Proud to Serve America
Two AFSCME Members who serve the nation with pride and purpose.
By Jon Melegrito
Paddling Down the River
Michael Hunter | Canoe Program Coordinator | Local 299 (Council 37).
Photo Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein
While most New Yorkers know about the Bronx Zoo and the Botanical Garden, not many know about the Bronx River — an eight-mile stretch of the city’s only fresh-water river that runs right through the borough.
That, Michael Hunter says, is what he wants everyone to see and experience. A member of DC 37’s Local 299, Hunter is the Canoe Program Coordinator of the Bronx River Alliance, a community/government partnership managed by the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. This babbling stream is where Hunter can be found most days of the year — leading a fleet of anywhere from 10 to 25 canoes carrying dozens of curious schoolage kids on a science field trip. The river provides a rare glimpse of life that many New Yorkers never see: beautiful gardens and wild life in the north, scrap yards and run-down neighborhoods further down south.
During winter months, the 28-year-old volunteers as a ski/ snowboard instructor for kids with physical and mental disabilities. He also works with the Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice — a group of young people living in low-income communities along the river. Recently, they organized a major cleanup effort, removing 45 abandoned cars and a thousand tires from the water.
“We are bringing people together from all walks of life and from different parts of the city,” Hunter says proudly about his job. “Even if we only reach 1 percent, we will have spawned a new generation of stewards who will care about this river and what it means to their lives.”
Standing Up for Children
Daisy Jackson | Family Child Care Provider | CCPT Michigan
Photo Credit: Blaine Rummel
"I was in tears and it opened my eyes," Daisy Jackson says, remembering the day a little over a year ago when she learned through a film how Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1968 death in Memphis occurred while he was there supporting sanitation workers who were fighting to get the city to recognize their AFSCME union, Local 1733. "I realized we can get things done if we all stick together."
Jackson, 50, a family child care provider for three years, says, "I thought I was earning well until I did the math during a meeting with other providers and learned that I was only making $1.88 per hour. Then I thought of other providers who were underpaid and I couldn’t see how they could survive." Discovering Dr. King’s connection to AFSCME solidified her resolve to sign up for the union.
Jackson joined the 40,000- strong Child Care Providers Together Michigan — a joint effort between AFSCME Council 25 and the United Auto Workers — which last year gained representation through the largest card check in modern history. As a new member, she participated in lobbying activities, demonstrations and home visits in her neighborhood on Detroit’s East Side. Her efforts drew the admiration of neighbors who elected Jackson the Democratic precinct chair. "We got everybody who cares about children to go out and vote for Governor Jennifer Granholm and the Democrats because they oversee the child care budget," explains Jackson, whose candidates won.
