I had the honor and the privilege of speaking at today’s Cincinnati “No Kings” Rally. These are my comments: No kings rally – remarks (03-28-2026) Good afternoon, sisters and brothers, My name is Brian Griffin. I am the executive secretary of the Cincinnati AFL-CIO Central Labor Council. And I have the awesome and distinguished honorContinue reading “NO KINGS!”
Author Archives: Bosco O'Brian
Winter Leaves Today
The winter is leaving today,taking the fallen leaves away,and in its wakethe softened earthbegins to breathe… again. The daffodils push through,The birds return their song,and sunlight lingersjust a little longeron hands that have been coldfor far too long. And in the setting sunI see it…the end of that long, cold day,as shadows stretch,then slip,then quietlyContinue reading “Winter Leaves Today”
Radical? Let’s Talk About Radical.
Yes, the Democratic Party is broad. It is diverse. It is sometimes unruly. But… Brian Griffin Mar 14, 2026 For years now, we have heard the same political refrain: the Democratic Party is “radical.” It is a convenient line, repeated so often that some people accept it without much reflection. But step back and lookContinue reading “Radical? Let’s Talk About Radical.”
Whoa There, Brother… That Is One Hell of a Log in Your Eye
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus Christ asks a question that has echoed across two thousand years: “Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye but fail to notice the log in your own?”
Public Education Is Under Siege in Ohio
Public education works best when communities have a stake in it. When teachers are respected. When parents are engaged. When school boards can advocate for the children they serve without fear of retaliation.
Carried on the Autumn Breeze
The autumn light grows gentle now, gold drifting through the trees. Leaves of yellow, red, and fire are stirring in the breeze. They loosen from the summer branch that held them safe so long, then rise into the open airlike notes within a song. Once I believed the turning leaves were whispers of goodbye. TheContinue reading “Carried on the Autumn Breeze”
Statement by Brian D Griffin | Executive Secretary-Treasurer, Cincinnati AFL-CIO Central Labor Council
October 27, 2025 | CINCINNATI, OH—I am urgently speaking out today on behalf of working people across this community and this state. Every day, people get up at dawn, punch the clock, care for their families, stretch every dollar in tight budgets, and still do everything they can to make ends meet. And now theirContinue reading “Statement by Brian D Griffin | Executive Secretary-Treasurer, Cincinnati AFL-CIO Central Labor Council”
Stockholm Syndrome and the Labor Movement
Stockholm Syndrome describes how hostages sometimes identify with their captors, believing cooperation or small concessions might spare them greater harm. In today’s labor movement, we see echoes of that same instinct. Too often we find ourselves nuzzling up to the very forces that are cutting us down, hoping to soften the blow. But it willContinue reading “Stockholm Syndrome and the Labor Movement”
From Bartlet to McAvoy: America’s Dream and Its Reckoning
When Aaron Sorkin gave us President Josiah Edward Bartlet in The West Wing (1999), he gave Democrats a dream. Bartlet was brilliant and flawed, moral and principled. He made politics feel noble again. He quoted scripture and Nobel economics in the same breath, believing government could still be smart, decent, and good. For a partyContinue reading “From Bartlet to McAvoy: America’s Dream and Its Reckoning”
Diminished by Every Death: Guns, Rhetoric, and the Soul of America
Charlie Kirk’s assassination is tragic, but it is not an isolated wound. Daily gun deaths, toxic rhetoric, and unchecked access to weapons are hollowing out our nation — and we refuse to act. “No man is an island. Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind.” John Donne wrote those words fourContinue reading “Diminished by Every Death: Guns, Rhetoric, and the Soul of America”
Why Eye Write 