Georgia Today: UPS workers may strike; Gun seller closes shop; History Center honors Juneteenth

GAToday_06.16.23.mp3

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Friday, June 16. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode, a strike may be looming for Sandy Springs based UPS workers. Worried about mass shootings, a gun seller closes up shop, and the Atlanta History Center commemorates Juneteenth this weekend. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Peter Biello: Unionized UPS workers voted overwhelmingly today to authorize a strike. The move sets the stage for a potential work stoppage if the shipping company, based in Sandy Springs north of Atlanta, and the Teamsters can't agree on a new contract before the end of July. UPS worker Barkley Wimpee of Rome, Ga., said one of his top concerns is excessive overtime.

Barkley Wimpee: A lot of the times, unfortunately, we start about 9 in the morning and we don't get done until 9:00 at night. The hours are very detrimental; they're detrimental to our health.

Peter Biello: Unionized workers scored a big victory this week when the company agreed to install air conditioners in new delivery vehicles. UPS says it remains confident it will reach an agreement with the union.

Story 2:

Peter Biello: The Savannah Chatham County Board of Education voted unanimously last night to hire the school district's next superintendent. GPB's Benjamin Payne reports.

Benjamin Payne: Denise Watts will start the job July 1. That's right after current Superintendent Anne LaVette leaves for retirement. Unlike LaVette, Watts is not a Savannah native. She comes to the Hostess city from Houston, Texas, where for the past two years she worked as a school district administrator. At Thursday night's meeting, the Savannah Chatham School Board didn't allow public comments or questions. Here she is addressing parents after being voted in by board members.

Denise Watts: I realize right now we're operating on trust. You don't know me and I don't know you. But I promise you that we will build that relationship so that we can jointly create the conditions for success in this district.

Benjamin Payne: The school board says 49 people applied for the superintendent position. Watts was the only one whose name was made public. For GPB News, I'm Benjamin Payne in Savannah.

Story 3:

Peter Biello: The State Department of Labor reported yesterday that Georgia's unemployment rate rose slightly last month to 3.2% after holding steady at 3.1% for the last nine months. The state's jobless rate in May was half a percentage point lower than the national unemployment rate of 3.7%.

Story 4:

Peter Biello: NASA is giving more than $700,000 to a Georgia women's college. The award to Agnes Scott College in Decatur is aimed at supporting women seeking science-oriented careers. It's part of $5 million the space agency is giving to seven women's colleges nationwide.

Story 5:

Peter Biello: A long-running Macon event aimed at enhancing safety for cyclists and walkers will expand to more neighborhoods this year. GPB's Eliza Moore explains.

Eliza Moore: Open Street's Macon turns neighborhoods into daylong community celebrations by blocking them off to cars. Rachel Umana is executive director of Bike Walk Macon. She's planned most of the past open streets parties which have featured anything from chalk art to bike parades. Play Streets is the new event. Umana says it will let the neighbors themselves decide what activities they want to bring to their block.

Rachel Umana: We encourage people to think about how our streets could be used differently, how they could be safer for people that live in the neighborhood.

Eliza Moore: Bike Walk Macon will provide resources to help four neighborhoods plan and hold events, and hopes to expand the program in the future. Neighborhood nominations will be accepted through Friday, June 23. For GPB News, I'm Eliza Moore in Macon.

Story 6:

Peter Biello: The names of four Confederate soldiers are no longer visible on a monument to U.S. Army Rangers at Fort Moore. Army officials confirmed the names have been obscured as they work to remove them completely. The actions are part of the law this year that also changed the Installation's name from Fort Benning to Fort Moore. National Ranger Memorial Foundation chairman Joseph Stringam objects to what he calls the monument's defacement.

Joseph Stringam: The Ranger Memorial is a Ranger monument. It is not a Confederate monument. It has been privately owned and supported by Rangers, past, present and hopefully future.

Peter Biello: In a statement, Army officials say the foundation gifted the monument to the Army in 1993. Stringam sent a letter signed by more than 100 retired Rangers to U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, asking Republican leaders to reverse the removal.

Story 7:

Peter Biello: Mass shootings involving children have prompted waves of grief for communities across the country. For Jon Waldman, who sold high powered guns. Recent gun violence prompted reflection. He wondered, what if one of the guns he sold ended up killing a child? And what if that child was his own? Waldman says he's choosing to close his business, Georgia Ballistics in Duluth, because of the risk those weapons pose to children. He's with me now. Jon, welcome to the program.

Jon Waldman: Thank you for having me. I truly appreciate it.

Peter Biello: So was there a specific act of violence that inspired your decision to close up Georgia Ballistics, or was this something that built up over time.

Jon Waldman: The final straw, so to speak? It was basically the shooting in Tennessee at the at the private school that the Christian private school with the way that all happened and where it was and how my son was talking to me about it afterwards. That's really what just did it. And then two weeks later, we had another mass shooting in Midtown at a hospital where a CDC worker was the victim.

Peter Biello: That was the shooting on May 3 in Midtown Atlanta, where a man opened fire in a large medical practice, killing one person and injuring four.

Jon Waldman: So between that and FedEx losing six of my guns and never — and being told "It's not my problem" by the ATF — I just I couldn't be part of the problem.

Peter Biello: What did your son say to you that really made you want to make a change?

Jon Waldman: He asked me if when I was in school — because he's 10 — when I was in fifth and sixth grade, if I ever had to do shooting training like this.

Peter Biello: Like active shooter drills, he's talking about it?

Jon Waldman: Oh yeah, and the problem is, is when I was talking to the school, nobody ever thinks about this: When you teach children what to do, to hide from from threats or a problem, you're also teaching the other students that are going to be shooters where all the kids are hiding.

Peter Biello: What have you learned about this business since you started more than two years ago that that made you rethink being in this business?

Jon Waldman: It's like if you love chicken nuggets, don't go work at a chicken factory. I realized that there's not a huge level of accountability. And when you see things that are behind the scenes, on both sides, for some people, it makes it hard to do this.

Peter Biello: And both sides, you mean the people buying the gun, the laws regulating selling the gun?

Jon Waldman: Right. To better sum it up, when — when I learned that police departments were going to give me guns used in crimes and murders to sell back on the streets, along with the shootings, with my son, that kind of made it too hard to do. And I found that out in January, which is why I started downturning everything and doing this.

Peter Biello: Have you had conversations with other gun store owners about your decision? And if you have, what were those conversations like?

Jon Waldman: Oh, all the ones around here just — they they make fun of me. They say, "Oh, well, we should have bought his stuff at at better discounts since he's closing." I'm not selling anything. I have people messaging me, e-mailing. The'yre like, "Can we buy the remainder of the stuff you have?" And I'm just like, "No." It's one of those things where you just — People are always going to say what they want and you're always going to have one side and another side and a different group. But none of them look at me like my son. And I want my son to look at me and be like, "Did you sell the guns for that?"

Peter Biello: So what are you doing with your remaining inventory?

Jon Waldman: I signed everything out. I put it in my gun safe here, and that's it.

Peter Biello: Well, what's next for you, career-wise?

Jon Waldman: I have no idea. This week, I'm getting the rest of the stuff out, and then I'm just filling out applications.

Peter Biello: What's your aspiration? Where would you want to work?

Jon Waldman: To be honest with you, I have no idea at this point. It should be a thought in my head. But it's just one of those things where you just deal with what's in front of you.

Peter Biello: Well, Jon, thank you so much for sharing your perspective on this. I really appreciate it.

Jon Waldman: Peter, I really appreciate your time.

Story 8:

Peter Biello: The Atlanta History Center is commemorating Juneteenth this Sunday, in part by honoring the history of Black genealogy. The center's VP of Digital Storytelling, Kristian Wetherspoon, says it's a great opportunity for the center to share its resources with the community, including genealogical research tools and expertise.

Kristian Wetherspoon: But there are so many stories that exist within communities. And from communities, they exist within families. And I think there's a certain pride and there's a certain ownership that you get from knowing your — knowing your family's history.

Peter Biello: Events include a certified genealogist who will offer tips for Black families on how to research their family trees, as well as live music, storytelling and food. The event is 8 to 4 on Sunday at the Atlanta History Center's Buckhead campus.

Story 9:

Peter Biello: The Braves host the Colorado Rockies tonight at Truist Park for the second of a four-game series. Atlanta beat the Rockies last night 8 to 3. Braves pitcher A.J. Smith Schriever earned his first win in only his second career start. Manager Brian Snitker says the rookie was less cautious last night than he was at his debut earlier this month. And he was throwing hard.

Brian Snitker: You know, I saw he popped a 97 a few times and, you know, and it's easy. He didn't — he didn't labor to throw the ball, that's for sure. You know, and the experience with all the secondary stuff is going to come as he's out there.

Peter Biello: Jared Schuster is expected to get the start for the Braves tonight.

And that's it for this edition of Georgia Today. If you want to learn more about any of these stories, visit GPB.org/news. Then if you haven't hit subscribe on this podcast yet, we highly recommend it. Take a moment. Do it now and we'll stay current in your podcast feed. If you have feedback or perhaps story ideas for us, we would love to hear from you. Send us an email. The address is GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening. We'll be back with you next week.

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