Non-Union Alabama Utility Workers Denied Entry into New Jersey
Makes perfect sense. Because non-union workers wouldn't be able to help get power back to people suffering after Sandy.
We live in hurricane country (obviously), and we know firsthand what it's like to go without electricity for days at a time. It's pretty miserable. You can't turn on your electric stove/microwave to cook a real meal. Your frozen and refrigerated food goes bad quickly (and even before it does so, you're almost afraid to open the door and let the cold out, in case the power comes back "in time"), so you're left with shelf-stable food and whatever you might be able to fit into a cooler. You don't have hot water for cleaning yourself or your dishes, laundry, etc. (If you get your water from your own well, like we do, you can't even run any fresh water and have to rely on what you stockpiled before the storm hit, unless you have friends or family with water/electricity who can help.) You don't have climate control. (For us, that means sweltering without A/C; for many in the Northeast, this time, it means no heating.) Obviously your lights don't work, and your entertainment and links to the outside world are cut back severely. It's amazing how many of our routines and comforts depend on electricity-- and how cut off from normal life you feel without it.
Some people in New Jersey could've had their electricity back a day or two (or more) faster, if non-union workers from other states were allowed to pitch in and help. Now they'll just have to suffer a little bit longer. That's fine, so long as the unions are happy.
ETA:
For posterity's sake... ;o)
In the days after I posted this, there was some push-back on this story. To put it briefly, I'm unsure of the accuracy of the story. Honestly, at this point-- and in light of subsequent events (read: the reelection of Obama and the coming end of this country as we know it, ha ha, well, maybe not so funny), I don't care enough either way to really look into it.
Whatevs. (As they say.)
