The history of workers in Idaho and our future

Idahoans know what it means to put in an honest day’s work. From the ranchers and farm workers who bring food to our tables, the factory worker punching a clock and caregivers looking after aging family members — Idaho was built by working people. Unfortunately, it is getting harder for most of us to get ahead.

If we look to the past we can learn a lot about the present and how we got here. In 1892, miners in North Idaho were forced to strike after owners demanded they work longer hours for less pay. The miners wanted to keep the living wages they had negotiated for all workers — not just the skilled subsurface miners, but the surface workers at the mine, too. They understood that there is dignity in all work, a value that still unites Idahoans today.

In true Wild West fashion, deception and violence followed. These actions, and later disputes, became pivotal moments in the struggle for workers’ rights. Miners from a few small towns in Idaho showed the power of workers standing together in solidarity. Across the country, the labor movement grew, and with that came progress. The eighthour workday, weekends off, pensions, safety standards and more are benefits workers enjoy today thanks to our parents and grandparents being united for a better life.

Here’s some more Idaho history: In 1985, Republicans in the Idaho Legislature overrode Democratic Gov. John Evans’ veto of the “Right to Work’’ law. Still in effect today, Right to Work is a policy designed to undermine the power of working people. While backers of these laws like to claim that they protect workers against being forced to join a union, the truth is that federal law has long made that illegal. Its real purpose is to tilt the scales in favor of big corporations and further rig the system at the expense of working families.

We see the consequences of a de- cades-long campaign against workers and unions today. Wages are slow to rise while housing prices, grocery bills and gas prices soar. The wealth of our towns and small businesses have been taken by corporate conglomerates, with record profits, while long-promised investments go unfulfilled. And craftily manufactured controversies, pushed by out-of-state interest groups, divide the working class and suppress our history.

It is said that those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it. That is why we must look at our past to move forward. Every worker deserves to be free to join a union, earn a fair wage, go to the hospital without going broke and finally get some breathing room. Idaho Democrats are committed to building an economy that works for all of us.

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

‘Very last warning’

A German court announced it was giving an 82-year-old man a “last warning” to avoid jail after he was found guilty of drug dealing. The retired seaman has been convicted 24 times prior for the same offense.

The man claimed he was only selling marijuana to add to his small monthly pension. While prosecutors had asked the court to impose a prison term of 34 months in view of the man’s lengthy criminal history, the judges said they would make an exception, warning the man that it was his “very last warning.”

Indian official drains reservoir to retrieve phone he dropped while taking selfie

A government official in India was suspended from his job after ordering a water reservoir drained so he could retrieve his smartphone, which he dropped while taking a selfie.

The man first asked local divers to jump in to find the phone, claiming it contained sensitive government data. After initial attempts failed, the man asked for the reservoir to be emptied using diesel pumps.

More than 500,000 gallons of water were pumped out of the reservoir — enough to irrigate at least 1,500 acres of land during India’s scorching summer, local media reported.

The smartphone was eventually recovered three days later, but it wouldn’t start up because of water damage.

Authorities later suspended the man after he was widely criticized for wasting valuable water resources. He claimed the water in the reservoir was unusable for irrigation and had permission from a senior official to drain it.