My union story.

[Raven]

In the late 70's I was the Chief Administrative Officer (a/k/a Deputy Mayor) of the city of Newton, MA. It was an affluent suburb just west of Boston with a population then of about 90,000. One of my jobs was negotiating the union contracts. We had some knock down, drag out fights and AFSME was often involved because how Newton went, so went the State, as they used to say. I was probably the first woman those guys ever negotiated with but that's another story. After one really tough labor/management face off that was finally settled I was paid a visit by a member of the labor bargaining team, a guy named Danny who was a foreman in the Sewer Department...a really scary looking guy (he was missing most of his teeth)who was, to me, one of the really tough guys on the Labor Team (and I was convinced he hated me). He poked his head in my office and said "I want your kid on my team." I said, "what team" thinking my 7 year old son (Will Pitt for those of you who dodn't know) was a little too young for the union. "My Pop Warner football team" he replied. After a little back and forth about where and when, I said OK and he said "Just bring a cup." I said, "a cup?" He said, "Jesus, Jane, an athletic cup." I said "oh, OK".

Thus began Will Pitt's short lived football career. Every Saturday we would show up at Arbermarle Field and every game Will would play. He was smaller than everybody else and Danny (the scarey labor guy) would tell him to grab on to the waist of someone on the other team and just hold on. And Will would do just that and be dragged down the field. But he played and he loved it!

I was in Law School at night then so I would bring a law book and sit in the stands and watch my little peanut of a son doggedly holding onto the "big boys" for dear life. I ended up talking with Danny's wife in those stands and learned that this scarey union guy had kids of his own but he and his wife were also foster parents for several disabled children...had been doing it for years.

Union people? Giving back, taking very little in return. I was never in a union...always on the management side but if I was in trouble, I'd want Danny manning my lifeboat.

[liberal N proud]

1. I have been on both sides of the isle and I still support unions

I worked several years in the meat packing industry as a union laborer. A place where the union is essential to quality work place.

In the early 80's when Reagan and his buddies were busy busting unions the place closed and then reopened 3 months later under a new name and full of low income illegal alien workers. And not all of them from south of the border.

The union saved my job 31 days after I was hired. The Foreman was using the people that were not yet in the union as his personal slaves. Several days, I worked 18 hour days under this Foreman. I did everything I was told, never bucking at the requests. The Foreman would work you like that until either you would break and quit or he would fire you on day 29 (day 30 you were allowed to join the union). On day 30 he met me at the door telling me I was fired, he had miss-counted the days. The union steward was right there beside me as we walked in. We took it straight to management with the union steward in tow and ended up getting the Foreman fired.

That is why I can safely say that if it were not for unions, companies would revert to sweatshop scenarios. People would loose everything that our fathers, uncles and grandparents fought for.

I am now in management and I remember still how it felt to be treated like dirt by a manager and am very careful how I treat my people.

It was a very valuable lesson and has made me union proud. I still cary my old union card, 30 years on.