I seriously cannot believe this article on being "Buffalo-ish" which they describe as similar to being Jewish. Its offensive for Buffalonians, its offensive to Jews, it makes no sense. It is pretty much just pure crap. Maybe there just aren't enough good things to say about Buffalo anymore that they need more filler crap. To make it worse the article is written by an x-buffalonian living in Chicago, who left Buffalo because of the weather? What an idiot.

Here is a link to the article called "ON BEING BUFFALO-ISH" By John Wingspread Howell

I am going to say it - I hate how Buffalo Rising has become so sensationalist. Maybe I just hate Queenseyes posts - which is just about all of them.

It is so contradictory so often and a lot of times I just can't find any common ground with his writing and my beliefs in the City of Buffalo and what makes it great. Remember when Buffalo Rising was more of a website with lots of authors. To me it just seems like his personal blog now and that he is desperate for sensationalist articles to feed his advertising agenda.

Today, he was talking about how BSC Group's Bashara Issa workers have voted to unionize when working on the Statler tower. He says?

Would you pay $30 to $40 ((e:paul) note ->I think originally originally this said $50 but it got edited because all the comments refer to a $50 amount) or more to an employee who pushes a broom or dumps bricks into a dumpster? What if you were made to do so? That is the labor issue that BSC Group's Bashar Issa is facing at this moment....This past Saturday he told me that Local 210 had finally succeeded in luring his unskilled workers to vote union. ... when asked about the Buffalo City Tower? Well, he doesn't think that he can pull it off if his workers are unionized. For Bashar, that is a sad thought, but at the same time he knows that there are plenty of other opportunities around the world that will keep him (and his money) busy. ... The BSC Group is employing many laborers who have not had steady jobs in construction before. Bashar feels that he has been fare all along and is visibly upset that it has come down to this.

Originally this blog claimed that BSC Group's Bashar Issa was going to lose out as his "unskilled" labor unionized and started costing $50/hour for broom sweepers. That is totally ridiculous.

First of all, did Bashar Issa not know that Buffalo is a generally unionized city for construction? And secondly, who pays even unionized broom sweepers even $40/hour. I am sure if they are being paid that much, they are doing way more than just pushing brooms and maybe something very dangerous. As a highly educated, highly trained NYS union worker I do not make even close to that. In fact almost no one in my department makes even close to that in terms of NYS union work. I guess it is a different union but I would find it hard to believ a broom sweeper is making $50 for just broom sweeping.

I am also so sick of people putting down unions. Ya, if he built in in Arizona, he could use non-unionized Mexicans but then people would complain about all the jobs being lost. Some unions did/do abuse power but if you honestly look at it, don't almost all corporations abuse/misuse power and why should the people at the bottom of the ladder be denied things like living wages and healthcare so the people at the very top and squeeze out the extra pennies for their yachts and $10 million dollar vacation homes.

Maybe there would not even need to be unions if living wages and health care were considered in corporations instead of massive wages for the highest in the totem polls.

All in all I really don't care about the big stupid glass tower that might never be built. I am so sick of all the rich people trying to convert Buffalo into something that is going to be glamorous only for the cream of the crop. I guess most people probably think that sounds hypocritical considering my own financial status - but honestly, I would rather pay skilled union workers to build big glass towers hovering over my downtown, than unskilled, underpaid workers who will have much less pride in there work if they feel ripped off.

Okay I got to go pick up (e:terry) from his union job and pick up some stuff at my union job.

I think the best comment on their site was this one. I found it when looking back at their comments.

thisoldcrackhouse - Today, 21:15

"I have a degree, an MBA, a PHD and I don't make that much money" Are you kidding me? Do you think that just because you survived the "rigors" of higher education that you somehow deserve to be compensated better than some guy who busts his ass day in,day out, especially in this climate? Was the poor fellow who lost his life working on the Webb building being overcompensated? Please, if you have never done this type of work before, refrain from making comments about how much someone should be paid. I have a four year degree, spent several years in the banking industry, but for the last 18 years have been employed as a skilled union craftsman. I can tell you firsthand that sitting in a cozy cubicle or classroom does not make any of you experts on what "menial" labor is worth.