 terms of (name of person on facebook who laughed about the cancer comment " Nope..this cancer is the reason I made this trip . She has got to go. The little girl is messing with the grown folks and it is time she learned a lesson!" and said I am going to Hell for treason against labor "hahaha! uniontastic day union family aww. we're going to hell, but we'll be together, organizing those who understand what it means to be a member, she'll be there too, but for much worse offence...treason against labor!"
 and saying "please try to find bill brockmiller, afscme and the host for you know who. west WI state fed president. lacrosse WI. laughing at a poor unfortunate is usually bad karma, but i'm willing to make an exception, she must learn a lesson. she'll be the better for it If she learns it."
 I have known her for more than 25 years. *name of person again who made those comments about laughing at the poor) is a smart
 100% union members who tells it like it is. She has helped me to be a better
 union leader by challenging me . In spite of the times we have disagreed ,
 She has been the first one out the door when it comes to defending the
 labor movement. You considered her brothers and sisters real family and
 treat them accordingly.

 So I am asking you to work with us to change the paradigm. Let's talk about
 going forward. People want to help .

 See you tonight:

 No, you will not be seeing me tonight. I won't have happen what happened in GA. What are your views on this brothers and sisters?

[AUDUnionBagpiper]

Here is what I wrote back to the union brother in the AFL here in NH. I really hope solidarity is the end result here and we all just become stronger for it.
 Good afternoon brother. I am extremely disapointed in how this
 situation has been handled. I believe watching someone being called a
 cancer on facebook on a public place where the person couldn't even
 defend themself and then laughing about it refering to the attacked
 person as poor and unfortunate saying "She needs to be taught a
 lesson," is not helping. I believe Linda's comments were extremely
 unprofessional and uncalled for. I will no longer be participating in
 any events unless I receive an appology from Linda and we can result
 this situation. I do not know what her problem with me is, but this
 commenting about me on facebook needs to stop now. It is childish and
 not the way people in labor should act. Thank you for your attention
 to this. I hope we can discuss this."
 "

[AUDUnionBagpiper]

Well so much for that. They just lost a volunteer. The union brother I wrote to says he has no control over what this lady does and that I should take a day to think about things and that there are a lot of people in the labor movement who have tried to help me and have had the best of intentions, and that families fight but in the end we are all together. Just wow.

[AUDUnionBagpiper]

Aww I have to share this it is the most beautiful words of solidarity I have read in a long time. Thank you AFM brother Jim. This in regards to being referred to as a cancer and being laughed at on facebook and being called poor and unfortunate and being told I need to learn a lesson and have to go publically by people who call themselves union members. I am far from being poor and unfortunate. I have many blessings in my life.
"Hi Alexandria,My computer skills are limited and would like Dave to have a copy and anyone who needs to know my feelings. As president of our local 349 I feel it is my concern when our members are attacked and knowing you and working with you as your assistant has given me a clear picture of your intentions.They are the most pro Union of anyone I know and I know that you are only trying to promote us and Unions in general !If you have questions you ask it is not done to be a cancer but to be clear on what you promote.As a blind person you have a greater gift of hearing then most and words paint the picture for you.We can benefit from that gift.To be called a Cancer in my opinion is over the top and hurtful to you.. We can't even by foods without you informing me which product is Union backed and I do have fun learning. You always have a Union Contract ,show up dressed sharp,display our union patch on you bagpipe's and perform with class! It is a great example of a professional Union performer and one that is called back and promoted by word of mouth.I have much to say but will not go on and on.I feel at this point it is not worth the time and ink but do not blame you for speaking up for yourself and hope you know I am glad to have you in our local. I would let it go at that but do not say you can't as we do have freedom of speech in our country.I hope we can work on the advantage of hiring Union and build our membership instead of carrying on with hateful people!

                      Yours,James Kaddy Local 349 President

[AUDUnionBagpiper]

Note, the video that was posted was the one the central labor council back in GA made me take down. Here is exactly how it happened:

I made a video on this, but I thought I would write about it as well. Video is here:

This took place in Savannah, GA.
 The Association for Union Democracy, a Lighthouse in the Ocean of Struggle
 My name is Alexandria. I am totally visually impaired, but I never let my disability hold me back from doing what I love. I am a professional musician, proud member of the American Federation of Musicians. Here is my story about how I found the inspiring, uplifting organization, the Association for Union Democracy.

 It was a nice warm February day in 2013. I was so excited because it was one of my favorite nights of the month, central labor council quarterly training. I was a delegate for my union and that night we were having training about really neat labor movement topics. I loved these times because I loved being with union family and learning as much as I can because I want to be a union leader some day. The training went great and I learned some great new information. We had lots of fun too. I could sense something wasn't right though. When my care assistant dropped me off where we met, I could feel this different tention and smell it in the air. I didn't think too much of it though.
 Finally the training ended and everyone was heading home. Usually I rode home with a union sister on the way to where she is going. But today, something was wrong. All the sudden everyone but the president, another union sister from a different union, and I were left in the room. I remained seated, and the president comes and sits across from me. He says something like, you want to be a leader in the labor movement don't you?
 I said, yes, I do. He went on, his voice very upset, I could feel the tention in the air stronger now. He went on about how I had posted three weeks ago something on facebook that he felt was not how a future union leader should talk. What I posted was about how I felt the government was treating people like me with disabilities. I was disagreeing with what fellow blind people wrote in a letter to the paper about funding drying up for blindness services. The response I posted stated how if we were treat like everyone else we wouldn't need these special services or special just for people with disabilities jobs. The president said how I was a delegate of this labor council and should not have posted what I posted, on my personal facebook page. The president then went on to criticize the way I act as a person with a disability saying how I should stop having sympathy for people and have impathy and that my disability makes me act like a child and act little and that I needed to stop saying aww. I was in shock. That is who I am, and didn't I have the right to feel how I felt and write what I did? The other lady was there too, as a witness they told me, and she was agreeing with everything the president said the entire time. I was completely trapped. I felt panicked. I had no notice of this meeting and no way to get up and leave. I felt like I had to say yes, I am sorry, in order not to have something happen to cause me to get removed from my union. My union had no idea this was happening. This went on for about fifteen minutes, with the president lecturing in harsh tones and the lady agreeing with him on every word. I felt the world being crushed beneath me. The labor movement was my passion. I kept thinking, why didn't he call me the day after I posted it and talk privately on the phone? Why was he doing this? The worst part was I felt so betrayed. Here were people that were supposed to be my brothers and sisters treating me like this. Was this solidarity I thought? It couldn't be. I felt completely broken and defeated, and wanted to just get up and leave, but how could I? I was too scared to ask for the meeting to end, and how could I find the door, and where would I go from there? Finally it was over and they both got up. I had to ride home with the lady that had been there and had betrayed me like that. The ride was pretty much silent. I went home and cried and started to doubt my continuing in the labor movement, but the labor movement was what I loved. It hurt so much.
 As the week went on, I felt even more upset about the situation. I kept thinking, wait, didn't I still have freedom of speech? The final part of this storm came when this central labor council ordered me to take down a video I had posted about how we with disabilities want to work and how the social security system is broken. I stated in the video how it needs to be changed and how we just want to be normal and pay taxes and work like everyone else in society. The labor council leadership did not like it at all. I felt so intimidated so I took the video down. I kept thinking though, this has to be wrong what they are doing.
 I began researching union member rights one day and found the Association for Union Democracy. I called and a very nice sister worker answered. She was inspirational and gave me hope. She told me what this leadership did was wrong and that I have freedom of speech rights. She was saddened how anyone in the union family could treat a person with a disability like that trapping them in a meeting especially with no union representation from my own union available. She told me AUD was there for me any time I needed them and to not give up the labor movement. I felt so much more impowered after talking with her. I new in my heart that what I wrote was my opinion and not wrong. But I wanted to not have people mad at me, so I wrote lots of emails trying to appologize. This did not work and I never felt like I could attend another meeting in this labor council again because of what happened.
 A few weeks later I decided to visit my family in New Hampshire and visit my granddad who was not doing well. It was a good visit and I decided there was nothing there in the state where I was living so I moved back closer to my family. It was the best choice I have ever made. I miss my AFM brothers and sisters in my old local though, but we still talk on facebook.
 It has been a busy summer. I will be attending National Labor College in the Fall so that I can learn to be a leader like my AFM international president Ray Hair and to help my union stay as democratic as possible, and to help my fellow musicians ensure we are respected and that our craft is respected. I love my new local and our president Jim is so inspiring too. I wanted to volunteer for a cause that I really believed in, so I remembered the fellow workers at AUD and how they were so encouraging, so I called and asked how to volunteer. I now help spread the great message of how AUD helps the labor movement, and I proudly became an associate member.
 A few days ago the leaders of my old central labor council somehow found the facebook page I made for union family to just get together and share news. I was talking about AUD there and they started saying how AUD was a bunch of union busters and they wanted to hold Roberts Rules of Order on my facebook group page and how they wanted to have a literal union card check where people would actually turn in real union cards to get on a facebook group, not like the fun ones where you say card check and get to know union family and what work they do. Then, what happened to me back in February was made public and they were threatening to turn AUD against me and posted extremely personal information and saying how I wanted to sue them, which is extremely far from the truth. So again, AUD was the lighthouse on the ocean of struggle. The fellow workers at AUD have been there for me since this all happened, and they are so proud of me and how I am no longer letting people walk all over me just because I have a disability. Some fellow AUD unionists helped me regain my facebook page, staying up with me sometimes until four in the morning defending me from personal attacks which I could not have handed on my own as a new young member in the labor movement. They are still there for me today, and I am proud to share their wonderful work. It is my dream to volunteer in NYC for a week one of these days to help at AUD headquarters. I want to help AUD grow and help stand up for other member's rights like AUD did for me. I would not be in the labor movement today without the amazing, unending dedication of AUD and the fellow workers there. Aud is what true solidarity means, and may their light shine on forever bringing hope and end to struggles for many years to come.
For more about AUD, how to join, how to get help, or how to volunteer, please visit www.uniondemocracy.org

[AUDUnionBagpiper]

Here is what I had posted on facebook that was thought to be so bad by CLC leadership, and the video they ordered me to take down back in Feb.

"I was posting about a letter in my local paper and just feeling like if we were treated as normal people we wouldn't need all these services. All I said was, "Blind people wouldn't need these services if they were just treated like everyone else in society. We don't need special jobs, we don't need special places to work. The funding is drying up for everyone. Why not do something about it and maybe make people not so dependent on these programs by treating everyone equal. Equal work for equal pay! I may be blind, but I don't sit around crying about funding. I take action by finding work for myself, not relying on government programs to find jobs for me or having them pay for my education just because I am blind. And let's face it, braille is out of style no longer needed! Its called the 21st century!" I swear I didn't mean for it to sound like management. I just want us to be normal. I just want all the sheltered workshops to be closed down and for everyone to be in our own communities, not segregated.
 Link to the letter I was responding to:
http://savannahnow.com/opinion/2013-02-10/letters-editor-monday

[AUDUnionBagpiper]

Victory brothers and sisters! Looks like the mentioned comments have been removed from this certain facebook page. They tried, but they can't take my union or my love for the labor movement away for me. It just made me want to be even more active and help make sure union democracy remains alive.

[AUDUnionBagpiper]

Sorry false alarm the comments are still there but that's okay I am still victorious because I still love the labor movement with everything I have dispite its many problems.

[lfgreening]

Again we see an all so familiar attitude by people that should be in a position to lead. Power has corrupted our union leaders. The Rank and File sit on their asses, ignoring the fact that we are in dire straits. It is the rank and file that can only make a change.

[AUDUnionBagpiper]

Very well said. Thank you for your support. The essay I wrote about my situation got an 88 in my Effective Writing class at NLC. My professor is proud that I have chosen the high road and have turned this into a very positive thing. I hope to lead my local in the future and from this now know how never to treat members, ever.