Back when I was a Boy Scout, the community smiled on us when we cleaned up a park, planted trees, or pledged our allegiance to country. My how things have changed.
As if the SEIU didn’t already have a black eye (pun intended) from their thug activities at town hall meetings this summer, a local Pennsylvania union hack has taken it to a new low. Nick Balzano, local executive board member for the SEIU turned an Allentown city council meeting upside down with a rant against the Boy Scouts, and specifically against aspiring Eagle Scout Kevin Anderson, who, with local troop 301, cleaned up a park in the area. The act of selfless community service and adherence to Boy Scout principles enraged Balzano to the point where he angrily lobbied the city council to put a stop to it. In fact, he demanded it.
“None of them can pick up a hoe. They can’t pick up a shovel. They can’t plant a flower. They can’t clear a bicycle path. They can’t do anything. Our people do that.”
Apparently, Balzano cited a city agreement in which only union workers would be doing that kind of work. The problem is that the union workers that would have done it were laid off. For Balzano, that means the work doesn’t get done at all. Not only did he threaten to file a grievance against the Boy Scouts-and even Cub Scouts that were involved, he threatened to go after individuals. Yes, union muscle coming down on a little Cub Scout.
The fact is, that this was a project that was undertaken in order for the scout Anderson to meet the requirements for Eagle Scout. Nobody was taking anybody’s job away. This was obvious, and as a result, Balzano’s loud mouth got him canned. Balzano and 7 other union thugs called it quits under pressure from not only the city council of Allentown, but from within the union itself. This kind of publicity was more than even the SEIU could bear. As I said, the SEIU’s reputation has been damaged enough already. This was the last thing they needed, and as a result, Balzano is out.
Wasn’t it Barack Obama that encouraged community activism and volunteerism? Yes, I believe it was. Maybe he should have delivered that message to his pals at the SEIU.
I heard about this story but haven’t had a chance to write about it. This is so asinine I can’t even begin to describe it. Here we have the Boy Scouts doing community service and the union thugs have to step in because it is supposed to be their job. It shows us the difference between the people who care about others and are trying to do the right thing and people who care only about themselves.
I wonder what rank & file union folks think. I bet many of them have boys that happen to be Boy Scouts.