For Love of Family
By Susan Ellen Holleran
The essays submitted by this year's AFSCME Family Scholarship recipients highlight the many ways in which a good job with AFSCME representation can affect an entire family. Many of the winning essays tell heart-wrenching stories about obstacles their parents overcame to win jobs that lifted the family out of poverty.
Each winner will be awarded a $2,000 scholarship, renewable for up to four years, for full-time course work toward a degree at an accredited college or university.
Here are the scholarship recipients, with excerpts from their essays:
Carmenleah Ascencio, daughter of Margarita Ascencio, Massachusetts Local 3650 (Council 93).
AFSCME [is] on our side to help when matters get rough. AFSCME has meant financial stability, job opportunity and employment fairness, fast and active help, and less stress on my family. ... I can worry about my education and not worry about helping bring home income. My mother and I can worry about college applications and financial aid and not about her paycheck.
William DeFrain, son of Jim DeFrain, Nebraska Local 61.
AFSCME helps give a voice to the voiceless, and brings effective democracy closer to the people. ... My father's role in interviewing and screening local political candidates on behalf of the union has led to many suppertime discussions! These family talks ... have helped to frame my beliefs about workers and management.
Jasen Dela Cuadra, son of Floramente Dela Cuadra, Hawaii Local 646.
My mother was diagnosed with kidney failure. ... hemodialysis treatment and numerous doctor appointments took [her] away from home and work. ... During this tribulation, my family did not need to worry about my mother losing her job and income because AFSCME helped to ensure my mother would return to work after months of recuperation.
LesLeigh Ford, daughter of Paula Ford-Scott, Michigan Local 1023 (Council 25).
Growing up ... my mother would work one job, get off around three o'clock and immediately go to the next. ... [One] day she sat my brother and me down to tell us that she acquired a new job. We were so excited to learn that our mother would have access to more money and benefits, without having to sacrifice the precious time that she could be spending with us.
Sonja Graves, daughter of Jim Barnard, California Local 829 (Council 57).
My ears perk up when I hear the word "Safeway." Their warehouse workers are on strike. ... I say to my teacher, "Don't go to Safeway, they're on strike." ... Why did I think it's important to support striking workers, when others apparently did not?... [Because] I come from a union family, where I was taught never to cross picket lines.
Joseph Peck Jr., son of Joseph Peck Sr., Minnesota Local 8 (Council 14).
My brother, my sister and I belong to the Pacific Islander ethnic group; my dad and I have discussed what this can mean, good and bad, in the adult world, and union membership clearly ensures that minority status will not be a factor in achieving justice and fairness in any workplace protected by an AFSCME contract.
Yury Rotshteyn, son of Lyubov Rotshteyn, New York Local 1407 (DC 37).
I ... would give up higher wages from a private company just to be in a union that protects my rights and where I know that my opinion counts. My mother often comes home and enthusiastically tells me of the DC 37 meetings in which she had the opportunity to express her opinion. ... That was never the case when [she] worked for a private company.
Erin Seruga, daughter of Mary Lynn Seruga, Wisconsin Local 2748 (Council 24).
Involvement in a labor union earned my mother a two-dollar raise in her social work position. This income boost allowed her to begin a family. ... She was provided with maternity leave for a few months in order to care for both my sister and me. ... Without ... union benefits, my mother would probably not have as close of a relationship with us.
Katrina Thompson, daughter of Patricia Basta, Pennsylvania Local 1956 (Council 33).
As a little girl, my mother knew the fear of poverty. ... A benefit as common as braces for badly crooked teeth was not an option; it was an unattainable luxury. Now I understood why she cried when I got my braces. She kept saying that I was really lucky, but the way my mouth felt, I thought she was going a little over the top with the idea of luck.
Jennifer Zell, daughter of Sandra Zell, Washington Local 114 (Council 2).
In 1986, my mother and her five children joined the overwhelming ranks of America's homeless. ... My mom's dream was to work in the children's department of the library. ... In setting that goal, and in never giving up her dream, ... my mom set an example for all her children to follow.
2002 Scholarship Program
Ten AFSCME Family Scholarships are awarded each year. To be eligible, an applicant must be a high school senior who graduates in the spring of 2002, and whose parent or guardian is an AFSCME member. Applications will be available Aug. 1; Dec. 31, 2001, is the deadline for submission. Contact AFSCME's Education Department, 1625 L St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036-5687, or call (202) 429-1250. Applications can also be downloaded from AFSCME's Web site.
