From The Deckplates

Pete Hegseth stopped at BIW on his Arsenal of Freedom Tour Monday afternoon. Maine media mostly focused on Hegseth’s divisive rhetoric. You can read some of their stories by following the links below. I want to highlight his populist rhetoric instead. After bragging about his war crimes, Hegseth demanded of defense contractors:

“No more excuses. No more barriers to entry. No more monopolies. No more egregious executive bonuses. No more stock buybacks. No more ridiculous CEO salaries. Especially for companies that can’t make things on time!”

General Dynamics CEO Phebe Novakovic was present for these remarks. Witnesses at the event described her as visibly uncomfortable when Hegseth launched into this tirade. I wish I could’ve seen the look on Chuck Krugh’s face when someone shouted, “It ain’t about the money!”

Hegseth agreed it ain’t about the money. “This is not about Wall Street, dividends, and stock buybacks,” he said. “It’s about the warriors and what we can deliver as fast as possible. It’s about the people, the investment, and the workforce.” The crowd erupted when he added, “We need to pay our people and our workers more in the conduct of their work.”

Democrats better get with the program. I’d like to start hearing this kind of rhetoric from politicians who have the same values as me. The crowd affirmed a lot of what Joan Williams had to say in Outclassed. BIW’s workforce was more enthusiastic about Hegseth’s anti-corporate rhetoric than his anti-diversity politics. The IAM’s very own Taylor Rehmet showed it’s possible to win on a pro-worker platform without stooping to Hegseth’s level. It’s possible to win without blaming the affordability crisis on immigrants or trans kids. “I’m not interested in the cultural war issues,” Rehmet said. “I’m working on, how do we get these people paid correctly?” This proved a winning strategy in Texas. Not only did Rehmet win, he won by 14 points in a district Trump carried by 17!¹ In Maine, Graham Platner and Troy Jackson can do the same.

In other news, Scott MacDonald suddenly backed out of being the Recording Secretary. He cited opposition from members of the Executive Board to having a second shifter in that role. The 2^nd place winner took his spot. Cameron Fisher is now Local S6’s Recording Secretary. She is a good friend of mine, and I know she will excel in the role. Her first challenge will be running the Negotiating Committee’s election. The election will take place next Thursday at 45 Floral St. in Bath.