Sunday, August 17, 2008

Labor Day of Caring

Members of local labor, Elliott Auerbach, members of the County legislature and numerous volunteers come together to make repairs at a local church.



Auerbach working on the ladder to repair a local church


Elliott Auerbach rolling up his sleves with local labor groups( BSOIW Local 417, LIUNA Local 17, CWA 1120, IBEW 363, and CSEA Region 3) and members of the County Legsilature to repair a local church. Right is Legislator Terpening
Chairman David Donaldson scrapes some old paint of the church

30 comments:

Mr. Meyer said...

This is really great! I wish all politicians spent more time painting the walls of non-profits organizations. They could help more people and do less damage.

Anonymous said...

Just goes to show you that Eliot is just a regular guy. I'm sure his opponent Squigley was in NYC counting his money.

Brittany Turner said...

For the record, Elliott didn't work. He stopped by to donate a case of water. Legislators Donaldson, Terpening and Harris, however, were there for most of the project and worked just as hard as anyone from labor.

Anonymous said...

Let me get this straight....the wfp endorsed the other guy and Elliot shows up and he doesn't?

When will they learn? The republicans are no friends of labor. Jen Fuentes or whoever she designated to make the endorsements, may need to find a new line of work because she/they are out of touch.

Bernardo/Quigley are no friends of labor.

DO NOT GIVE THEM A CHANCE TO PROVE IT!

Brittany Turner said...

WFP endorsed Elliott Auerbach. Jen Fuentes, and myself, both sat in on those interviews.

The Upper Hudson Central Labor Council, a separate entity from WFP, endorsed Mr. Quigley. Neither Jen nor myself sat in on Mr. Auerbach's interview with this body, and we also do not have a vote in the decision. I did, however, witness Mr. Quigley's interview and was extremely impressed.

Perhaps Mr. Quigley shouldn't have a chance to "prove" that he is no friend of labor. But Mr. Auerbach has already proven it through his IDA votes... twice. A case of water, while appreciated, doesn't make up for that. I'd rather be hopeful for Mr. Quigley then support Mr. Auerbach, who has demonstrated his unfriendliness to labor issues.

The event was not about politicians proving their allegiance. It is about the community coming together to help others in Ulster County. I believe we are meeting our goals and that the event was successful. Please don't try to turn community service into politics.

UCConservative said...

So by not working on a church means Bernardo and Quigley are not for labor.
A. It is a church. The survival of the church does not equal the survival of the community.
B. It was volunteer labor, not paid labor.
C. Who gives if Bernardo and Quigey did not show up. Auerbach showed up for a case of water like brittany turner said.
D. This was not a political endeavor. A community jointing together to repair a church is great, but seriously, lets not start judging on who did not show up.

Anonymous said...

Brittany, sometimes your youthful exuberance overtakes your sense of logic. If you don't think that this event was political, for both labor and the politicos who showed up, you are mistaken. Of course it is. If it wasn't, how did the press find out and cover it?

Anonymous said...

11:23 -

The one greatest thing anyone can do for working men and women and the unions which represent them is create jobs.

Democrats tax employers, thereby removing their ability to create jobs. Republicans cut taxes, thus giving employers the ability to use the money they generate to create jobs. No matter how many jobs Government creates with the tax money it collects, the private sector will invariably create more with the same money.

It's pretty simple, really.

All this class warfare nonsense the Democrats pull is just smoke and mirrors. There is no good reason to keep increasing taxes. There is no good reason to reverse any tax cut. In fact, there is no such thing as a bad tax cut.

All Government needs to do is admit that it is fundamentally incompetent to do most of what it does and stop doing anything the private sector does better.

It's called "getting the most bang for the buck."

Anonymous said...

Bernardo has plenty of friends in "labor".... just wait

Anonymous said...

If Bernardo showed up to help a church out, everyone would be crying Conservative Christian!!! When Democrats help out a chuch... they're all just do-gooders. How do you explain that?

Brittany Turner said...

7:55, the press didn't show up. I was contacted by the Mid Hudson News Network last night and provided them a link to my photos. I also passed the info along to Jeremy, because I thought he might be interested.

Publicizing a great community effort doesn't really have a political correlation. It is to recognize the wonderful volunteers who took time on a Saturday to benefit others. Stories that don't involve negativity and political bickering actually interest some people.

Brittany Turner said...

10:00, I spoke with Mr. Bernardo before the event and he explained that he would like to attend but he had a previous commitment. He did offer to send volunteers. Unfortunately, they ultimately did not attend.

Regardless, we had a great group of volunteers from a broad political spectrum.

UCConservative said...

Irme, Dems will never get this. The government makes more money with lower takes. Higher taxes makes people spend less.

Anonymous said...

It is a real shame that we can't have elections every month - look at all the work that gets done.

Anonymous said...

Apparently, Brittany was on some sort of break while Elliott was on the ladder helping out.

Anonymous said...

I see no mention of Hein being at the event, so I do not know why so many people are attacking Bernardo for not being there.

Anonymous said...

Could you do everyone a favor and ban Brittany and Imre from your blog. Neither make any sense.

Anonymous said...

Brittany adds a nice perspective to an otherwise slanted blog

Brittany Turner said...

I was there the entire day; Elliott didn't work. In fact, he was there with his son's dog and couldn't.

Bill, none of the elected officials actually working are up for reelection this year.

Anonymous said...

I see what you are writing but the pix show otherwise. Sorry, on this one, I am sidding with my own eyes.

Anonymous said...

Brittany- You should really consider changing the photo of yourself when posting to this blog. I personally enjoy seeing you holding your breast in one hand and a drink in the other. But if you to be taken seriously a more professional shot would be appropiate.

Anyway- As someone who knows Auerbach and deals with him on a daily basis I can say that he is committed to seeing Ellenville thrive in the face of economic hardships that have hit this small community. If he puts in half the effort to the County position that he does in Ellenville the County will be in much better shape financially in the years to come.

Anonymous said...

To 10pm anon (from a ways up above...) - trust me, not all posts re. this event were positive...

Jeremy simply chose to reject the negative ones [as might happen with this...]

I'd be much more impressed if these guys (and gals, if that applies) had gone around soliciting donations for school supplies and clothes for children at our local shelters...

Perhaps Bernardo and Quigley would like to give "that" (putting children first?) a go?

N.S. / Phoenix

Anonymous said...

Nancy, this was a positive event. Anytime a community comes together for the greater good, it's a positive thing.

Brittany Turner said...

NS/Phoenix, there are additional projects coming up in the future, including work on foster homes recommended by DSS. The church was the first. And yes, gals applies, even if it was only me. :)

Brittany Turner said...

Jessie,

I'm not sure why you "enjoy" this picture. My mother and I were cleaning spiders off of my dress at my sister's rehearsal dinner. I don't think there's anything special about it.

I really don't see why something more "professional" would be warranted. I'm commenting on a blog that deals with local politics; it's really not all that serious. Besides, given your interpretation of the photo, it could certainly be deemed professional (bartender is a profession, as is adult entertainment, so that takes care of both hands.)

Why don't you make your profile public and add a photo of your own, instead of worrying about someone else's? :)

Anonymous said...

I would have to respond yes... and no to that, as I have not forgotten the hefty grant received for renovations of the Old Dutch Church...

Good? Yes.

Priority issues in my opinion? No.

My issue I guess is one of priority needs versus showmanship in relation to certain community alliances...

Will this service subtly nudge the folks that attend this church (which I know nothing about) towards voting for certain candidates?

I don't know.

Would helping out the children at the shelters do the same?

I don't know.

But I do think that candidates and politicians should pay more attention to where they choose to plant their seeds...

Because, as the saying goes, "the children are our future..." (From a well-known song, "The Greatest Love of All") - and we surely owe those children something good, don't we?

Peace,

N.S. / Phoenix

Anonymous said...

12:36 phoenix
how much more do you want bernardo to give to "the children" he spent millions of dollars of his own money building a recreational facility for "the children" of a very depressed area of this county

quigley has spent tens of thousands of dollars of his own money helping coleman high school

what have hein or auerbach done with their own money to help anyone?

Brittany Turner said...

12:07, steadying a ladder does not constitute work.

Anonymous said...

I don't know what (other than what has been posted) either Bern.. or Q have thus far done for the children of the community. But Bern...'s is a business venture, is it not? And it sounds like Q's is again leaning in the religious alliance direction...

I don't know. I've about given up on trying to figure out ANY of this local political stuff...

And probably the national isn't far behind...

So, have fun boys and girls... I guess for a lot of you that IS what it is all about.

Peace,

N.S. / Phoenix

Brittany Turner said...

Additional photos from this event are now available on our website at www.hvalf.org. See if you can play the Ulster County version of "Where's Waldo?" ;)