07 Dec 2012 Project 21’s Stacy Swimp Gets Cell Phone Smashed by Union Protesters in Lansing, But Lays Seeds for Growth with Rank-and-File

Project 21’s Stacy Swimp had a run-in with labor union protestors yesterday that left him with a smashed cell phone, but also with optimism about the ability of conservatives to reach rank-and-file union members with our message.

The scene was Lansing, Michigan, where the state legislature was to vote on (and ultimately, passed) right-to-work legislation for both private and public sector employees (excluding, unfortunately, police and fire). Stacy and Scott Hagerstrom from Michigan Americans for Prosperity joined the forces in support of right-to-work laws, broadcasting on the scene Ronald Reagan’s famous right-to-work speech and talking with union members about what conservatives really believe.

Stacy has long been a proponent not only of right-to-work laws, but also the as-soon-as-possible repeal of the racist Davis-Bacon Act.

Davis-Bacon was adopted decades ago with the support of organized labor as a way to keep black Americans away from unionized highway government-construction jobs particularly prized by workers — prized because the legislation also sets an artificially high wage rate for those jobs, to the detriment of taxpayers.

The law remains racist, and is still wasteful.

It is safe to say that most of the overwhelming number of black American voters who voted to re-elect Barack Obama know nothing about the semi-obscure Davis-Bacon Act (the mainstream media apparently is not offended by it), which Obama has never tried to repeal. Not so for the leadership of America’s labor unions, who know all about it, love it, and staunchly oppose its repeal.

The injustice fuels Stacy’s outrage, and he spends a good bit of time educating Americans, particularly black Americans, about Davis-Bacon.

In 2011, Stacy wrote that President Obama should try to “repeal the Davis-Bacon Act that regulates federal labor agreements. This would save taxpayers over $10 billion per year and free up more money for more infrastructure projects that the Heritage Foundation estimates will create more than 150,000 jobs.”

Stacy also has pointed out that when members of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Congressional Black Caucus had the opportunity to vote to repeal Davis-Bacon, only Rep. Allen West, a conservative Republican, did so.

But back to Lansing. An altercation occurred after Stacy scolded a union demonstrator for shoving a lady who was present to support right-to-work. Sadly, Stacy’s cell phone did not survive.

But heck, what would a union free speech look like without at least a little violence? After a century-and-a-quarter of union-reasoning-with-fists, we wouldn’t recognize it!

But despite the violence, and the fact that the loss of the cell phone meant that Stacy missed a phone interview with KVEL in Utah (apologies, Lincoln Brown!) Stacy nonetheless is optimistic. What he said about the picture, above, taken of him talking with union protestors explains why:

[I’m] in the belly of the beast explaining to union protesters how what they have been led to believe about right to work is not true. I found that there were many who were very open to the information I shared.One man introduced me to his daughter and said: “This gentleman is a nice man.”

If I were a gambling man, I would say half of the protesters [protested in Lansing] because they felt they had to, but will themselves opt out paying union dues soon!

As Stacy says about his many conversations, “I spent a great amount of my time talking to union protesters. I have never believed in merely preaching to the choir. Everyone has a ‘sphere of influence.’ If we can plant seeds, it can one day lead to change. Just planting seeds!”