Raymond Hayes was on a bench in downtown Reno. Photo by Jose Olivares.
Profits and People
Raymond Hayes is originally from Tennessee and moved to Reno three years ago. He has three children and says he is incredibly passionate regarding labor issues and the economy.
“It doesn’t matter who votes for who,” Hayes said. “The government has so many secrets, why do they think voting will make a difference?”
Hayes find more importance in congressional voting than in the presidential vote, and encourages people to pay attention to those elections rather than the others. However, he still had strong opinions concerning the presidential election.
“My pick was more the person as the person. I am more interested in the morals and ethics,” Hayes said. “Donald Trump is a businessman. Businessmen don’t have any morals of ethics, they only care about making profit. Hillary [Clinton] seems more with the people.”
Hayes says his opinion on Nevada’s current political and social situation is not too great. He brought up a topic that has garnered little media attention.
“They need to get rid of Right to Work. They can discriminate and fire people at will with it.”
Mostly Ignored Labor Issues
Right to Work is the law in Nevada (and other states) that allows workers the “right to work” without the support of a union or with collective bargaining rights. This leads to union busting and the degeneration of collective bargaining rights. Nevada is also an At-Will state, which means employers can fire workers “at-will,” which means they do not have to provide a reasoning for the layoff.
“Give us a real minimum wage. Not eight or nine dollars. We’re not in high school, we’re adults,” he said.
“I have three kids. I can’t survive with $9.50 an hour. I can’t survive without government help. But I don’t want government help with food stamps, healthcare and housing. I want to get it myself.”
According to Hayes, the country is divided, but he hopes that will change. “Once we start getting along, it’ll be better. Rome wasn’t built in one week. It’s going to be a struggle to change it,” he said.
“We need unity, no Right to Work, a livable wage and we need to bring jobs back.”
Ryan and Shelby G. pose for Our Town Reno. Photo by Jose Olivares.
Calling B.S. and for a Cleanup
“We’re screwed either way we go!” Ryan said after we asked his opinion on the presidential election.
Shelby interjected. Although she agrees with Ryan, she prefers Hillary Clinton to Donald Trump.
“Hillary is better," she said. "Trump wants to run the country like a business. He wants people who have abortions to go to prison. With everything going on in my life, Hillary could be better. I think politics is bullshit.”
“I just want to see this city cleaned up,” Ryan said about the local elections. “It’s filthy. There’s unkept needles where children play. There’s a nasty drug problem.”