Michigan – Building AFSCME Spirit – With a Hammer!
Detroit, Michigan
Housing, AFSCME Style — Members of Local 1664 (Council 25) stand on the porch of a house they recently built through Habitat for Humanity. Holding the banner are Kim Sortzi (left) and Chris Vandenbussche. In the top row (left to right) are: Sharon Lautenbach, Maggie Abdalla, Bonnye Hambly, Gloria Devos, Diane Bely, Deanna Butka and Martha Bailey.
Photo Credit: Janette Heslet
When they decided to do something new and challenging to benefit their community, the Women’s Committee of Local 1664 (Council 25) thought big: They built a house!
Each weekend over two months last winter, about 10 bus drivers for Utica Community Schools went to work with Women Build, a Habitat for Humanity International program, to construct a three-bedroom, one-bath house. “They’re not real big, but they’re made quite well, if I do say so myself,” says driver Chris Vandenbussche, who is also an executive board member for both Council 25 and Local 1664.
The women first helped raise funds for the project, which — depending on location — can cost $80,000. Then they attended six homebuilding classes at a local Lowe’s hardware store. Afterward, they joined a team of more than 60 women who erected the house — now occupied by a young mother with three children — from the ground up.
Local 1664 Pres. Janette Heslet, a member of the construction crew, says the project “helped us show that being part of a union
is not just about our jobs, it’s also about showing we’re linked to the community.”
The women — and men — of Local 1664 are already planning their next project: building wheelchair ramps for needy children or senior citizens in the community. “We’re going to do it on our own,” says Vandenbussche.
