Negotiator carries too much baggage

I found it ironic that the photo on the front page of Monday’s Herald has a Boeing Machinist with a sign that says: Remember 2005. Well, I do remember 2005. Matter of fact, one day in 2005 I remember very well is Dec. 19, as that was the day the lead negotiator and former president of the IAM, Mark Blondin, was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after swerving into another car and injuring its driver on I-90 outside of Fall City. Mark Blondin was then subsequently “hidden” by the national to allow the dust to settle, and the union membership voted in Tom Wroblewski in early 2006. As is normal in our state, and with The Herald, this bit of history is being overlooked. Is it due to Mr. Blondin’s affiliation to the IAM, the AFL-CIO and the Democratic Party? Hmmm.

Why, almost three years later, is this man heading the union in negotiations for their contract? Why is Mark Blondin telling union members: “We’re going to win this damn thing by disrupting the shop floor”? Did not Mr. Blondin cause enough disruption on that late night in 2005 or is sanctioning havoc at a private company also part of the game?

Be very careful who leads you and forms your opinion on such a critical matter as a work stoppage. The contract should be negotiated by someone without such a recent checkered past and in good faith.

Doug Barrows

Granite Falls