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Privatized Ferries
The movement to privatize the operation of the Guemes Island ferry by [Skagit County] Republican commissioners Hart, Wolden, and Anderson is motivated by a number of reasons according to county sources. The county's reasons simply don't pass the sniff test. The manager of the Lummi Island ferry, when interviewed by this writer, admitted having few problems in managing that run, which is very comparable to the Guemes run and has crew members with the same union. He reported having none of the problems with the Coast Guard which are allegedly plaguing Skagit County. He also experiences little difficulty in negotiating with the Inland Boatman's Union.
No, I am not persuaded by the county's flimsy justifications for moving towards privatization, nor am I lulled by commissioner Hart's assurances that privatization is not a "done deal," and that the county is simply taking a look at what a private operator might have to offer. If this were true, then why was the matter kept secret from the Guemes Ferry Committee, the ferry crew, and the public until the last moment?
I believe the real reason behind the sudden privatization move is pure and simple union busting by our Republican commissioners. They'll do it under the euphemism of :"out-sourcing" or "contracting-out" to a private operator who will undoubtedly low-ball costs for the first year or two in order to obtain a contract with the county. There will be no measure taken of the social cost of the lost family-wage jobs now held by the current ferry crew and the adverse impact to their families. Ultimately, however, ferry user fees will have to increase in order to provide a profit to the operator. Furthermore, Guemes Islanders won't be able to hold the county commissioners responsible for the day-to-day quality of ferry operations.
I urge all who care about maintaining the quality of service of the Guemes ferry run and who care about preserving family-wage jobs to call the county commissioners at (360) 336-9300.
Howard Pellet
Chinese "Democracy"
Norman Solomon's piece on Rupert Murdoch as "Man of the Year" contained a reference to China as a "totalitarian state" and Murdoch "kowtowing" to Chinese by not broadcasting BBC "reports" on "human rights abuses".
Is not Solomon and the "Free Press" acting like rightwing Murdoch by printing such anti-Chinese, anti-communist venom? China is not "totalitarian", and not as brainwashed as the USA and apparently, the pseudo-left "Free Press" is. Those BBC reports contained CIA-fabricated hoaxes and disinformation about "human rights" meant to attack China's government and open the door further for U.S. corporate exploitation of China and the destruction of Chinese socialist democracy.
If there is any "kowtowing" (to use Pat Buchanan's and Jesse Helm's favorite China-related racial slur), it is by Solomon and the BBC to rightwing, corporate, CIA-created smears and propaganda against the Chinese.
In addition, the piece contained a cartoon of Murdoch and a Jewish leader shaking hands that was drawn in such a fashion as to suggest an anti-semitic caricature.
Anonymous posting from the Net
[Editor's Note: We agree with you on one point - the imagery to accompany the article could be seen as stereotypical. It won't happen again.]
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Contents this page were published in the July/August, 1997 edition of the Washington Free Press.
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Copyright © 1997 WFP Collective, Inc.
