'We Have Seen Organizers, and They are Us'

Five organizing heroes who've fought the enemy in every corner of the United States participated in the Convention's organizing parade. These activists joined the AFSCME ranks within the last two years, and each told delegates a story of struggle, and ultimate success, that puts a very human face on the organizing environment.

Said Raymond Jones, a delegate from the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees (NUHHCE) / AFSCME District 1199C. "I knew it was time for a change when the employer hired new employees in my department at $2 to $3 more per hour than what I was making."

As an activities aide at a Philadelphia-area nursing home, Jones worked hard to convince his colleagues that joining the union was the only way to gain better wages and working conditions. The workers voted three times for union representation at different worksites before the employer relented. They then negotiated a master contract for six facilities with a pension, increased wages, holidays, sick leave and much more.

"I stand here to say that I am a proud member of NUHHCE/District 1199C, and I would not trade this experience for anything," Jones said. "May the struggle continue to organize the unorganized!"

L.A. COMES ALIVE. Judy West was on hand to represent over 1,700 Los Angeles recreation and park assistants who picked AFSCME and Council 36 on June 5. "We won our union with a 95-percent majority," she reported triumphantly. "Since we had no benefits whatsoever, it was really a no-brainer to vote union."

Her story mirrored that of so many of her co-workers: They were hired to work a maximum amount of hours annually. When they hit the maximum, they were laid off. Their lack of benefits stemmed from being labeled as part-time employees.

West had to go almost three months without pay. During her time off, she decided to have surgery. "I thought I would get the surgery out of the way and receive disability while I was healing, but the joke was on me. The city doesn't take disability out of paychecks, so when we really need it, we have nothing."

She said that with a lack of benefits and a cap on hours worked, the job had no future. "But now we have a union, and for the first time, we can fight to make things better," West declared. "For the first time, we actu-ally have a future."

'NEW HOPE' IN ILLINOIS. "This is my first International Convention, but you can be sure it won't be my last," said Lenora Johnson from Council 31.

She cares for the developmentally disabled in Dolton, Ill., where she's also the president of Local 1232. "We were tired of listening to the voices of management constantly breaking promises, treating people unfairly [and] firing people for no reason. All we wanted was respect. It wasn't easy to win. Management tried to scare us and divide us, but it didn't work."

The workers prevailed with an 80 to 29 victory. The managers of New Hope Center had to sit down and listen to them at the bargaining table. "Our first contract has made a real difference for us, but it's just the beginning. I'm a strong believer that only the strong survive. And with our union, we are the strong."

PUERTO RICO STEPS UP. Jorge de Jesús recounted the triumph of Servidores Públicos Unidos/ AFSCME in gaining collective bargaining rights for the 60,000 workers of the commonwealth's Education Department. He had worked for 14 years with no union representation.

As the vice president of PASO, an AFSCME affiliate, he helped his union win exclusive representation for 8,000 workers in the department's clerical and administrative unit. "For the first time in our lives, we had the experience of negotiating a contract for ourselves, and we are very proud of this amazing victory."

A few years ago, union activists on the island convinced legislators to agree to collective bargaining — and neutrality during organizing campaigns — for all public-sector workers. "To me and to the other workers in Puerto Rico, the experience was unique," said de Jesús. "We are new in this, but we are ready to continue defending the workers' rights, and we know we will win. Thanks to AFSCME, and our faith in ourselves, we are leading the fight for justice and progress."

OHIO PLAYERS. The movement by AFSCME to organize every Head Start worker in the nation has gained a foothold in Ohio. More than 2,000 workers in a dozen locals across the state have joined the Ohio Association of Public School Employees/AFSCME Local 4.

Christine Dandrow, a Stark County Head Start worker, said their reasons were simple: "We are entrusted with our nation's most important job — developing in our children self-respect, self-confidence and a love of learning. And yet, we do this while being poorly paid, with bad working conditions and hardly any benefits."

It was no accident, Dandrow told her attentive audience, that Head Start workers have turned to AFSCME because they all realize they need each other. "Your future was tied to our future, and you decided that the future was now. Our lives are better because of your commitment, and we're committed to building a bigger, stronger AFSCME."