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Sam Petsonk

@squarejustice

Dad. Husband. Lawyer for worker health & safety, better pay, benefits, schools, & recovery. Wellstone Democrat. πŸͺ•βš’βœŠ Micah 6:8.

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15.11.2024
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Latest posts by Sam Petsonk @squarejustice

"For too long, politics has become about a person as opposed to a platform." - @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social

Mamdani Platform:
I'm gonna freeze the - rent!
Buses fast and - free!
Universal - childcare!

When your platform becomes a rallying cry, you're #Winning

28.10.2025 19:13 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Nearly 2/3 of West Virginians on #Medicaid are already working. Another 29% are caregivers, students or have disabilities.

This ain't "fraud, waste & abuse!"

"These are people doing their best, often under incredibly difficult circumstances." #WV

westvirginiawatch.com/2025/06/17/w...

18.06.2025 02:33 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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WV coal miners ask federal judge for injunction to keep NIOSH functioning to protect from black lung β€’ West Virginia Watch WV coal miners ask federal judge for injunction to keep NIOSH functioning to protect from black lung

WV coal miners ask federal judge for injunction to keep NIOSH functioning to protect from black lung, reports @caitycoyne.bsky.social buff.ly/dYnGw35

07.05.2025 22:27 πŸ‘ 17 πŸ” 10 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 1
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WV coal miners ask federal judge for injunction to keep NIOSH functioning to protect from black lung β€’ West Virginia Watch WV coal miners ask federal judge for injunction to keep NIOSH functioning to protect from black lung

MSJ is honored to have filed a lawsuit challenging RFK Jr.'s #NIOSH cuts - particularly those impacting WV coal miners' health and safety - alongside @squarejustice.bsky.social and AppalMad. @westvirginiawatch.com westvirginiawatch.com/2025/05/07/w...

08.05.2025 16:04 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

WV wouldn't have a single four-lane highway if it weren't for DEI! The Appalachian Regional Commission is one of the original diversity, equity, & inclusion programs. #dei #appalachia #wvpol #wv

28.04.2025 12:54 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

We must Block the Billionaires who seek to control our society. Whenever they keep someone else down, they get richer & we all suffer.

22.02.2025 18:36 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

The beloved community is under attack...
www.wvgazettemail.com/opinion/op_e...

10.02.2025 21:45 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

The world's richest man is dismantling the top aid agency for the world's poorest people. This is today's Republican Party. Dangerous. Truly heartbreaking. The world's most vulnerable people are depending on you to live out your faith.

We are being "weighed on the scales, and found wanting."

08.02.2025 02:16 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Closing the top agency (USAID) that combats child poverty is as hostile as you can get to religious values of grace, love, & mercy. πŸ’”

To all Bible-believing Christians & all people of good faith, please reflect deeply at what is happening in our name as Americans.

08.02.2025 02:11 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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"We are mad": Protest against Trump, Project 2025 at WV Capitol brings warnings for those in power β€’ West Virginia Watch More than 100 people gathered on the stairs outside the West Virginia Capitol on Wednesday with protest signs and chants to speak out against recent actions from both state and federal Republican offi...

"...and we’re going to have to have people from the middle class and the middle of the political spectrum be willing to stand up and say, β€˜America has never been based upon an executive [doing] whatever the hell he wants.”

#respect to Mr. Aaron Allred #truth

westvirginiawatch.com/2025/02/06/p...

08.02.2025 02:10 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

"Whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican, you should expect a separation of power,” said long-time WV Legislative Auditor Aaron Allred as he attended a rally at the WV Capitol. β€œIf Congress is not going to be a check on Musk and Trump, we’re going to have to have people peacefully protest..."

08.02.2025 02:08 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Lessons and hope from the coalfields of South Wales

COMMENTARY: As a labor lawyer and community advocate in Southern West Virginia, I was inspired recently by visiting the coalfields in the south of Wales, writes @squarejustice.bsky.social.

17.01.2025 15:00 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Lessons and hope from the coalfields of South Wales β€’ West Virginia Watch As a labor lawyer and community advocate in Southern West Virginia, I was inspired recently by visiting the coalfields in the south of Wales.

My argument for investing in childcare as an economic diversification/transition strategy, based lessons from the decline of the regional coal industry in South Wales---very analogous to our current challenges in West Virginia.

westvirginiawatch.com/2025/01/17/l...

17.01.2025 11:39 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Pride Official Trailer #1 (2014) - Bill Nighy, Andrew Scott Historical Comedy HD
Pride Official Trailer #1 (2014) - Bill Nighy, Andrew Scott Historical Comedy HD YouTube video by Rotten Tomatoes Trailers

"Pride" -- the film about an historic alliance between the Welsh coal miners' union & the lesbian & gay community. Worth a watch for all of us in Appalachia & America who believe in a brighter future!
youtu.be/kZfFvsKDuUU?...

14.01.2025 13:29 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

"If it is true ... that love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence, then any society which excludes, relatively, the development of love, must in the long run perish of its own contradiction with the basic necessities of human nature." - Erich Fromm

04.12.2024 01:37 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

#ShopSmall also means trying (if/when possible!) not to go into debt for gifts. One unique gift can mean more than a bunch of Big Box items. A single thoughtful purchase can help avoid a high holiday tab. #NoCreditChristmas (Small Business Saturday is sponsored by Amex for a reason! #ShopWisely)

30.11.2024 16:46 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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It's #SmallBusinessSaturday! Don't fritter away all your money at big retailers owned by private equity firms that are killing American jobs, local enterprises, & communities.

The trinkets aren't worth those harms!

#ShopSmall
#HappyThanksgiving

#NoCreditChristmas

30.11.2024 16:43 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

The struggle between the #WorkingClass and Big Business is the root of all political struggle. No matter your party. No matter your place. Which side are you on?
#1u

27.11.2024 04:57 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

The struggle between the #WorkingClass and Big Business is the root of all political struggle. No matter your party. No matter your place. Which side are you on?
#1u

27.11.2024 04:57 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Together, we’re building something better, and I couldn’t be prouder to stand with all of my coworkers as we take this next step forward.”

26.11.2024 20:59 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

"Now that we’re unionized, we expect change. We expect fair wages for our work and a voice in the decisions that impact our lives and our community. This victory is about more than us; it’s about the patients we serve and the community we love. ...

26.11.2024 20:59 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

β€œWith our victory, we’ve shown the hospital, the community, and ourselves what it means to stand together and fight for what’s right,” said Canaan Varney, a registered nurse at Logan Regional Medical Center. β€œThis isn’t just a win; it’s a turning point. ....

26.11.2024 20:58 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Logan Regional Medical Center Workers Vote to Join USW The newly unionized workers at the 132-bed acute care facility in Logan, W. Va., include registered nurses, nursing assistants, patient care technicians, phlebotomists, pharmacy technicians, patient t...

300 healthcare workers organized as members of @steelworkers.bsky.social at Logan Regional Medical Center #WV! m.usw.org/news/media-c...

26.11.2024 20:57 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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On Blood-Soaked Ground, a β€˜Prayer for the Future’ of a Divided Land Two weeks after the election, a gathering in Gettysburg commemorated Lincoln’s address, 272 words that have come to epitomize what it means to be presidential.

β€œThat we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain β€” that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom β€” and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

#gettysburg #notinvain
www.nytimes.com/2024/11/23/u...

24.11.2024 13:41 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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American Coup: Wilmington 1898 | American Experience | PBS The little-known story of a deadly 1898 race massacre and coup d’état in Wilmington, North Carolina, when white supremacists overthrew the multi-racial government of state’s largest city through a cam...

"American Coup: Wilmington 1898" @pbs.org.web.brid.gy tells the story of a deadly racist massacre and carefully orchestrated insurrection against a multiracial governing coalition β€” the only successful coup d’état in the history of the US. Valuable historical insights.

24.11.2024 02:03 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

We need to pay all workers a #LivingWage!

We need a #WageBoost, not a Tax Break!

#Fightfor15

23.11.2024 19:25 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Sitting at a fast food joint in #WV, the cook/cashier (a full-time worker!) says she is cooking her family's Thanksgiving stuffing at work since she doesn't have an oven at her house.

This is America, dammit. I am sick of watching our people suffer amidst such staggering wealth.

#RAISETHEWAGE

23.11.2024 19:24 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

πŸ™Œ

22.11.2024 14:22 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
UNION - Video On Demand - Gathr Up against one of the most powerful companies on the planet, a group of Amazon workers embark on an unprecedented campaign to unionize their warehouse in Staten Island, New York. ...

Check out this riveting new documentary of the successful drive by rank-and-file workers to organize a #union at Amazon! #1u
gathr.com/vod/15c99c8b...

22.11.2024 12:13 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0