WAR STORIES By Phil Cohen

Editor’s Note: This is the final installment of Phil’s three-part saga chronicling his harrowing days trying to survive on the streets of Tehran and Kabul just prior to the Iranian Revolution and Russia's invasion of Afghanistan. 

We finally arrived at Kabul’s bus station at 10 p.m., where several taxis waited outside.  I glanced at my notes for the recommended hotel and appropriate cab fare, entered the rear door of the first car in line, stated my destination, requested the price upfront, and was told an amount consistent with my information.

WAR STORIES By Phil Cohen

Editor’s Note: This is Part II of Phil’s three-part saga chronicling his harrowing days trying to eke out a living on the streets of Tehran and Kabul just prior to the Iranian Revolution and Russia's invasion of Afghanistan. 

The guards aroused travelers at dawn and pointed us toward several white vans lined up near the crossing. I was instructed to board one of them, surrendered my bedroll to be tied on the roof but forcibly knocked the driver’s hand away as he reached for the guitar. When the rear door finally closed, I found myself in the most crowded environment I’d ever experienced. It made the New York subway during rush hour seem spacious by comparison.

WAR STORIES By Phil Cohen

Editor’s Note: This is Part I of Phil’s three-part saga chronicling his harrowing days trying to eke out a living on the streets of Tehran and Kabul just prior to the Iranian Revolution and Russia's invasion of Afghanistan. 

The road goes on forever and the party never ends – Robert Earl Keen

In 1976, I’d been driving medallion taxis in New York City for two years, working several long night shifts per week, sufficient to pay the rent on my small apartment. I found myself living a lifestyle similar to the Robert De Niro character in Taxi Driver, the ultimate cinematic portrayal of a lonely job in the heart of urban ugliness, violence and alienation.

By Ryn Gargulinski

You can find bad bosses as easily as you can find mushy cucumbers in Florida or rats in New York City. But let’s not forget there are a ton of good bosses out there as well. OK, maybe not a ton. But enough to bring joy to our hearts, meaning to our work and a smile to our face every time we set out to work on a project for them.

By Joe Maniscalco

You know the old saying, “Good guys finish last.” Even at Christmas.

But whoever said that didn’t have a fighting labor union behind them well prepared to work a little holiday magic on behalf of the rank & file.

WAR STORIES By Phil Cohen

Editor’s Note: This is Part II of “The Conveyor Belt Incident.” Check out Part I here.

Fighting for Cicero

At noon on June 1, I sat at the long table in the plant conference room with Cicero and the executive board to prep for the president’s grievance hearing. An hour later, management took their places across from us.

By Joe Maniscalco

Right now, Donald Trump is prepping to make good on a campaign pledge to begin deporting millions of hard-working  immigrants on Day One of his new administration.

WAR STORIES By Phil Cohen

Prologue

The most important part of a collective bargaining agreement lies in two simple words:  Just Cause.  Sometimes buried within the most unlikely contract article, you’ll find, “The company can discipline or fire employees for just cause.”

By Bob Hennelly

In the immediate aftermath of Vice President Kamala Harris’ defeat, the Washington Post op-ed page blamed the Democratic Party for its embrace of progressivism. This ignores entirely the decision to move the party to the center to accommodate  Rep. Lynn Cheney and her small army of disaffected Republicans who had been exiled out of their own party.

By Steve Wishnia

In a disastrous election that saw the most anti-labor President in recent history returned to the White House and labor champion Sherrod Brown of Ohio unseated from the Senate, several states voted to raise the minimum wage, enable workers to earn paid sick time off, and increase union rights for app-taxi drivers and cannabis workers.

By Joe Maniscalco

Having spent the last three years following New York City retirees and their counterparts in other states beat back repeated attempts to force them into profit-driven Medicare Advantage health insurance, we at Work-Bites are probably feeling less anxious about what comes next in this frightening country than some others might be today.

By Bob Hennelly

The other morning the quick drop in air temperature thanks to a near frost caused the loss of air in my tires requiring a stop by my local independently family owned gas station in Neptune, NJ.

By Bob Hennelly

At this week’s regular press conference Mayor Adams refused to answer WABC-TV’s N.J. Burkett’s question  about when was the last time that he had spoken to former President Trump or his team.

By Steven Wishnia

Every Democrat running for election this year should get a tattoo on the back of their writing hand: “You’re Supposed to Be the Party of Working People.”

By Phil Cohen

Part III – Labor Board Crisis

During the bargaining period and through September, I made countless trips to Winston-Salem, presenting a total of thirty-four witnesses, some of whom had to return with me to provide supplemental affidavits in regard to information discovered during the Board’s own investigation.

By Phil Cohen

Confronting ‘Anti’s’ in the Breakroom

We learned that anti-union leader Billy Key was planning to take vacation and visit the breakroom on all three shifts to gather signatures on decertification cards. This would be in violation of a strict company policy prohibiting non-scheduled employees (whether on vacation or off-shift) from entering the building. I discussed this with Joe Wells, Rory Ford, and the corporate attorney, all of whom assured me the rules would be enforced.

By Phil Cohen

Editor’s Note: This is Part I of Phil’s three-part saga looking back at the earlier 1990’s battle against Kmart’s decertification campaign in North Carolina. 

He who is skilled in attack flashes forth from the topmost heights of heaven like a thunderbolt – Sun Tzu (The Art of War)

In 1992, Kmart opened a distribution center in Greensboro, North Carolina. Within a year, its workers had been organized by ACTWU (currently Workers United). Management refused to negotiate in good faith, resulting in a bitter three-year-long first contract fight.

By Ryn Gargulinski

If you start having nightmares about your job, it’s time to get a new job. That’s one of the self-imposed rules I created some 25 years ago when one of my bosses showed up as Satan in a hallucination while I was going through the DTs.

By Phil Cohen

Editor’s Note: This is Part III of Phil’s three-part sequel to his previous Work-Bites series centering on his dangerous days scratching out a living as a New York City cabbie. Read Parts I and II.

I met with Morris and Herb on the morning of my first official day as manager. They handed me two keys; one for the desk compartment containing the books and rent money, and the other for the basement which I had to inspect on a weekly basis to see if the boiler or plumbing needed servicing.

By Rebecca Wishnia

On Sept. 19, I was to review the opening-night performance of the Verdi Requiem at the San Francisco Symphony. The downbeat never came: The performance was canceled due to a strike by the chorus singers—members of the American Guild of Musical Artists. I went to the picket lines.