A Tempered View of SEIU's Purpose

Back in 2011, I honestly didn't see the purpose or need of a union for Oregon State employees like myself.  I wrote about Union Troubles on this blog and put these representation issues out of my brain...temporarily.  I say temporarily because the need for union representation became pretty apparent just a few years later.  There is no reason to discuss the particulars here, but you can read more about it in this Catholic365 article.  What became crystal clear to me is that state agency leadership is prone to make the same errors in judgment (perhaps worse) than private sector managers and administrators.  In trying to stand up for a colleague, I found myself under proverbial fire in my office for years.

While I am fortunate to have an awesome manager now and new leadership in place within the agency, echoes of the earlier troubles certainly remain throughout my work environment. In a sense, there seems a little bit of a disconnect between what conservative Republicans like myself profess to believe about Oregon State leadership and the usual Republican position about unions such as SEIU. That is, we agree that not all state managers and leadership are always making good choices, right? We agree that all too frequently politics and hidden agendas infuse these public workplaces in ways both readily apparent and those of a more subtle nature. What we seem to disagree upon is the need of the front line worker to have someone in his corner to level the playing field. Years ago, I witnessed some truly awful things happening within my workplace. The people in authority had the power of state government behind them, but what did I have? Until I reached out to SEIU for a little assistance, I had very little going my way (except prayer).

Like other issues we face as adults, the issue of union representation isn't necessarily quite as black and white a picture as many paint it to be. The problem, even for Republican state employees like myself, is that we agree that not all agencies are managed and supervised with good judgment and high ethics. That being the case, all state employees really do need the union to help begin to level the playing field. Until we can trust our state agencies to consistently act the way they should, the union remains a necessary evil, if you will, to safeguard our workplace rights. That's why I won't stop paying union dues even after the Supreme Court's Janus Decision. When it comes to the other political issues that unions frequently align themselves with, I continue to respectfully differ with them on those important matters.  It is possible to disagree with many of the union's views outside of the workplace, yet welcome their assistance when those needs arise.  Let's work towards making unions obsolete; until then, though, I will continue to support mine with my time and finances.


Note: I currently serve as a labor representative on my agency's Labor Management Committee.  In the past, I have also briefly served as a steward in order to assist a colleague.

Recreating a Delightful Italian Dessert

One of the many memorable things about last year's visit to  Sperlonga, Italy, situated on the Tyrrhenian Sea, was a delightfully simple, yet elegant ice cream dessert I ordered at Ristorante Scylla.  Today, I decided to recreate this dish.  Unfortunately, it was not quite as simple as I anticipated.  

First, you will need four oranges.  After rinsing well, use a vegetable peeler to remove the orange rind.  Try to avoid getting the white pith as much as possible, as it will unnecessarily sour the candied orange pieces.  It is suggested that you cut the orange peel into smaller pieces than I did.   

The next part in the process requires bringing about four cups of water to a boil, dropping in the orange peel, then lowering the temp to a simmer for fifteen minutes.  After the time is up, slowly stir in about two cups of sugar.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for one hour. You will want to stay around the kitchen for this period, as you will need to stir and monitor the boiling mixture.

Once the mixture boils down sufficiently, remove the candied oranges and place them on a rack to dry.  Strain the orange syrup at this point and save for later.  (This is also a good time to add additional flavorings like lavender.)  This essentially becomes a marmalade syrup.

The next challenge is slicing the ice cream into attractive cubes.  After cutting the ice cream out of its carton, it's time to get to work.  I bought a salad chopping tool for this purpose, but it did not work well.  We also tried a pizza cutter with no luck.  In the end, the best tool was a baker's dough cutter.  

Enjoy the cubed ice cream with candied orange peel and drizzled syrup over the top.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

(If planning to travel to Sperlonga, there are a few practical pieces of advice I'd like to offer that could spare you some trouble and inconvenience   Feel free to contact me for details.)