Profiles in Dignity: Touched by a Unionist
Retiring council president calls on unions to take a personal interest in members.
DETROIT
“Collective activity is what we built unions on, and we have to go back to that.”
— Flora Walker
Old-time unionism for a new millennium? Might make some folks scratch their heads. But International Vice President Flora Walker believes that union strength isn’t made any differently today than it was in the early days of unionism — workers connecting with each other and then acting together for their common interests.
Walker, who recently retired as president of Council 25 in Michigan, is known for her warmth and commitment to council members. “I’m not afraid to show up at worksites or just call members on the phone,” she says. At conventions, “I greet every single delegate at the door with a hug.”
Old fashioned, maybe, but Walker thinks members miss the personal touch — having others take a personal interest in them and communicating with them on an individual basis.
“If people hear from you, they feel a part of you,” she says. “You lose track of them, and they’ll lose track of you.”
AFSCME’S CALL. Walker’s personal touch was evident from the start of her AFSCME career. While working as a typist for the city of Detroit in 1966, she was contacted by an AFSCME member, who asked if she would work on organizing clerical workers. Having enjoyed union representation in her previous job, she was happy to join the effort. With her help, 1,200 city clerical workers soon were AFSCME members.
Recognizing Walker’s talent, AFSCME hired her as an organizer in 1968. In 1971, she became the first female staff representative in AFSCME’s Detroit office, and in 1982, was named supervisor of all staff reps in Michigan’s three largest counties.
Elected council president in 1992 and again in 1997, Walker had three years remaining in her second term when she decided to step down. After a full career, Walker wants to spend more time with her family, including her 87-year-old father and 13-month-old granddaughter.
BALLOT BOX SAVVY. Walker is proud of many achievements during her years as council president, but topping the list are: streamlining arbitration processes; hiring a top law firm as general counsel; adding more member-services staff; creating an organizing department; expanding union facilities to house council and local staff; and increasing educational offerings for members.
Vice chair of the state’s Democratic Party, activist Walker also succeeded in bringing greater political awareness to Council 25.
“I got people to start thinking about the connection between the ballot box and their jobs,” she notes. “I went around the state telling people that we elect our bosses, or the people who will choose our bosses. We have a great deal at stake in who is elected.”
If anyone missed it before, Walker’s message was driven home in last November’s bruising election. Council 25 threw its support to a Democratic candidate who lost in the primaries. Subsequently, Gov. John Engler (R) was re-elected, and, on his coattails, came a new Republican majority in the House of Representatives.
“The lesson,” Walker instructs, “is that you need good candidates to win elections and that primaries are more important than the general election. With Governor Engler in office, in control of the legislature and the courts, we will pay a heavy price for losing the primary.”
The price Walker refers to is continued pressure from Engler for privatization of public services. Thus far, Walker admits, “We’ve had some wins and we’ve had some losses in fighting privatization.” Some of the biggest successes have come about through the legal process. A good example, she notes, came two years ago when Central Michigan University tried to privatize food and other services.
“Our members had to bid on their own jobs, which, in the end, meant either they accepted a cut in pay or lost their jobs altogether,” Walker reports. “They chose to keep their jobs, while we pursued legal channels.”
Submitting the privatization process to fact-finding, the union eventually won back previous pay levels for its workers — and more. “It took us two years, but our members stuck with us. Now they have one of the better university contracts.”
To combat further privatization, Walker initiated the formation of a coalition with other labor unions. “We’re discussing strategies, targets, how we do this together. All of labor is needed to combat the overwhelming anti-union sentiment we’re seeing.”
GROWTH INDUSTRY. Walker says she leaves her job with bittersweet sentiments — much has been done, but there is still so much to do.
“Public service is a growth industry,” she says. “Private employers will take us back to minimum wage without unions,” she proclaims, and she doesn’t believe public employees are going to stand for that.
Walker also notes that, “We need to negotiate bulk rates for all kinds of services; we need portability of plans. Not all public employees are going to stay for 30 years of service. People are diversifying their careers and we have to help them with that.”
Walker believes members understand that there are limits to what a union can do at any one time. The key to solidarity, she believes, is communicating straightforwardly. “We might not always be successful in our efforts,” she says of her council, “but our members know we have honestly tried. People trust us.”
Walker doesn’t mind saying that being a woman helped her to foster a sense of community among Council 25 members, a sense that will facilitate collective action to fight privatization and other anti-union measures. “It’s not sexist to say that women can bring a sense of nurturing that is very valuable to union life,” she concludes.
By Catherine Barnett Alexander
