Berry Craig, recording secretary for the Paducah-based Western Kentucky AFL-CIO Area Council and a professor of history at West Kentucky Community and Technical College, is a former daily newspaper and Associated Press columnist and currently a member of AFT Local 1360. Craig sends us this.

Retired Kentucky United Steelworkers (USW) member Jim Pence is doing his bit to help retire Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). “Social media is the way to go,” said Pence, who lives in Glendale, Ky., and belonged to USW Local 423 in Louisville. Pence has opened a pair of Facebook pages: Ditch Mitch and 1,000,000 Strong Against Senator Mitch McConnell in 2014.

Kevin Olguin, a 9-year-old boy with cancer in Louisville, Ky., wants one thing: to be a firefighter. Olguin's wish came true recently when members of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 345 made him an honorary firefighter for a day, complete with a uniform, induction ceremony, a proclamation from the mayor and a ride in the Louisville Fire Department's fire truck. 

In July, Patriot Coal filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Southern District of New York. Among the reasons for Patriot’s financial difficulties were the huge legacy costs related to health care benefits and pensions owed to retirees and widows of former employees. The company's intended goal, it seems, according to the Mine Workers (UMWA), is to get out of obligations to the miners that worked hard for decades, often doing significant damage to their own health.

Think union members only care about other union members?

Go see Jimmy Evans, training director at Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 816 apprenticeship school in Paducah, Ky.

OK, it might be hard to see him. A mini-mountain of canned goods is rising in the hallway outside his office.

Berry Craig, recording secretary for the Paducah-based Western Kentucky AFL-CIO Area Council and a professor of history at West Kentucky Community and Technical College, is a former daily newspaper and Associated Press columnist and currently a member of AFT Local 1360. Craig sends us this.

The hours are long but, says Kentucky United Steelworkers (USW) member Chris Ormes, “I'm loving it. I'm at ground zero, and that's where I want to be."

Ormes, 37, president of USW Local 1241 in Bardstown, Ky., says ground zero is Ohio. The state's electoral votes likely will decide who wins the presidential election. He is a foot soldier in a small army of union volunteers who are toiling 12- and even 14-hour days to help President Obama take the Buckeye State.

Larry Snook, vice president of Labor Services at Metro United Way in Louisville, Ky., has an ambitious goal, along with the skilled tradesmen from UAWLocal 862: building 25-30 mobility ramps for people's homes in the next two years.

Volunteers from Local 862 and Metro United Way are volunteering their time to help the Center for Accessible Living coordinate and build mobility ramps for people with disabilities' homes in flood zone areas through a Ford Motor Co. initiative in Louisville. Ford is providing funds for the ramp materials and recruiting employee volunteers from UAW. So far, three ramps have been built. 

Berry Craig, recording secretary for the Paducah-based Western Kentucky AFL-CIO Area Council and a professor of history at West Kentucky Community and Technical College, is a former daily newspaper and Associated Press columnist and currently a member of AFT Local 1360. Craig sends us this.

How can you help your union get better coverage in small-town media? 

First, try getting to know the newspaper, TV and radio reporters. Introduce yourself by calling them up or sending them an email with your photo. It’s a good idea to put a face with an email. Better yet, drop by for a visit. 

 “Why is the media so anti-union?”

This old reporter-turned-history-teacher could retire if he had a dime for every time he’s heard a union brother or sister ask that question. They mostly mean Fox News and local newspapers and radio and TV stations.On the other hand, the anti-union slant of small-town media news reporting is subtler. Unions are all but ignored, except during strikes – more on that in a minute. Of course, unions are commonly demonized on the editorial pages of small town papers. They routinely get trashed by Rush Limbaugh wannabes on boondocks radio stations. Tiny market TV station owners sometimes go after unions, too. 

Amy Masciola, campaign consultant for the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers District of Local 32BJ/SEIU (NCFO/SEIU), sends us this.

This week at the Biennial Convention of the Kentucky State AFL-CIO, union members from around the state kicked off a campaign in support of workers at AAK in Louisville. Nearly 50 employees of the oils and fats processor, formerly Golden Brands, are currently working without a contract after voting overwhelmingly to reject the company’s final offer in November. According to unfair labor practice charges the union filed, workers describe a hostile atmosphere in the workplace after managers threatened to fire members of the bargaining committee if they did not recommend the contract offer to co-workers. One worker was fired after he spoke to authorities about management’s threats.

Dave Suetholz says he got fed up with “the right wing’s effective use of the echo chamber through its network of reactionary think tanks and media.”