Eye-Opening Summer: Union Scholar Goes to the White House

September 25, 2012

Darrell Wilson, Jr.

Each year, AFSCME taps motivated activists interested in the labor movement as part of its Union Scholar program. This post is from Darrell Wilson, Jr., a student at Wayne State University and a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps who participated in the AFSCME/UNCF/Harvard Union Scholars Program in the summer of 2012.

This has been a summer that I will never forget. On my 26th birthday, I got to go to the White House for a press conference.

I was in the second row, directly in front of Pres. Barack Obama, looking him straight in the eyes. It wasn’t a big group, just a few national leaders and influential activists, listening as the President urged Congress to pass a bill that would extend tax breaks for 98 percent of Americans while asking the richest to pay their fair share.

Now, I didn’t get a chance to actually talk to President Obama, or to tell him what a great job he is doing as President, but I got to do something that most Americans never get the chance to do: see the president in person and up close. For the first time in my life, I felt as if I was really involved with the political process. It was all part of my internship at AFSCME, as part of the AFSCME/UNCF/Harvard Union Scholars Program.

As a program participant, I worked with Florida AFSCME Local 199 (Council 79), helping the brothers and sisters of Miami-Dade County organize for a better life for themselves and their families. The county administration was trying to cut their pay and benefits, and AFSCME helped them stand up and get a voice on the job. Working with them gave me a better understanding of the important work unions do for their members and their communities.

Growing up in Michigan, I was no stranger to unions. A lot of my family members were members of the United Auto Workers.

So it was an honor this summer when I was invited to work with AFSCME’s Federal Government Affairs department, seeing first-hand how the union advocates for working families on Capitol Hill. I enjoyed helping convince members of Congress to vote the right way on issues that are important to AFSCME’s members and to working people generally. I attended Senate hearings and House floor debates.

Being an AFSCME Union Scholar has been really eye-opening. I learned so much about politics and what it means to be a champion for social justice. You should take a look at the Union Scholars program to learn more about this great program.

AFSCME salutes all of the 2012 AFSCME/UNCF/Harvard Scholars:

• Terasia Bradford – Ohio State University; worked with Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Campaign, Oakland, Calif.
• Kathleen Cancio – Northeastern University; worked with AFSCME Corporate Affairs Department, Washington, DC
• Javier Figueroa ­– University of Miami; worked with AFSCME District Council 37, New York, N.Y.
• Devin Gamble – Howard University; worked with Maryland Accretion Campaign, AFSCME Council 982, Baltimore, Md.
• Aimee Gone – University of Washington; worked with AFSCME Local 3299, Los Angeles, Calif.
• Kristie Hernandez – Scripps College; worked with United Domestic Workers, Modesto, Calif.
• Evelyn Larios – University of Southern California; worked with Florida International University Campaign, Miami, Fla.
• Julie Negussie – Georgetown University; worked with Florida International University Campaign, Miami, Fla. 
• Elizabeth Valldejuli – University of California, Berkeley; worked with AFSCME Education and Leadership Training Department, Washington, DC