Larry Bird, paid sick days and Work not loving you back

"I learned to be tough by watching my parents and the sacrifices they made for us," Bird told MacMullen. Bird also learned the virtue of hard work. 

The stories and myths surrounding Larry Bird are legendary, if you'll forgive the obvious pun.  In Bird Watching, Larry Legend recounted to Jackie MacMullen a story of his father, who by all accounts was not an agreeable man and who suffered personal demons which lead him to take his own life in 1975.  Bird's father worked construction, and the story goes, broke his ankle on a Friday and stuffed his swollen and discolored foot back into his boot on Monday to go to work.

Now, as a general rule we are taught to laud and nod approvingly about Joe Bird's dedication and work ethic.  The so-called Virtue of Hard Work.  And Bird in the 1980's played through numerous injuries which was an indication of his toughness and determination.  Bird also hurt his back putting in a driveway at his mom's house in Indiana.  Now... Bird later in life admitted that if he had won another title in the 1980's he would have retired probably in 1988.  Besides Bird, his Hall of Fame teammate Kevin McHale broke a bone in his foot during their 1987 Season and played the rest of the year because this was Celtics of the 1980's were a dynasty and the only thing which kept them from winning the Finals in 1987 were the Showtime Lakers.

Sticking with basketball, Michael Jordan famously played the "Flu Game" during the 1997 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz.  Rumors have always swirled that it was either a sabotaged Pizza from Utah Jazz fans or Jordan was hungover (which would have been difficult but, not impossible considering the strict liquor laws in Utah).  But, after the game bosses across the country were trying to shame workers/employees by pointing out Jordan wasn't calling in sick to work.  Of course, Jordan was being paid $30 Million to play for the Bulls that year (and probably made 10x that from his lucrative endorsements). 

I've had to come to grips with using my accrued time-off.  For the last 10 years Pre-Covid, I haven't taken many days off.  Fortunately, and with a little diligence and preventative care, I've avoided Covid these last 3 years.  But, before Covid it was still a badge of honor for many to come into work sick, even if the flu bug and the fluids you spewed in your work environment infected others.  Well... things are different now.

Paid Sick Days are a necessary and important part of any worker's lives and job.  But, companies chafe at giving them.  And that brings us to Dark Brandon getting it done again.  And once again don't expect the Corporate Media to cover this because the Corporate Media's job is to make Republicans palatable no matter what they do or whom they hurt and to diligently not mention anything which shows a Democratic President winning.  So, while Republicans members of Congress scream 'Bitch' at each other on the floor of the Capitol, President Biden and his diligent staff calmly and methodically gained a big win for Railroad workers,  

“We’re thankful that the Biden administration played the long game on sick days and stuck with us for months after Congress imposed our updated national agreement,” Russo said. “Without making a big show of it, Joe Biden and members of his administration in the Transportation and Labor departments have been working continuously to get guaranteed paid sick days for all railroad workers. 

“We know that many of our members weren’t happy with our original agreement,” Russo said, “but through it all, we had faith that our friends in the White House and Congress would keep up the pressure on our railroad employers to get us the sick day benefits we deserve. Until we negotiated these new individual agreements with these carriers, an IBEW member who called out sick was not compensated.”

Meanwhile, what do Republicans have to offer working Americans?  Nothing, other than Oklahoma stumblebum MarkWayne Mullin pretending he's a tough guy and challenging a Teamster leader You Wanna Go? while lying during a Senate hearing.  Of course, Mullin famously said this year he's "not interested in reality, he's asking the questions!"

Your work won't love you back and Republicans hate you.  Over the past few years Republicans, even ones who took millions in PPP loans from the Government and didn't have to pay back the money, are pissed that President Biden is forgiving student loans and aiding American workers in exerting their power to organize and gain benefits owed to them.  This infuriates Republican who hate the American Dream and want Americans re-shackled into Wage Slavery and perpetual Corporate Bondage.

Republicans long ago, agreed to an alliance with Big Business to undercut Americans at every turn.   American capitalists successfully convinced the Republican Party that they would be better served by the ability for capital to seek employment wherever it was convenient and cheaper.  The Pro-Labor platform of Young Republicans under Dwight D. Eisenhower was replaced with the off-shoring of jobs and the importing of cheaper labor.  Ronnie Raygun heard this clarion call.  Raygun hated powerful worker unions as far back as when he was Governor of California when Dolores Huerta (and Cesar Chavez) put up a struggle against the rapacious grape growers.

As President Reagan (besides war crimes) famously destroyed Unions and began the Republican assault on Worker's lives by shipping manufacturing and heavy industry off-shore, as Big Business instructed him to do so.  Raygun of course also granted amnesty to undocumented people in America, something which modern Republican orthodoxy claims is The Great Replacement Conspiracy and which Republicans have brain-washed their rightwing domestic terrorists to massacre when possible. 

George W(orst POTUS Ever). Bush never saw an American he didn't want working 3 jobs.  Donald John Traitor Trump infamously never paid people who did work for him, including James Comey who won the him the 2016 Election.    

Republicans have long sought to undermine the American worker and reduce the standard of living, and quality of life in America for 90% of society who they deem to lazy and too well-compensated.  Republicans want you hungry and desperate ready to accept any job at any pay with no benefits and no social security or medicare to look forward to;  Republicans want you working by 10 and dead by 65.