Mayor Whitmire
I participated in a text poll yesterday. It appears the poll was conducted by the cheating, crooked Ken Paxton campaign or a PAC supporting Paxton. They asked the typical campaign poll questions. They also had me watch an attack ad on State Rep. James Talarico and wanted my reaction to the ad. The ad focused on the six genders and non-binary crap. It looks like that could be the line of attack on Rep. Talarico. Look for the attack ads any day now.
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We all know there are folks in H-Town who don’t think much of Mayor John Whitmire. Most are from the left side of the political spectrum. I am sure they heard about this from the Chron:
Thousands of Houston airport workers will earn at least $20 an hour starting next week after Mayor John Whitmire signed an executive order Wednesday raising the hourly minimum wage by $5.
The raise marks the latest win for organized labor in Houston, coming three months after unionized housekeepers at the George R. Brown Convention Center secured the same $5-an-hour raise, to $20. Both victories are part of a broader, years-long push by Houston unions to lift wages for thousands of service workers at city-owned facilities.
Airport workers’ wages will continue incrementally rising over the next two years, reaching $23 on Jan. 1, 2028. The increases will apply to 35,000 airport workers who do not work directly for airlines, according to Service Employees International Union Texas, including many of the concession, passenger service and other workers travelers encounter from the “curb to cabin.”
“As strong as our city is, it’s only as strong as our workers,” Whitmire said. “Organized labor works, and it’s worked for many years. And I’m so proud to be the best mayor that organized labor has ever put in this position.”
Elsa Flores, president of SEIU Texas, said higher wages would provide workers greater financial stability while also helping the airports retain employees.
“Higher wages means less turnover. Less turnover means smoother-run airports,” Flores said. “It means safer airports and it means airports with higher customer satisfaction.”
For Augusta Dillon, a tool room agent who has worked at George Bush Intercontinental Airport for three years, the announcement came one day after her car was repossessed because she could no longer afford the payments.
Dillon works four 10-hour shifts a week and currently earns $16.75 an hour.
“We don’t just live paycheck to paycheck,” Dillon said. “We are always robbing Peter to pay Paul.”
Dillon said the prospect of eventually earning at least $23 an hour gave her more reason to remain at the airport.
“This is truly a blessing to me,” she said.
Mayor Whitmire has devoted his public service career to supporting working women and men. I am not surprised this happened. It is a big deal.
I would hope the left side of the political spectrum in H-Town acknowledges this effort to make life better for some hard-working H-Town folks.
The featured photo has Mayor Whitmire with members of organized labor from the 2023 mayoral campaign.
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Our lead in the AL West is now 2 games with 40 games remaining. The next 9 games are at Daikin Park against AL West teams. We need to make our move. We start it off by hosting the Mariners this weekend. Sunday’s game is a 6 pm evening affair that will air on NBC and Peacock.