Ride, Jesse, Ride

We had a crazy, fantastical dream last night. In our fevered slumber, we dreamed that the Rev. Jesse Jackson had teamed with the former agent to Dennis Rodman to represent The Jockeys' Guild. Thats what we get for eating Laotain food just before bedtime. Thankfully, we got a good night's rest, and ... what? It was real?

Jackson was named the co-national manager of the guild last week together with Dwight Manley, who once represented Rodman and Karl Malone and, in addition, is a rare coin dealer. Evidently the Jockey's Guild is near bankruptcy, eight months after the firing of former director L. Wayne Gertmenian. (You may recall that Gertmenian's firing did not go as smoothly as all had hoped). The key bone of contention is medical benefits: Most owners don't provide them (jockeys are for the most part general contractors), and the Guild is too broke to chip in. Jackson admitted that he knew virtually nothing abouit the horse racing industry, but that''s OK, because he knew Martin Luther King, Jr.

I know the principles of organizing. Dr. King didn't have to follow around garbage workers to know his role was to motivate garbage workers to stand up and fight for the right to organize

.

In other words, get ready for a very tiny, high-pitched labor strike.

Jesse Jackson To Help Lead Jockeys' Guild [New York Times] We Now Pause For This Short (Ahem) Announcement [Deadspin]

(UPDATE: The Jockeys Guild writes in to correct that "Rev. Jackson is a Special Advisor to the National Manager, not co-manager of the Guild. Rev. Jackson will serve as a consultant and not be involved in day-to-day operations." Which seems for the best.)