Grass Roots

Robert James

We have an interesting thing going on in my little neck of New England. I guess we’d have to call it a labor movement, but that’s not quite right. When the US economy tanked a few years ago, the CEO of a local supermarket chain did the unthinkable and used company profits to make up for what the employees lost from their pension fund. Ever since the company’s board of directors has been trying to fire him. A few weeks ago they finally did it.

The result? The employees are picketing the stores, demanding the now ex-CEO be reinstated. No one is striking, the stores are still open, but it’s turned into a huge grass roots movement, where not only are the employees involved, but the entire community has as well. The stores may be open, but there are no customers at all. The company is losing millions of dollars a day as it squirms around trying to find a resolution. The staff and the customers are all united behind this one businessman who had the unmitigated audacity to stand up for his people. Now his people are standing up for him. It’s almost enough to restore your faith in humanity.

Musically, this is all Strat, and I used the Amplitube Fender bundle as the amp. It’s a really simple arrangement and a pretty plain mix. I hope I didn’t ruin it.

It just goes to show you
if you do the right thing
people will stand behind you
if you treat them right

When his people needed him
he came through
Now the roles are reversed
see what they do

When his family turned on him
they backed him up
when the threats began to fly
they shut things down

If you treat them with respect
they will in turn
the community agrees
we stand as one

grass roots, solidarity