ldhintz's blog

Two years ago I was endorsed by the AFL-CIO and one thing they they keep hoping is that we will all push for the right of public employees to collectively bargain. It is important to keep talking about this. This is illegal in North Carolina but someday we may be able to change the law. Also ALEC is able to get more states to pass so called Right to Work legislation. (The south has had this for a long time.) Basically what it does is it lets non union members sponge off the work of the union members who worked hard to negotiate benefits for all the employees. In Right to Work states the employees don't have to pay union dues but get the negotiated benefits.  Hope everyone saw the big article in the N and O today about coal miners. The last union mine closed in KY. Union miners pointed out all the benefits the union brought to the mining industry. Slowly ( and in some cases quickly) those benefits are being lost.

The NC Forest Service has just shared that Wake, Orange and Durham counties are joining the quarantine area for emerald ash borer. This has wiped out millions of trees in Ohio and Michigan. Locally I have noticed that with new road construction often shade trees are not replaced. This needs to change. The easiest way for the ash borer to spread is to move firewood from one county to another. This also needs to change. See for more info: http://www.ncagr.gov/paffairs/release/2015/fivecountyexpansionEAB.htm
Addition information about the emerald ash borer and the quarantine can be found at these websites.
http://www.ncforestservice.gov/forest_health/fh_eabfaq.htm
http://www.ncagr.gov/plantindustry/Plant/entomology/EABFAQ.htm