The fuss that will be 

From the kerfuffle over the potential Dana Reserve tree slaughter to the ongoing wahmageddon of the Oceano Community Services District to the danger zone of the Five Cities fire funding to the avarice of the SLO Town parking fee-gouging to the NIMBYism of the SLO safe parking snafu to the barf-in-my-mouth-a-little white pride racism to the get-over-it-you-lost SLO County vote recounts to the dependably effed-up Paso Robles Joint Unified School Board, it's been a banner year for nincompoop-filled clown cars on an endless funeral procession memorializing the final nail in the coffin of common sense. Whew!

click to enlarge

Never have so many done so much to accomplish so little to solve problems and make life better for residents. And the fun doesn't stop! And we have the federal government joining the fray. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is suing local moving company Meathead Movers over age discrimination. Since the company was founded by two high school aged brothers in 1997 with the novel idea to hire strapping young student athletes to move furniture, it's grown to also cover Oxnard, Santa Ana, Fresno, Bakersfield, and Temecula. True, it advertises as being staffed by student athletes, but does that mean the company discriminated by age?

Not according to CEO and co-founder Aaron Steed, who told New Times, "What's so mind boggling here is that there wasn't even a complaint filed against us. No person that has worked for us or has interviewed or has applied, raised their hand and said, 'I've been discriminated against.' The EEOC brought this on by themselves, and it's a mystery why they did."

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 forbids employment discrimination against anyone 40 years old or older, but you can exclude a prospective employee if they're unable to do the job, and Meathead Movers employees must have the muscles to move heavy objects and hustle all day.

"We move heavy things ... up and down stairs," Steed added. "Whenever we're not moving anything, the job standard at Meathead Movers is to then run to get more ... all while having a great upbeat attitude for our clients and treating them like gold."

If Meathead Movers is "discriminating" because many people older than 40 can't physically do the job, what's the U.S. Military doing when it requires enlisted soldiers to be between 17 and 35 years old, medically and physically fit, and in good moral standing? This EEOC suit sounds like a shakedown of a successful company whose physically demanding work lends itself toward younger and fitter employees. Steed also noted that their customer services department has employees in their 40s to 60s and one who's 70. Those working as packers and movers must be able to complete strenuous labor, so what's the EEOC's endgame, force old people to move pianos?

The feds said they'd settle for a cool $15 million.

"The EEOC's actions... [are] threatening 320 families' livelihoods," Steed said, citing his company's 320 employees and the bankruptcy potential. "If anyone over the age of 40 wants to accommodate that job description, they're more than welcome to apply."

Meathead Movers has until Feb. 1 to respond to the demand.

Speaking of undermining the little guy, the struggle continues for Cal Poly faculty members and the faculty of 22 other California State University campuses to negotiate a fair contract. Citing low pay, growing workloads, and systemic inequities, the California Faculty Association (CFA) is demanding a 12 percent pay increase, manageable workloads, more mental health counselors for students, expanded paid parental leave, and more, and they've voted to authorize a systemwide strike.

Actions already took place in December at Cal Poly Pomona, San Francisco State, CSU Los Angeles, and Sacramento State. In total, 95 percent of voting CFA members said yes to a strike, and action could happen at Cal Poly in January.

Public sentiment toward unions has waxed and waned over the years, but it seems like unions are making a comeback as more and more people realize how instrumental they've been in creating better working conditions. The 40-hour work week, sick leave, minimum wage, overtime, workers' comp, sexual harassment laws, and much more are thanks to unions. But sinister organizations are still trying to undermine unions and workers' rights.

Cal Poly faculty members recently received a postcard from Freedom Foundation, with a photo of a Christmas-adorned smiling couple holding an armful of presents under the headline, "Give yourself a Christmas bonus!" Beneath, it says, "End your monthly union dues. Put your own present under the tree!"

On the back side is a card to be filled out that's pre-addressed to the CFA general manager stating, "Effective immediately, I resign any membership I may have in all levels of the California Faculty Association." It goes on to cite the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Janus v. AFSCME, which curtailed unions' ability to collect fees from those they negotiate for but who do not voluntarily join the union.

What Freedom Foundation is trying to do is to trick faculty members into withholding dues to their union, effectively defunding it and hampering its ability to negotiate a fair contact. The conservative organization says they're "fighting for workers' rights." Ha-ha-ha! Merry Christmas, indeed. Δ

The Shredder advocates for more cheer. Wish it happy New Year at [email protected].