A Daughter’s Tribute to a Union Organizer

by   |  June 28, 2007

When it comes to the families of union activists, the fruit doesn’t often fall far from the tree. That’s especially true of Davida Russell, a bus driver and president of Local 744 of the Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE)/AFSCME Local 4. In the 1970’s Russell’s mom was a bus driver, too. Last year, Russell enrolled at the George Meany Center’s National Labor College to pursue a bachelor’s degree, which she received this summer. As she learned more about the labor movement and how unions have made a difference in people’s lives, she recalled her own childhood experiences riding her mom’s bus through Cleveland, attending union meetings and watching her mom lead the fight when her co-workers at the Cuyahoga County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities got tired of being mistreated and decided to form a union. Russell’s memories became the foundation for a book – “The Birth of a Union: The Legacy of Noridean McDonald” – which is scheduled for publication in July. Russell considers the work a tribute to her mom. We consider it one more example of the deep roots that support all working families.