Tonight from 6-8pm I will be at my union office asking questions of a couple candidates for a city council position that will be opening up. Gonna be asking what their positions are on supporting affordable family healthcare, livable wages and affordable housing that service employees who work in downtown Seattle can afford so they aren't forced to commute from further and further out thus reducing their quality of life and clogging the freeways and highways in the process. Should be fun. Trying to create an amiable relationship as we have with others that we can build on in the coming years. It should be not unlike preaching to the choir. They are both good candidates and, according to someone at the union, it's too bad they have to be running against one another but there is only one position opening up.

Then Thursday we sit at the bargaining table again. We should be able to finish up the non-economic issues at this session so we can start hammering out economics such as future wage increases, affordable health care, vacation pay, sick pay, pensions, etc. I knew this would be a long hard fight and I'm prepared, as are the rest of us on the bargaining team, to stick this out to the end.

It just feels so good - after so many years of feeling like a total loser -  to be on the forefront of making a real difference for the good. Pushing that proverbial envelope yet one more time.