Book Talk Brings "Big Picture" to AFSCME Members

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Book Talk Brings (Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)A recent meeting of the Library of Congress Professional Guild, AFSCME Local 2910 covered subjects beyond the traditional agenda items of grievances, collective bargaining and working conditions. On Thursday, May 29, Local 2910 sponsored a Book Talk for its members and the general public featuring Pulitzer Prize winner Hedrick Smith, author of "Who Stole the American Dream?” Smith spoke about the origins in the 1970s of the efforts by the corporate elite to counter the gains of citizens’ movements – including organized labor -- and  the development of “shareholder capitalism” in  which making  super profits for CEOs and large shareholders became the  primary goal of corporations and their massive army of business lobbyists.  Encouraged by recent Supreme Court decisions, Smith said that the nation’s elite – the “One Percent” targeted by the Occupy movement -- have “polluted our political system with money and derailed the American Dream of joining the middle class.” The Book Talk was attended by over eighty Library of Congress employees, fifty of whom purchased books which were autographed by Mr. Smith after the event.  Free copies were provided to any employee who joined the union, which resulted in a number of new members.   
photo: Smith (left) with AFSCME Local 2910 member Bob Dardano, who organized the Book Talk; photo by Nan Ernst

 

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