Trust me, sweat the small stuff

This piece was little more than a blurb regarding Unions protesting PulteGroup (the company name sounds like something out of 1984, doesn't it?) events ostensibly to force congressional hearings on how PulteGroup used federal money. It ends up reading like what it basically is: a corporate press release. The CEO, Richard Dugas, didn't show up to speak at the Detroit Economic Club luncheon because he had a "business conflict" (read: too chickenshit to face the protestors). The company spokesman said the unions were waging a "campaign of intimidation and false information against PulteGroup...." (read: we know the republican playbook well--make a generic accusatory claim because the press is too lazy to actually check it out). The piece closes with the usual, PulteGroup bemoaning that unions are actually trying to make employees lives better (read: can you believe the gall? they actually want decent wages and benefits!).

It's probably seems petty, but what bothers me most about the piece is that PulteGroup, through its spokesman, is actually given a face, while unions are basically a generic boogeyman. And this is a narrative that's been going on a long while, and one that if we don't change, our economic well-being is only going to worsen.

Peace,
emaycee