Author Archives: Marty Ryan

A New Era of Union Leadership

Today’s labor unions are not the violent mobs of the past. Compared to present corporate America, labor unions are docile. There are far more recorded incidents of illegal and unethical practices by American corporations, such as tax evasion, price fixing, … Continue reading

Posted in Fairness | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Vail Marauders

We were called The Vail Marauders. We didn’t coin that name. Two old men sitting on a bench outside of a bar watched a few of us Vail kids walk across the street. One said to the other: “There goes … Continue reading

Posted in Youth | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Full Circle

Coming home from the grocery store this week, the traffic was erratic. I could see young people moving over toward my lane in traffic as they were looking down on their phones; going so fast I tensed up wondering if … Continue reading

Posted in General | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Can It!

In 2009, I won a blue ribbon at the Iowa State Fair for my caramels. It was my mom’s recipe, and it took me several tries to get them to taste and be the same consistency as hers. But the … Continue reading

Posted in General | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Brain Drain

Have you ever walked into a room and couldn’t remember why you were entering that room? I have the answer as to why that phenomenon is common among us old folks. Bear with me. It’s no surprise that my annual … Continue reading

Posted in General | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Political Baptism II

1987 was a busy year for me in politics. Not only was I the Secretary-Treasurer of the UFCW Iowa Branch and the Secretary-Treasurer of the local union, UFCW Local 440, I was the Chair of the Crawford County Democratic Party. … Continue reading

Posted in General | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment