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Friday, September 30
TV Brouhaha in Iowa
by
Linda Thieman
on Fri 30 Sep 2005 07:00 AM CDT
 TV Brouhaha in Iowa
by Allison Romano, Broadcasting & Cable
Hey, look at this - and just in time for Blog for Iowa's Focus on Media Week! Iowans for Better Local TV is featured in this week's Broadcasting & Cable!
The
article is actually accurate, except for the fact that IBLTV is located
in Iowa City, NOT Cedar Rapids. And they even mentioned next week's upcoming FCC meeting in Iowa City.
BFIA
hats off to our own Trish Nelson and the IBLTV team. Some
well-deserved recognition, to be sure - not to mention some great
coverage for an important cause. See an excerpt below.
Every
few weeks, 15 or so [Iowa City], Iowa, residents huddle at the library
to plot another attack on one of the country's biggest TV-station
owners. Iowans for Better Local TV is taking aim at the Sinclair
Broadcast Group, which operates 60 stations nationwide, including local
CBS affiliate KGAN. Frustrated by what the group says is inadequate
local-news and community involvement, they are noisily pressuring
Sinclair.
“We want
to put Iowa values back into the product,” says Arron Wings, one of the
group's founders. “We want [the] local aspect back in their news and
more connection to the local community.”
RIGHT-WING AGENDA?
Iowans
for Better Local TV (IBLTV) is circulating petitions and explaining
their position to the media, and even considering filing a petition
with the FCC to deny KGAN's license renewal. And when FCC commissioners
Michael J. Copps and Jonathan Adelstein visit Iowa City for a town-hall meeting on the future of media on Oct. 5, IBLTV members plan to further vent their frustrations.
KGAN,
like most Sinclair stations, mixes locally-created news with
mass-produced fare from its centralized newsroom, NewsCentral. One
feature is “The Point,” a nightly editorial by Sinclair PR head Mark
Hyman. Critics say Hyman's editorials are a way for the company to push
a right-wing agenda over public airwaves. In eastern Iowa, viewers see
Hyman on KGAN's 10 p.m. news and also on a Sinclair-produced newscast
on the local Fox affiliate KFXA.
(Click here to read the rest of the article.)
Tuesday, September 27
Why You Should Care Who Serves on the FCC
by
Trish Nelson
on Tue 27 Sep 2005 04:00 AM CDT
 Why You Should Care Who Serves on the FCC
NicholasJohnson.Org
The following appeared as a guest column in the Cedar Rapids Gazette.
by Nicholas Johnson
It’s election time. School board? Nope, done that. City council? Not yet. U.S. senators? The president? Members of congress? None of their six-, four- and two-year terms are up this fall.
The election I’m talking about only comes round every eight years — and this is the year in Iowa. Mark Oct. 5 on your calendar.
Given
the attention this election receives, you’re excused for not knowing.
But the outcome may have more impact on you, your family and community
than many of the other elections combined.
I’m
talking about who gets to control the most powerful mass communications
medium humankind has ever unleashed upon itself. Who gets to use the
local airwaves that we, the public, own.
With
TV sets running seven hours a day, children spending more time with
television than teachers, each of us will have spent 13 years of life
watching TV before we die. Indeed, TV watching has become ‘‘life’’ for
many. So how do we vote?
Like
elected officials, broadcasters have limited terms. When I was a
commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission, TV licenses
lasted three years. Now they’re eight.
Most incumbent officials get re-elected and most TV owners get renewed.
But neither has a right to get re-elected or renewed. They both have to
‘‘run on their record.’’
All TV licenses in a given state expire on the same day. Iowa’s
TV licensees file for renewal Oct. 1. Audience members have from
October through December to file comments with the FCC. Feb. 1 is
renewal day.
What’s unique this year are two FCC commissioners, Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein, who think Washington
should come to us. They sided with the millions of Americans who
opposed the FCC’s giveaway to big media. Now they’re about to hold what
may be the first-ever FCC hearing in Iowa. Sponsors include the national media reform organization Free Press, the University of Iowa’s Lecture Committee, Iowans for Better Local TV, and numerous other groups.
The hearing will be in Iowa City at the Pomerantz Center (at the corner of Market Street and T. Anne Cleary Walkway) at 7 p.m. Oct. 5.
Park in the Iowa Memorial Union or North ramps. This may well be
one of the fall's biggest events after football.
And
before the forum, Iowans will have a chance to find out about how media
policy affects broadcast ownership and content, and get help preparing
a two-minute statement to present at the forum.
Workshops will take place at:
7 p.m. Wednesday at the Community of Christ Church, 1500 Blairs Ferry Rd., Hiawatha;
10:30 a.m. Saturday at the LULAC Club, 4224 Ricker Hill Rd. in Davenport;
2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2, in Room A of the Iowa City Public Library;
6 p.m. Oct. 4 at the AFSCME Office in Eastdale Plaza, 1700 S. First St., Iowa City.
For details, click here.
Why should we care?
It’s
said humans are no more conscious of the mediated environment in which
we live than fish are conscious of the water in which they live. Yet
polluted media is no better for us than polluted water is for fish.
Numerous studies document that violence in TV programs increases real-life violence in our communities.
Walter
Lippmann and Noam Chomsky speak of the media’s ‘‘manufacturing
consent.’’ Even when TV isn’t telling us what to think, it’s telling us
what to think about. Except when, druglike, it’s designed to obliterate
all thought.
Time
for ‘‘local news’’ can become so consumed with commercials, national
stories, weather, fires, commentary and sports that viewers are left
unaware of the most serious problems — and opportunities — they
confront. Such as Iowa’s employment challenges, trends in land ownership, high school student achievement, and polluted waterways.
The
FCC requires TV stations to provide programs that serve children’s
educational needs. Are they doing it? Or are they telling our daughters
‘‘success’’ requires they reshape their bodies to look like starved
models?
Contrary
to all the world’s great religions, TV preaches — with programs,
product placement and commercials — that happiness, indeed our very
identity and life’s purpose, is to be found in hedonism and conspicuous
consumption. We will be known by the companies we keep.
Meanwhile, the FCC is permitting licensees to control more and more stations and other media. When I was there, the limit was 7 AM,
7 FM and 7 television stations. Today, five corporations control most
of our country’s media. One operates 1,200 radio stations.
They’re your airwaves. Oct. 5 is your opportunity to speak up. Be there.
_______________
Nicholas Johnson of Iowa City is a former FCC commissioner who teaches at the University of Iowa College of Law. Click here to visit his website.
(Link to the article)
Click here to learn more about
Sunday, September 25
WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW CAN HURT YOU
by
Molly Regan
on Sun 25 Sep 2005 11:00 AM CDT
 "WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW CAN HURT YOU"
This is the title of a flyer being distributed by a group of people who
live close to Reynolds, Illinois. Seems there is someone who
wants to build a HOG CONFINEMENT near their town, and they are not
happy about it.
On Monday, September 26th at 6:30 PM there will be a public meeting
regarding this. ANGIE LITTERST is one of those neighbors.
Angie and 11 others have brought suit against the farmer, arguing that
this confinement will smell up their air and make them sick, pollute
their water, and cause too much traffic for their small area to
handle. Angie has written letters to the editor and has been on
at least one local radio station in the past several weeks.
One of the speakers at the public meeting will be KAREN HUDSON OF THE
GRACE FACTORY FARM PROJECT www.factoryfarm.org. She is also
president of FARMS (FAMILIES AGAINST RURAL MESSES).
Karen, a farmer from Elmwood, Illinois, is also a board member of the
Illinois Stewardship Alliance and is a member of the Illinois
House/Senate Joint Livestock Committee. She happens to live next
to a SMITHFIELD HOG FACTORY IN ADJOINING KNOX COUNTY.
The state of Illinois does not have a MASTER MATRIX implemented by
their Department of Natural Resources like the state of IOWA
does. Even though our Master Matrix is flawed, we do have
something basic to start with.
According to Karen Hudson, neighbors close to a Highlands LLC Murphy
Farms livestock factory have had problems. "Empty promises were
broken. The neighbors continue to suffer from an onslaught of
odors, gases, and particulates. We have even witnessed manure and
urine from its lagoons being pivot irrigated in 40 mph winds.
Neighbors' cars (have) been covered with this effluvium when driving on
nearby roads."
An over-application of manure in 2002 by the Highlands LLC killed at
least 10 species of fish on a 1 ½ mile area of French Creek in Knox
County, Illinois. Also according to Karen, INWOOD DAIRY, of
Elmwood in Peoria County (now called NEW HORIZONS - give me a break)
"deliberately pumped between TWO AND TEN MILLION GALLONS OF WASTE from
its brimming lagoon into dry dams on the property RESULTING IN THE
LARGEST WASTE SPILL IN ILLINOIS HISTORY. Despite its relatively
short existence, the Elmwood milk factory boasts a sorry history of
pollution problems. The milk factory's POOR ENVIRONMENTAL RECORD
EARNED IT NATIONAL EXPOSURE IN SPILLS AND KILLS, A REPORT ISSUED
BY THE ISSAC WALTON LEAGUE AND CLEAN WATER NETWORK IN AUGUST, 2000."
Hopefully this meeting will continue the public discussion that needs
to be going on IN EVERY COUNTY WHERE ANIMALS ARE CRUELY CONFINED FOR
CORPORATE PROFIT. While speaking in front of the Scott County Board of
Supervisors this past summer about 2 requested expansions, I was
reminded of several important things.
One, we need to spend time with lawmakers in IOWA to fix the MASTER
MATRIX. The IOWA DNR has too much control over placement of
confinement buildings. Local public input doesn't seem to matter
yet. It is just a formality, and no matter how your county
officials vote, yea or nay to the permit request, the DNR is still the
final authority.
WE DO NOT HAVE TO KILL OURSELVES LOCALLY TO FEED THE WORLD. Our
economy is important but not if IOWA is going to become like North
Carolina with no clean lakes, rivers, or streams.
So find out in your county where there is discussion about CAFO's
(CONFINED ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATIONS), do your research, and PARTICIPATE.
YOU KNOW THE DRILL…CPR = CONSERVE/PARTICPATE/RECYCLE
Monday, September 19
Media Consolidation is Threatening Our Democracy
by
Caroline Vernon
on Mon 19 Sep 2005 04:43 PM CDT
 Media Consolidation is Threatening Our Democracy
by Caroline Vernon and
Amanda Ballantyne - freepress.net
Do you want the media to do a better job of covering issues you care about? Do you want more quality journalism? Are you wondering whether a few giant media conglomerates will provide the diverse and independent viewpoints you need?
Right
now, 5 major corporations own and control the airwaves that reach most
of our citizens and they continue to lobby the FCC in an effort to
tighten their stranglehold on our media. Those corporations are General
Electric (NBC), Time Warner (CNN), Disney (ABC), Viacom (CBS), and The
News Corporation (Fox).
If this
happens, one company could control all of our local radio, television,
and print media. This does not reflect a democracy where a variety of
diverse viewpoints must be heard!
Now is
your chance to tell Federal Communications Commissioners Jonathan
Adelstein and Michael Copps how well your media are serving – or not serving – your community. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn more and to make your voices heard!
Future of Media Town Hall Meeting,
Iowa City, Iowa
When: 7PM Wednesday, October 5, 2005
Where: University of Iowa
The New Pomerantz Center, Room C20
The building is located at the corner of Market Street
and the T. Anne Cleary Walkway, across from
John Pappajohn Business Building
Map, parking, and accessibility information: Click here:
For those residing in the Quad Cities and Cedar Rapids, transportation will be provided to and from this event.
Please come to our related workshops in Iowa City, Cedar Rapids and the Quad Cities:
Related Workshops:
Learn how media policy affects ownership and content control, and limits the information that we need to participate effectively in a democracy
Workshops will also give you the chance to consider your own hopes for a media system that would meet your community's needs as well as prepare a two minute testimony to present to the Commissioners at the Forum.
All Workshops are free and open to the public.
Iowa City:
Workshop sponsored by: FAIR!
2PM Sunday, October 2, 2005
Iowa City Public Library, Room A
For more information, contact:
Maureen Donnelly: 319-354-4169 or
Amanda Ballantyne: 413-585-1533 x 23
Workshop sponsored by: Iowa City Federation of Labor
6PM Tuesday October 4
AFSCME Office in Southdale Plaza
1700 South 1st Avenue, Suite 19
Right above the DMV
For more information, contact:
Maureen Donnelly: 319-354-4169 or
Amanda Ballantyne: 413-585-1533 x 23
Quad Cities:
Workshop sponsored by: Progressive Action for the Common Good
10:30AM Saturday, October 1, 2005
The LULAC Club, 4224 Ricker Hill Road
Davenport, Iowa
For more information, contact:
Caroline Vernon: 563-323-7852 or
Amanda Ballantyne: 413-585-1533 x 23
Cedar Rapids:
Workshop sponsored by: Community of Christ
7PM Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Community of Christ Church
1500 Blairs Ferry Rd, Hiawatha, IA
For more information, contact:
Larry McGuire: 319-393-5163 x 102 or
Amanda Ballantyne: 413-585-1533 x 23
For more information about this event, or to find out how your
organization can get involved, please contact Amanda Ballantyne
(amanda@freepress.net) or Maureen Donnelly
(Maureen.donnelly@mchsi.com).
Media is the issue.
Your voice is worth fighting for - Raise it now – or lose it!
Wednesday, September 14
Democracy For Iowa Conference 2005
by
Caroline Vernon
on Wed 14 Sep 2005 04:00 AM CDT
 Democracy For Iowa Conference 2005
Notes by Aaron Wings, with additions and Workshop notes by Robin Roseman
Report on DFIA Conference
September 10, 2005
Iowa City
OVERVIEW:
The
morning sessions were very informational. What was most impressive was
the variety of issues that were discussed and the political cooperative
efforts.
The
afternoon sessions were work sessions. Several important actions
were planned. We began to give structure to a statewide DFA
organization - DFIA. We also decided to have a coordinated focus
for the next several months on state health care issues, in particular,
a State Health Care Lobby Day. We urge all interested people to
join DFIA by signing up here.
MORNING SESSION:
We began
with a welcome by Dennis Roseman, Iowa City DFA Organizer who in turn
introduced members of the meeting that represented some progressive
non-DFA groups and activities:
Pat
Vunderink talked about DAWN, a Democratic Activists Women’s
Network. This might be termed an Iowa Emily’s List with a major
goal to support progressive women candidates.
Trish Nelson talked about IBLTV, Iowans for Better Local TV, a media reform group: http://www.ibltv.org.
They have an on-line petition which all are invited to sign asking the
FCC to hear Iowa complaints about the quality of local television.
There will also be an important FCC-Free Press Public Hearing,
on October 5th, in Iowa City at the University of Iowa (exact
location to be determined).
Ellen
Ballas spoke of Rapid Response Network. This organization is well known
to all readers of Blog for Iowa. Please join them in their
efforts to fight disinformation: http://www.rapidresponsenetwork.org
Mike
Carberry informed us of an Iowa City group, Citizens for Public Power.
This group has put the issue of creating a municipal Iowa City electric
power company on the November ballot. They are currently building
support for passage. http://www.icpublicpower.org
Dick
Stater, Chair Linn County Democrats, talked about a Fundraiser on
October 22nd, in Mount Vernon, with the possibility of a nationally
prominent Democratic office holder as a speaker. For more information
go to http://www.linndems.org
Alta
Price discussed Quad Cities Progressive Action for the Common Good, a
new progressive coalition consisting of various issue forums. Due to
the high level of activity, PACG is currently engaged in a fundraising
campaign in an effort to hire an organizer to maintain the necessary
support of the various issue forums.
http://www.digiforce.net/PACG%20Site/index.php
Mike
Carberry also spoke of FAIR, a local group working for social and
economic justice. FAIR will co-sponsor an Iowa City Council Candidate
Forum with Johnson County DFA and The 49 - to be held on September 15th.
The
above list exemplifies the variety of activities that Iowa DFA members
are engaged in as well as establishing connections and
cooperation with other progressive groups.
Jim Dean, DFA Chair, then gave a lively keynote talk about the future plans and goals for DFA.
He spoke
of other DFA State meetings (23 of these to date). They focused on some
small races as well as larger ones. Currently DFA is supporting 40
candidates nationwide and plans to endorse an additional 10 more
candidates for a total of 50. DFA is also engaged in providing some
Candidate and Activist training with 21st Century Democrats. In
addition, they plan to provide a 2-day training workshop in the Quad
Cities next Spring.
Jim
listed and spoke briefly on several current and future political issues
and mentioned two particular goals for the near future: a DFA Meet-up
in every congressional district and expansion of Generation DFA for
college students.
In the
next segment there were four reports by Iowa DFA Meetup
groups: Alta Price for Democracy for the Quad Cities, Tony Hansen
for Des Moines DFA, Sue Astley for Cedar Rapids DFA, and Robin Roseman
for Johnson County DFA.
Chris Warshaw, DFA Field/Political Director, described four areas of focus for DFA:
1. Meet-up programs in all states, 100 college groups, a total of 5000 at meet-ups
2. Development of communication tools such as DFA-Link.
DFA Link will replace and improve upon the functionality that we had with Meetup.com.
3.
Having special training sessions to build political skills such
as communication with elected officials and writing letters to editors,
etc. For example, there is a plan for a two-day training next
Spring in the Quad Cities.
4.
Candidate development: One goal is to build from within by
encouraging members to run for office. Also, DFA sponsored 103
candidates last year - approximately 1/3 won. DFA is currently
sponsoring 40 candidates, but won’t endorse any more until after the
November elections with the exception of one congressional seat.
This early sponsorship will be decided by voting online here.
(Note: The vote started on Tuesday, 9/13)
Next on
the program was a Candidate Forum. It was a real showcase of what we in
DFA are doing. Candidates (and one pre-candidate) from many levels of
government participated; David Loebsack (2nd District), Bill Gluba and
Bruce Braley (1st District), Tammy Place (pre-candidate, Iowa House 79)
and Garry Klein (Iowa City Council). Scroll down for contact information.
Next we had two presentations dealing with Iowa issues and Iowa groups:
Mike
Owen, assistant Director of the Iowa Policy Project, gave a fact filled
presentation on Iowa economic issues. To review this wellspring of
useful information, stats and facts (highly recommended), visit thier
website at: http://www.iowapolicyproject.org
Sarah
Swisher, gave a spirited talk about three organizations of which she is
an officer: The Iowa Democratic Party, SEIU, and Johnson
County Democrats. Sarah discussed various ways that DFA could interface
with each of these organizations for a mutual benefit.
AFTERNOON SESSION:
Identifying Goals
What to
focus on in the next 6 months? At first a large list of goals and
issues were suggested by participants but were ultimately reduced down
to reflect two levels: Meetup level and State level.
On the Local Level:
Endorse and support local candidates. (Run for office)
Participate in 2006 Democratic caucuses.
Build coalitions with other progressive groups.
Outreach-expand membership.
On the State Level:
Increase the number of contributors for Blog for Iowa.
Support Democratic Candidates; Opportunity to take back the Iowa House, Senate, and Governorship in 2006.
Health Care for Iowa.
Most importantly it was decided to form a state-wide group known as Democracy for Iowa (DFIA). This
would be done with the help of a steering committee and implemented (in
part) as a new statewide DFA-link group called DFIA.
Introducing
the DFIA Steering Committee: Dennis Roseman, Robin Roseman, Alta Price,
Gary Gramon, Sue Astley, Tony Hansen, Cliff Day, Sally Troxell,
Trish Nelson and Ellen Ballas
One goal of DFIA is to expand the number of Meet-up groups and to facilitate communication between members across Iowa.
In particular we would like to have at least one Meetup group per congressional district. (see map)
http://www.legis.state.ia.us/Redist/congress-color.pdf
It was
suggested that folks from established groups should help new
groups get going. Tony volunteered for central Iowa, Alta and Dennis
for eastern Iowa, and we need someone for western Iowa.
As a particular focus for statewide action it was decided to have a Health Care Lobby Day.
Tony
volunteered to coordinate with SEIU/Iowans for Health Care to
participate in a joint Health Care Lobby Day in Des Moines on Februrary
7th, 2006. DFA will help with a phone list and support. We
also plan to make home visits to legislators in the districts to
discuss Health Care for all Iowans.
At the
end of the day, a few of us went out for ice cream with Ed Fallon,
candidate for governor, who wasn't able to make the meeting because of
a previous engagement, but showed up at the Iowa Room just as we were
leaving. A great time was had by all!
Braley for Congress
http://www.brucebraley.com
P O Box 390
Waterloo, IA 50704
319-464-4450
Tammy Place
PO Box 501
Durant, IA 52747
563-785-4837
Friends of Bill Gluba
http://www.glubaforcongress.com
PO Box 2205
Davenport, IA 52808
563-459-6558
David Loebsack
http://www.loebsackforcongress.org
PO Box 81
Mt Vernon IA 52314
319-721-5324
Garry Klein
http://www.kleinforcouncil.org
628 2nd Ave
Iowa City, IA 52245
Saturday, September 10
Your Second Priority
by
Trish Nelson
on Sat 10 Sep 2005 11:00 AM CDT
Your Second Priority
NicholasJohnson.org
Nick Johnson (pictured above) was formerly an FCC Commissioner and Iowa City School Board member and now teaches at the University of Iowa College of Law. These are his remarks to the Iowa City Federation of Labor Labor Day Picnic, September 5, 2005
"Whatever is your first priority, your second priority has to be media reform."
I've been saying that to gatherings of labor, and other progressive organizations, for 40 years now.
Your first priority may be a fairer shake for labor. Healthcare for Iowans. Rights for women and minorities. Improvements in local schools, or the environment. Electing your candidates to public office.
Whatever is your first priority, you have little hope of making any progress with it if you can't get media coverage - fair and favorable media coverage.
For no group is this more true than for labor.
"Yeah, so what else is new?" I hear you say.
I'll tell you what's new.
For the first time in the history of Iowa, so far as I know, two currently sitting commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission - Michael Copps and Jon Adelstein - are coming to Iowa City because they want to hear from you.
The national organization Free Press is seeing to it that Wednesday, October 5th, a month from today, probably at the IMU, hundreds of Iowans will be coming forward to tell the FCC what they think about our local media.
There are petitions that give you a chance to participate. The petitions ask the FCC to at least hold hearings before automatically granting license renewals to Iowa's television stations.
All those Iowa stations have to file for renewal by October 1st. If their licenses are renewed they will be able to keep up what they've been doing for another 8 years.
Meanwhile, a local group called Iowans for Better Local Television, and anyone else in the state, has from now until the end of December to get comments and petitions to the Commission. IBLTV's Web site actually lets you sign the petition online.
So why should labor care?
You can probably answer that better than I.
- When did you last see a documentary favorable to organized labor on local television?
more »
Tuesday, September 6
Reminder: DFA/DFIA Statewide Meeting This Saturday, September 10
by
Linda Thieman
on Tue 06 Sep 2005 09:36 AM CDT
 Reminder: DFA/DFIA Statewide Meeting This Saturday, September 10
September 10
Iowa Room, Iowa Memorial Union
Iowa City Iowa
9 a.m.-4 p.m.
This will be the first such statewide DFA meeting for Iowa. At this meeting we will:
- Have direct communication between DFIA grassroots and national leaders of DFA
- Provide opportunity for members of local groups to meet each other and share ideas
- Plan specific coordinated actions for the next several months
- Develop communications for sharing practices, coordinating campaigns, and working on issues
- Decide what goals and state-wide structure DFIA will have
There is a $15 registration fee
(includes lunch)
For further information contact Dennis Roseman
roseman@math.uiowa.edu
(319)-337-4925
Click here to see the agenda.
Sunday, September 4
Honoring Those Who Go Before Us - Jim Hughes
by
Caroline Vernon
on Sun 04 Sep 2005 09:01 PM CDT
 Honoring Those Who Go Before Us: Jim Hughes - December 6, 1935
by Caroline Vernon Jim said, “I made a commitment to myself and the world that if I was ever able to get out of that chair, I would dedicate the rest of my life to helping those who are less fortunate than I had been in my life.” On December 6, 1935, Jim Hughes was born the youngest son of a union carpenter in Montgomery County, Illinois.
Upon graduating from high school in 1953, most of Jim’s former classmates were drafted into the service. Jim himself received orders to report 6 different times before finally receiving notification that he had been wrongly classified, 3 months prior to his 25th birthday. Instead of having a classification of 1A, he should have been classified as 3A, which meant he would only have been called up in the case of a homeland emergency. In the meantime it was difficult to get hired on with a 1A classification because employers knew it wouldn’t be long before workers were required to report for duty.
During the late 50's, early 60's, the economy was shaky and jobs were hard to come by. In the construction and building trades, as an example, you were lucky to accrue 600 hours a year. Jim worked on various union jobs, the first of which was as a laborers local, then he moved over to the Operating Engineers and worked on permit. He later worked for the Boiler Makers Union and the UAW.
By 1965, many of Jim’s friends had returned home from the service and were taking advantage of going to school through the GI bill while he was still bouncing from job to job. By then, Jim had gotten married and had children so it was at that time that he decided to go to St. Louis to work with the Teamsters. Jim stayed with the Teamsters for quite some time before being forced to take an early retirement due to health problems.
The family later moved to the Quad Cities in 1980 and Jim started RDS Walcott, a truck transportation brokerage business. Jim and his wife Doris, successfully ran this business for many years until selling it in 2000. Jim and Doris had married on March 15, 1963, They have 10 children between them.
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