Region 8 Director Gary Casteel
and
Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries Ron Sparks Address
Retirees
The Local 2195 Retiree Chapter in Athens,
Alabama held their annual Fish Fry on Monday, September 13, 2004. This
annual event has become one of the chapter’s biggest meetings
of the year. Lynn Layton Chevrolet in Decatur sponsored the fish fry
this year.
A large crowd was on hand to enjoy the fish and fellowship.
The meeting also featured nominations for the officers for the Retire
Chapter.
The event featured two keynote speakers this year. UAW
Region 8 Director Gary Casteel and Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture
and Industries Ron Sparks where on hand to address the crowd. The following
comments are paraphrased from their speeches.
UAW Region 8 Director Gary Casteel
“I would like to begin by thanking our retirees for helping pave
the way to where we are today. It has been
your efforts that have brought the UAW this far and we thank you. I
am going to cut right to the chase and address the current situation
with the Bush Administration in Washington. We all talk to family, friends
and neighbors on regular basis, and we should tell them what is going
on in Washington. Sometimes people will cast their vote on one or two
issues, without looking at a candidate’s record across the board.
Our retirees are our most productive group when it comes to being able
to get the word out and we are seeking your help. America’s working
families have not benefited one bit from this administration.
We have to keep the issues out in front of the public.
Who served where and when is not as important as the fact that 45 million
Americans have no health care, and millions more are under insured.
In the past four years we have lost 3 million manufacturing jobs in
this country. There are 40 million Americans – 13 million of them
children – living in poverty. While we are speaking about our
children, lets not forget the $500,000,000,000 deficit that this administration
has left for them.
We have a huge challenge in front of us this election.
We have to tell the people we know what is going and remind them that
they aren’t going to get anything different from this administration.
The only people who have benefited during the past four years are the
wealthy, and they will be the only ones to benefit over the next four
years without a change. The only way to overcome this hurdle is to use
the same idea that as worked for the union in the past and that is solidarity.”
Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries
Ron Sparks
“One of the joys of my job is to get the opportunity to go around
and meet with good folks like you. I would like to echo the sentiments
of your Regional Director and urge you to look at the issues in the
upcoming election. The question is not about who served when or where,
but are you better off than you where four years ago? I am tired of
hearing the Republicans talk about how they are the only ones with faith.
I am here to tell you that I was raised by a great lady, my grandmother.
She spent 43 years working in a hosiery mill in Fort Payne. Every Sunday
we went to church and worshiped God. I was raised on Christian values
and keep them at the front of everything I do.
We
need to look at the real issues. The State of Alabama had over 250,000
family farms 50 years ago. Today, that number is down to less than 45,000.
I think we need to make it a priority to save the family farm in Alabama.
I recently made a trip to Vietnam to view the area where these fish
companies are importing as catfish are grown. The water was filthy,
with sewage draining into the river. We need to stand up and say no
more fish imported from Vietnam. You have a right to know where you
food comes from, and imported food is not grown to the standards our
farmers are held to.
While we are talking trade, I wish someone would tell
me why it is we have trade with Vietnam and Libya but there are trade
sanctions against Cuba? Cuba buys most of their food from around the
world. Alabama farmers are easily within range of Cuba to sell them
chickens, vegetables and other farm products. But we can’t tap
into that market because trade sanctions. It appears that we can only
do business with those interested in selling us products rather than
buying from us.
Last year alone, Alabama lost 10,000 jobs. To add insult
to injury, a Bush aide tells the press that outsourcing of jobs is good
for America. I can tell you right now, if one of my staff made a statement
like that they would be fired on the spot. I believe our workers can
stand shoulder to shoulder with any workforce in the world if the playing
field is level. But, are workers placed at a disadvantage against this
slave labor in other places so they must constantly push up hill.
We have to sit down with folks and talk to them about
health care, Social Security and jobs. Nothing is more important than
the health care of our children. Do you know that Alabama leads the
national in number of cases of Diabetes? It is time to take the snack
machines filled with sugar out of our schools and replace them with
Alabama grown fruits and vegetables. We need more physical education
in our school curriculum as well to promote healthy activities.
I tell you I am the luckiest person alive. Everyday
I get to wake up and go to a job that I love and get paid for it on
top of that! But I wont you to know that I work for you. That is what
I was elected to do and I will continue to do that. The day any elected
official forgets that, they need to find a new profession. Thanks for
all that you do.”