ARTICLE
Thanksgiving is a very special time in our country. When I was a child we'd pack seven kids and many relatives around three tables and eat. My dad was in the poultry business so we'd always have lots of turkey and chicken, and somehow on that day you knew everything was alright in the world. My Italian father made sure there was always some pasta as part of the meal as well as some Chianti in bottles enclosed in wicker. My friend calls it "the honeymooners" wine, if any of you remember that great show starring Jackie Gleason, because it was the wine Gleason had on the table. My Irish mom did a tremendous amount of cooking that day, and actually her entire life. She had blonde hair, blue eyes and a sort of reserved demeanor, really funny. She lived to be 92 and never stopped commenting on how clean my shoes were or how nice my suit was. They were hard-working people and did what was expected in that era, which was total devotion to family and its well-being. I learned a lot about business at a young age by just being around my dad and his brothers. I learned how to work with employees who were like family, how to meet deadlines and how to boost efficiency with new equipment. Of course, I also learned how to make a profit. That was the ultimate goal and that's what put food on the table at Thanksgiving. I also learned one of my toughest lessons in my teenage years. My father, unfortunately, lost his business later in life. It was the only thing he knew so it made perfect sense to him to pledge his home to keep the business going. That didn't work out so well, so we lost everything and had to move out of the only home we knew. Being in their 50s and still with young children, my parents had a hard fight to hang onto the world they had worked so hard to build. I remember my dad had a friend who would visit the house at times. He was louder and tougher than many who usually stopped by the house unannounced to hang out in our kitchen to eat, drink a beer, but mostly talk. Turns out he was very active in the union at the former Western Electric plant and cared enough to get my dad a job in the maintenance department. That job, as well as another part-time job at our uncle's family business, saved my dad and our family. Just about that time my mother told me another of my uncles had stopped by and said they were hiring at Mack Trucks. I applied as fast as I could and spent the next several years as a member of United Auto Workers Local 677, putting tires on 53 trucks a day. It wasn't easy work, but it wasn't impossible and the pay was great in those days. As a result, both my parents and I had enough to buy nice rowhomes in west Allentown. As far as we were concerned, we were back in the game! So, I've lived the great high a successful business can bring and the incredible low of bankruptcy. I've seen the perceived selfishness at the top of corporate America and the alleged overreach of organized labor contract demands. My conclusion is we are all trying to do the same thing. In a very competitive American culture, we want our piece of the pie for ourselves and our families, and once we've tasted how good it is we'd like a little more. Let's just not forget how we got where we are and who it was that lifted us up when we needed a hand. I've said it before and I'll say it again: This still is the greatest place on Earth, filled with a lot of incredible, caring people, and I'm forever thankful. It's not always easy here but I wouldn't have it any other way. Tony Iannelli is president and CEO of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce. His column appears weekly on the Business Cycle. He can be reached at tonyi@lehighvalleychamber.org. Read the original article here.