Tuesday, August 23, 2011

State Rep silent on union-related violence but upset over anti-union phone calls

Our local paper has finally decided to mention that a recent shooting of the owner of a local electrical contracting firm, and the vandalism of his vehicle at his home, might be union related.

I previously wrote about the bias of the newspaper in failing to mention the word 'scab' being etched in John King's car, so it's nice to see that a week later, they're covering that aspect of the crime. Today, they've got an article on the reward - $70,000 from Mr. King and the local chapter of the Associated Builders & Contractors.

What's disturbing, however, are the comments - or rather, lack of comments - from Matt Szollosi, a state representative who also happens to be an attorney for the local electrical union. He refused to comment on the shooting, but was glad to talk about what he described as "fiercely anti-union" phone calls and emails to Local 245, an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) union hall which is located down the street from IBEW Local 8 headquarters in Rossford. The Rossford police are investigating those harassing calls.

So why couldn't this state rep make a comment renouncing the violence against King? I'm certain, considering his long years in public office, he could have found a way to say the violence was wrong and not condoned without upsetting any union member.

He could have said, "Since the suspect in the shooting has not yet been identified or caught, we do not know what his motivation for the violence is. But vandalizing private property and shooting someone is never an action that should be condoned."

See? It's easy to do.

Unfortunately, to date no elected official and no union leader has said anything on the shooting and I can't help but believe that is part of the reason individuals are making 'anti-union' phone calls and sending 'anti-union' emails to the union office.

As I originally wrote, I don't know who committed the crime, but the etching of the word 'scab' in King's vehicle along with the prior violence related to union issues at his company certainly make a union member or union sympathize a focus of the investigation. That's just logical.

What's not logical is to remain silent.

"The maxim is "Qui tacet consentire": the maxim of the law is "Silence gives consent". If therefore you wish to construe what my silence betokened, you must construe that I consented." ~ Thomas More in A Man For All Seasons


5 comments:

Mad Jack said...

In the bad old days I'd have expected Lisa Renee to cover this one at the Glass City Jungle. Thanks for writing about this.

Vandalism, disturbances and threats are accepted by a large portion of society as normal union activity. Shooting someone as they are walking out the front door of their own home is tacitly approved by the union and by the commercial news media. See how far we've come? Is not The Anointed One proud of us?

What do you suppose the coverage would be like if the homeowner returned fire and produced a useful union member?

And, by the way, how are your shooting lessons coming along?

Maggie said...

Mad Jack - I so want the unions to take a stand against violence, when committed by their own members or others. That's just the right thing to do...but alas, I fear you are more correct in your assessment than anyone really wants to admit.

My lessons are going well. I'm trying out various handguns so I know what kind works best for me and my grip. I'll then purchase one and take more lessons so I can become proficient in its use. :)

-Sepp said...

The Blade always plays itsself off as being pro-union....unless of course they happen to be union employees of the blade!

A 70k reward will be tempting in this economy for anyone the shooter opened his mouth to about it.

Maggie, if you're looking into pistols, there are 3 I usually recommend for new female shooters.

A S&W model 6906 is a 9mm made for female hands, very light recoil, decent stopping power, easy to use safety features and concealable.

An FN model five-seven, light, powerfull without a lot of recoil but, a bit higher on the price scale.

The new kel-tec PMR-30 is light, easy to handle, almost zero recoil at all (it fires a .22 magnum round) and, it holds 30 rounds in the magazine...it's not a 1 shot stopper but, it has 29 more rounds after the first one which will cause anyone to seriously reconsider robbing someone else.

Timothy W Higgins said...

It seems curious that Mr Szollosi is more concerned with someone firing off phone calls and emails than bullets; but perhaps he is less concerned for the safety of those who aren't his constituents than he is for his contributors and supporters.

Perhaps instead however, he simply has no sympathy for those who bring a keyboard or a telephone to a gun fight.

Sherry said...

This is "the Union way". I moved out here in 1996. Unions were out where I came from, but not like here. My family fought against Unionization (Mom and Grandmother). My Grandfather owned the family business (Construction), so we had a different view point. If you want to work for an Union, knock yourself out. Don't make me work for one.

Maggie, I have my CCL. I shoot one-handed. Took my test with my 22. I sold that for a 38, pink mind you. The 22 would miss shots - not good. My husband bought me a 2 shot Derringer (a 22). Had a mean kick back, sold that also. With you, I go for an automatic. Shooting is great fun.

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