A stagehand in Los Angeles was fired by his union for wearing a sweatshirt that said “Bush” on it.

Well, of course he’d get fired for that, you might think. The man works in the entertainment industry, and many people in the entertainment industry reflexively spell the last name of America’s 43rd president as B-U-S-H-I-T-L-E-R.

Three problems with that assumption:

1. “Bush” did refer to the name of an American president—George H.W. Bush, our 41st president
2. The “Bush” moniker on the man’s sweatshirt referred specifically to the name of a Navy aircraft carrier, the USS George H.W. Bush.
3. The stagehand’s son is in the Navy, and is currently deployed, in the service of his country and the defense of freedom, on the USS George H.W. Bush.

And they still fired him.

The IATSE (Local 33) union fired the worker even after he explained the shirt to his bosses. The shirt didn’t explicitly support George H.W Bush but that of the aircraft carrier named after the former President and the aircraft carrier his son has served on for the past many years and is currently deployed.

Watch the video at the link. Listen to the disbelief and hurt in the man’s voice.

No, this isn’t a specifically Tucson, or Arizona, story. But, I’m starting to doubt the common sense of liberals per se.

At the exact same time that the country is scratching its head over NPR’s firing of Juan Williams for, apparently, committing a thought crime…a Hollywood union fires the dad of a veteran, because his display of support for his military son irritated someone’s (presumably) liberal sensitivities.

There IS more to the story. The man was helping set up the stage for an Obama rally.

Neverthless:

1. Isn’t President Obama the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of ALL the United States? Is it now only acceptable to wear clothing mentioning American presidents from the Democratic Party at rallies? (Take note, crewmembers—and family members—of the USS Ronald Reagan, Dwight D.Eisenhower, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt.)

2. Aren’t union bosses supposed to stick up for their workers? Aren’t UNIONS supposed to stick up for their workers. (“Yes, I KNOW you’re from MoveOn.org, and the sight of the word “Bush” is causing you severe emotional distress. Neverthless, the man is showing his support for his son, deployed overseas, protecting the right for you to hold this rally. Don’t you get that?…..OK, apparently you don’t.”)

Hammond says he was not trying to make a political statement.

He says he got the sweatshirt and hat during a visit to the aircraft carrier on Family Day.

The back of his sweatshirt has a large drawing of the ship.

He says he wore it to show how proud he is of his son.

That didn’t go over well with his union supervisor.

Hammond says he was told to take off the sweatshirt, or he would have to go home.

He refused. They told him he was fired from the job.

James Wright, a business representative from IATSE Local 33, says the union is still investigating what happened.

“If he was sent home because of the sweatshirt, he will be paid for the day,” he said.

In fairness, Mr. Hammond will undoubtedly be paid for the day. Still, he—and all of us—will be left with the chilling image of a man being kicked off a job site for wearing clothing that he got while visiting the ship where his son is serving.

Ya know…the Navy has ways of making these folks looks really, really stupid. Here, off the top of my head, are a few of those ways:
- Have a Navy band show up outside sets where this union works and play “Anchors Aweigh” over and over again. (That union, BTW, is the International Association of Theatrical Stage Employees, Local 33.).
- Arrange for the son to be interviewed over video hookup from his carrier, thousands of miles away. Then, allow the commander and master chief of the boat to weigh in, too. (I especially want to hear the chief of the boat’s opinion. Have the bleep switch ready, sound engineer).
- Have Navy and Marine aircraft perform many flybys over the set.
- “Encourage” the VFW, American Legion and other vets organizations to show up…especially in places where the IASTE is doing on-location filming. Would YOU want to hire IASTE employees for your TV, commercial or movie production, if you feared that a crowd of angry veterans (or a Navy band!) would show up at your set and start expressing themselves anytime you said “Action!”

Don’t get mad; get even.

The possibilities are endless…

(Note to readers: I don’t know for sure that it’s liberalism that got the man fired. Hence, the question mark in the title. But…well, you do the math. A man in Hollywood gets fired for a sweatshirt that says “Bush” on it. What conclusion do YOU draw?)

UPDATE: From KTLA News Blog: “Duane Hammond says union officials called him this afternoon to apologize for the incident. He say they are “bending over backwards” to make it up to him.” Glad to see the union is doing the right thing.