Your turn: City Council is not meant for personal penance

An Op-Ed was submitted by Alderman Bill Rose. After reading it, I couldn’t determine whether I was reading an Op-Ed or fantasy literature written by Gandalf.

Progressives have a habit of reframing an argument and losing sight of what the true issues were at the time of debate regarding his City Council Resolution. Republicans do what they do best … call out political calamity.

Alderman Rose was the self-proclaimed author of a Rockford City Council Resolution in support of the United Auto Workers strike. At face value, one would deem this reasonable.

However, as with many “politicians” there is a hidden agenda to be explored.

Your turn: Rockford City Council members on Barber-Colman vote: Process, no. Project, yes

Weeks ago, a development agreement was reached with J Jeffers & Co. regarding the Colman property. The developer determined that this project would be difficult if they were constrained by a PLA (Project Labor Agreement).

A PLA is crafted between a developer and local unions to determine labor agreements. The developer would agree to certain organized labor desires and labor would provide certain reassurances regarding timeliness, efficiency, etc.

Ald. Rose voted AGAINST local labor and rejected requiring the developer to engage in a PLA with our local labor. He led much of the council discussion advocating a rejection of the PLA. He needs to write an Op-Ed explaining his double-mindedness.

This had repercussions, among them, local labor refused to allow certain Rockford aldermen from participating in the Labor Day Parade due to their rejecting labor’s support for the PLA.

Fast forward. How should he make amends with labor? Alderman Rose put his finger to the wind and determined that a council resolution could be used to assuage local labor.

This was his personal agenda — an attempt to make amends with labor, which is an abuse of the role of City Council. If he needed to make amends publicly, the officers reports portion of the City Council meeting is designed for groveling before the labor unions disenfranchised by his anti-labor vote. It is not promoting a self-serving council resolution.

Being opportunistic, he seized on the United Auto worker’s strike. His council resolution was thinly veiled virtue signaling to the local unions — a “Mulligan,” a “do over," a brazen attempt to politically placate local union labor.

This is so obvious that local labor should be even more incensed. In the fallout-out, City Council Democrats, due to Alderman Rose’s efforts, appear to reject our local labor’s needs and focus on the national labor needs of the UAW-elsewhere.

Alderman Rose in both his OpEd and on the City Council floor went off on a Socialist diatribe (I almost ordered my Mao suit.) about income equity, whatever that is, and partisan national policy rants to disguise his personal agenda.

A note to Ald Rose: When the federal government throws money into an economy and creates artificial demand, interest rates, cost of living, etc. go up. You have a problem with all of this dial 1-800-JOE-BIDEN.

This hypocrisy by Alderman Rose continues.

When Stellantis closed the Belvidere plant, there was no resolution by Alderman Rose. In fact, he never mentions UAW Local 1268 in his Resolution.

When UPS, who has a hub in Rockford, was in tense negotiations with Labor, Alderman Rose was silent.

In fact, nationally in 2022 there were at least 417 labor strikes, in 2023, there were the following strikes: Medieval Times California, HarperCollins, Warrior Met Coal, Alaskan School Bus drivers, Temple University graduate Students , Los Angeles Teacher’s Union (Ald Rose is a teacher, silent), Writers Guild of America, Gannett, Starbucks, Robert Woods Johnson Hospital, Las Vegas Culinary Union.

Currently, there is a Kaiser Permamente Strike that I doubt will get a City Council resolution from Ald. Rose. Why? Because he already crafted his self-serving resolution and used the City Council as a forum for his personal penance to the labor unions.

As for me, did I reject this resolution?

Yes, because of the backstory, the blatant hypocrisy and a cheap use of the City Council by Alderman Rose to regain his stature before the local unions.

The sad part is the disrespect he has shown toward our local unions, such that, they could be duped by such an obvious ploy. If local labor buys this piece of legislative impotence, it is on them.

My position has been consistent. I am not anti-union. I am anti “unionism.”

People have a right to unionize. I am in a union — AFSME 31. My daughter is in a union. However, unions as a private group do not enjoy special privileges. They must compete in both the private and public sectors for a role. They must also win over fellow workers to their cause through reason and wisdom.

Our City Council is faced with many challenges within Rockford. This sham of a resolution to satisfy an alderman’s contrition is not one of them.

Council resolutions cannot erase history. If an alderman has issues with a union, do it on your own time.

Let’s get back to business. Reimagine Rockford.

Dr. Timothy Durkee represents the city's 1st Ward on the Rockford City Council.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Your turn: City Council is not meant for personal penance