Now what?

The 40th UALE summer school for Union Women is over. Gone in a flash. Now I am here reflecting on the issue of... now what?  The way we work is changing, our work places are changing, our means of communication are changing, what we produce is changing.  The rate of change is rapid. 

What concerns me is that there is a growing separation between workplace and home for many workers due to advances in technology and communication. A workforce that can easily become hidden since there is no space for face to face discussion pertaining to worker/employer issues. 

Can face to face communication regarding union issues be replaced by a forum in the World Wide Web? What are the barriers? What are the advantages? Are we ready for it now?

The UALE gave us a space away from out work lives to reflect on the current state of the union (pun intended). I was happy to see rank and file members there. Fresh faces and fresh voices. I met two young sophomores: Lindsey Bloomingdale (AFSCME Council 13 Intern), who remembers going to her first union convention when she was under five with her mother, and the energetic Jodi Rafalko (Penn State LER Intern), who was everywhere. Both taught me much. 

I spoke with Lindsey (majoring in psychology) about the changing work force and she was quick to grasp the problems a home based workforce will have, on those who labor and those who want to prevent exploitation. She is cognizant that it will be the world that she will be in when she enters the workforce. Interaction with Jodi was primarily in the computer lab. She is majoring in Labor Relations, and a native of the world of information technology (as is Lindsey) and plans to specialize in contact negotiation.

Two very different young ladies, who are not even 21. Their generation will have the challenge of mobilizing a different kind of force. Let us help them by laying down the foundations, so that they can contribute to the forming a strong union that is effective in the age of information technology.

Lindsey

Jodi

Mis hermanas en solidaridad

This summer school is very diverse in nationality. There are people here from Jamaica, Trinidad, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Dominican Republic, Colombia and some nationalities of sisters I didn't have the opportunity to get to know better.

I met up with two of our sisters, Germania Hernandez and Olga Morales, who spoke nothing but Spanish, when I first arrived here on campus. We all were at the wrong building for registration. When they were struggling to ask me a question in English, I asked them, "Hablas Espanol?" they were relieved that they were not alone. The UALE school provided them with interpreters for the daily activites, but it was astounding how many here already are bilingual. I met up with them at the picnic on Tuesday evening to ask them a few questions. We were sitting in a group of Spanish-speaking sisters enjoying the relaxing atmosphere. Although I do speak some, I would like to thank Mary Bellman for interpreting for me.

1. Where are you from and where do you work?

OM: I am Columbian, and I am an organizer with New Labor.
GH: I am Dominican, and I am also an organizer with New Labor.

2. Are there a lot of women in your organization?

GH: There are lots of women, about 70%. In Lakewood, NJ, they are almost all female. There are about 2900 people in our organization, and most are women and largely Hispanic.

3. What is the largest concern of your organization?

GH: We fight for workers rights. We represent domestic workers. Their demands are simple. One is to not have to clean on their hands and knees. Some can barely walk due to the work on their hands and knees. Other concerns are just as serious as their health: sexual assault and wage theft.

4. How did you hear about the UALE school?

GH: We were invited by the UALE school. They went to my boss and my boss send Olga and me.

5. What is one thing you learned so far that you will take back to your sisters at home?

GH:  Since I am new at unionism, that is hard. I didn't realize there were so many women in unions. I would say that learning of the 40 year history of the existance of UALE is the biggest one. Something that lasts this long must be very good.

6. Do you think that you will come back to the UALE Summer School again in the future?

GH:  (laughs) We will see what the boss says.

Thanks to these lovely ladies from New York for coming to the UALE school and enlightening us with your very unique perspective.

Building Community by Creating Safe Spaces

As we ladies of table #13 leaned in around the microphone and shouted "safe" into the microphone in unison I was struck by how important that word really is when creating community. I thought about all the other places where I felt a sense of community and they all had that one thing in common, safety. Feeling safe in a space helps open up the doors to share your experiences and understand each other better and in the best of circumstances helps us support one another, and isn't that what community is? A network of people who trust and support each other?

Traditionally I have thought of community as something that takes a lot of time to develop but sitting with the women of table #13 I felt that deep connection and support after only an hour and a half of general session and I found myself looking forward to see each other again the second day. Even as I sit here a few hours before the end summer school I'm hoping that we get assigned to the same tables again for graduation. Every story we shared about our personal obstacles was a step to building something between us. We not only learned more about each other and the world around us but as each story was shared and met with compassion we learned to trust each other a little more. By using language like oops (I unintentionally hurt you) and ouch (you unintentionally hurt me) we were able to redirect those feeling into something constructive unencumbered by defensiveness. We could focus on being better together. This stretched beyond the table and permeated the rest of my day and interactions. Learning how to trust each other deeply made us all safe. Safe to share part of ourselves, safe to make mistakes, safe to own those experiences, to say we were sorry and move on. Safe.

Final night's journey to the dorms

Labor History Night is over,
We remembered our founding mothers with
Song.
With words..we channeled them..became them...heard their voices
Loud, soft, halting, STRONG again, alive again..from burning mills
And cotton fields, from factories and hotels.
We spoke with, pride and hope and tears
Of struggles we still face.
Of harrasment, of disregard, of prejudice and more.
We are still showing them that we are great and we can do it all.
Although our feet are tired
We walk this lighted path
Towards the glow beyond.

Rosie and Me

Last night as some sisters were preparing to head out for the evening, and others were ready to call it a night, I overheard someone evoke Laurel Thatcher Ulrich's famous quote while sharing a bit of sisterly advice. She said, "Well behaved women do not make history. Don't make history tonight." I laughed and immediately thought of my mother, who if she'd been familiar with that quote would have totally flipped it on me as a way of telling me to behave myself. Ma was on my mind all day today as I looked forward to Labor History Night where, this year as last year and I assume every year, mothers were very much present. Literally, of course, since many Summer School attendees are mothers, but also symbolically in that we stand on the shoulders of the women we celebrated tonight; they are the mothers of our movement.

I've always been drawn to the image of Rosie the Riveter. She has graced the walls of my home for years, I've worn her image on t-shirts and buttons, and once talked a young woman I tutored into writing a term paper about her. I think it's because my mother often spoke proudly of her "war work" testing transistors at the General Electric plant in Schenectady, NY. After the war she left the world of work outside the home to spend the next 3-1/2 decades raising four kids and caring for two grandchildren while my older sister earned her nursing degree. Then, in her early 60s, she found herself divorced with three of her four kids grown and one (me) soon to be college bound. She needed to go back to work. At first she looked for private childcare positions but no one would hire her because they thought she was too old. Then she found a program to provide part-time employment for older people trying to reenter the workforce. She proved so adept that someone recommended she take a civil service exam and, at 60-something, my mother became a mental health therapy aide at a state facility and first-time union member (CSEA). I still marvel at how she was able to be so successful after such a long absence. The world had changed so much that one could hardly blame her for feeling like Rip Van Winkle and, yet, she didn't miss a beat. She worked hard, was good at her job, enjoyed the benefits of union membership, and helped put me through college. My hero may not be in history books but she set one hell of an example and I strive to honor her legacy every day.

Solidarity Scholarship Sale

Laurie Kellogg's labor of love is raising money for scholarships 

So far the jewelry sale has raised about 870.00  towards scholarships for the UALE Summer Labor School. So fabulous! 

Sister Laurie let me know it will probably be over $1000 when we sell rest of jewelry and scarves donated by her colleagues at the Murphy Institute, a labor education center in NYC, and by the solidarity sisters in  attendance.    

Also, Robert Schwartz and Work Rights Press donated books for our fundraiser! Bob is the author of an amazing series of books with loads of understandable, practical, real-world, hands-on advice for union members and worker advocates.  Indispensable books for anyone representing workers. Including: "The Legal Rights of Union Stewards" (in Spanish too), "Past Practice Grievances"", and "No Contract, No Peace (using legal activist approaches to accomplish union goals) " plus a book on understanding the FMLA ( Family Medical Leave Act).  Our thanks go to Cathy Schwartz , Work Rights Press, for making this possible. Unions can -- and should! - order bulk copies, discounted, for stewards and all staff!  

Limited number of books left

 Lots of jewelry 

   CASH CASH CASH CASH CASH CASH CASH CASH CASH CASH CASH CASH 

Reaching

Every time I pass this tree on my way to workshops, I think of my sisters in summer school: borne of a single root and grounded on a solid trunk, we are multi-branched and entwined and reaching skyward.  We are a beautiful and varied community of workers and activists bound by our intent to find light and air and grace and share it with our sisters and brothers. We struggle toward the sun.

The general session at Hintz Alumni Center

Today is Black Women's Equal Pay Day: Black women earn 64 % of what white men earn.  It will take 7 years to close this pay gap for the the same type of work. This is the day black women catch up. (American Association of  University Women). Sisters watch informative slides at the general session.

Watching

Sister Donna watches from the wings: while the 40th anniversary show for UALE goes on.

The blogger at work.

A moment in time captured forever. Sisters enjoying a meal outdoors on aTuesday evening after a day of working really hard, with the sun filtering through the trees.

Liberation...

Flitting in and out of the shadows

Bearing burdens silently, 

My sisters helped me find my voice...

Even though  I cannot  sing I can use my voice in other ways.

I have my feet, I have my hands, 

I saw the ladder my sisters placed

And climbed out of the murky pit

To smell, and taste, and see  and have it all

and put the ladder back again, 

Making sure the rungs were strong 

For the others still in the pit.

(Thank you sister Ida Torres for this analogy)

Thank You Anniversary Celebration Photo Contributors!

As part of the preparation for our 40th Anniversary Celebration, I gathered photos, brochures, newsletters, t-shirts, and all kinds of memorabilia from Summer School coordinators and instructors. I now have a car trunk and living room full of Summer School memories. Some will go back to their owners, and some will go back to my basement. Hopefully we can find an archival home for many of these artifacts, because although I have a cool basement, it will not be there forever. I will also be uploading the photos in the slide presentation to a home on the Internet. I will let you know when that happens.

In the meantime, here is a huge thank you to the women who contributed their memories to our celebration:

Rochelle Semel, who sent me her personal scrapbook with photos going back to 1981, and her framed photo of Barbara Wertheimer for We Were There.

Susan Tindall for searching and sending early photos, newsletters, brochures and working out with me the people in and years of some of the undated group photos. And for helping me figure out the time line of places and coordinators.

Aliqae Geraci for searching through the Kheel Center, Cornell ILR archives in search of material on the first NE summer schools and on Barbara Wertheimer. She could not find any photos, alas, but she did find a student's report on the first school, which I will blog about later.

Dale Melcher for finding and bringing the 10th Anniversary Banner, the largest handmade banner I have ever seen in my life. And for the toga photos.

Cathy Scott for bringing the colorful early years t-shirts, some of which I had never seen before.

Bev Grant for her excellent candids of students and instructors. And for the work on including Barbara Wertheimer in We Were There.

Johanna Morales, who gave me her summer school photo album before leaving Cornell ILR.

And, here are a few more images:
-------

	Planning Meeting at Cornell ILR, Susan Tindall, Frieda Rozen, May Chen. date?
	Bev Grant and visiting labor singer, Anne Feeney.
	The Summer School Chorus--K.C. Wagner, student, student (in back), Susan Tindall, Adrienne Taylor, Guille Mejias. Penn State, 1995.

we sing in solidarity...sisters all!!!!

Sisters in History -- 40th Anniversary of the UALE Summer School

Last night, at the celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the UALE Summer School here at Penn State, there was a lot of history not only displayed around the room but also living history present in the room. Those sisters were Ida Torres, Dr. Lois Gray, and Bev Grant. These ladies were there at critical times in the history of the women's movement within the labor movement.

Ida Torres, 1981

Ida Torres, 2015

Picture courtesy of Bev Grant, taken 1968

Bev Grant, leading us in song, 2015

Dr. Lois Gray, 2015

TWITTER STORM TODAY 2-3 PM

TWITTER STORM TODAY  2-3 PM

#BlackWomenEqualPay 

TAG IT on FB & Twitter feeds today from 2-3 PM

National Black Women Equal Pay Day:

•      The poverty rate for black lesbian couples is 21%
•      Black women with BA degrees earn $10,000 less per year
•      Black women make .64 for every dollar made by a while male
• 
  

Contribute your own thoughts to the national dialog!

A Punch in the Gut

What delights me most about this year’s summer school is the diversity of its participants. Although I live and work in a racially and ethnically diverse city, rarely am I in a room in which there are so many women of color and so much diversity of labor. And although I work in a community college in which there is a plurality of students of color, the professors and professional staff with whom I work do not reflect the diversity of the student population.  

But along with this delight comes the painful, visceral recognition of my own white privilege. Of course, I have been cognizant of this privilege; yet, I have not confronted it with the kind of immediacy I experienced yesterday. In the workshop “Organizing for Racial Justice,” sisters were given a brief history, and learned a host of statistics about, mass incarceration. I was familiar with some of the history and with most of the statistics and knew well the racial and racist imprint of this history. However, when we were asked to identify a time when we felt oppressed, dominated, or restricted in economic or social opportunities, I was astonished that I could not identify any time in my life that I, personally (as opposed to vicariously), felt such subjection.

As sister after sister testified to her own racist and sexist subjugation, I felt anger and empathy, and truth be told, I felt uncomfortable and self-conscious. Simply by being a middle-class white woman, I have been immune to the everyday racism afflicted upon my sisters, and the sense of power and entitlement afforded me by such privilege has enabled me to shun the sexism so many have experienced. In class yesterday, I felt my white privilege as a gut punch, not as the intellectual abstraction it so often is; now I need to return to class to figure out how to transform the viscera of

privilege into action. I know that I must speak up (class ended before I could offer my own testimony—I will today—) and speak out (to call out and demand an end to police targeting of people of color), but I need to learn how better to work towards systemic inclusion and equity in my own union and in our world and to know—first hand-- that when I do so, I speak from a position of privilege.

.

With more than 300 years of organizing experience, 17 women share our vision for a better future

The Rose Schneiderman leadership skills class at the 40^th UALE Summer School for Union Women is a rich tapestry of various backgrounds and experiences. From workers centers to long time union presidents, from healthcare workers to electrical workers, from the East Coast all the way to California we share a vision for a more equitable future:

Team One

Team one’s vision is to see a more equal playing field for all people: equal opportunity for housing, equal pay for everyone, equal protection under the law no matter their race, equal rights for all families no matter there sexual orientation. In this future we would all work together to preserve the rights of all working people.

Team Two

The theme of equality runs through to team two’s presentation as well. This team highlights the value of equal pay as well but adds to the mix real universal healthcare, education opportunity, and a living wage as the road map for our future.

Team Three

Team three shows us the value of balance in our lives. When we get the balance of a fair wages for our work it results in more time with our families. More time with our families help ensure a safer and happier school environment and future for our kids. Which in turn allows us the peace of mind to continue to do good work for fair pay!

Team Four

Team Four shares the other teams’ visions for fairness for all workers. By creating a society where all experience is valued, all work has dignity, all people have comprehensive healthcare, and there is more diversity across all levels of the work force they feel we could start to see a better society.

The exact details of the plans may differ from group to group but we all share two important things: we are ready to fight for this more equitable future and we all are confident that the UALE summer school will help give them the skills to do so.

What I took home from last year's Summer School...

It may not look like much - it's just a piece of colored glass - but I've been carrying it around with me ever since I received it at my Leadership Skills Workshop on the last day of the 2014 Summer School at Queens College. It was given as a token to represent the love, support and strength we receive from our sisters while at Summer School that we carry with us back to our jobs, our unions, our lives. I often find my hands on it when I'm digging through my bag looking for one thing or another and I'm transported back to that place, that space, all the amazing women I met and everything I learned. I'm so fortunate that I've been able to return to Summer School this year with my little piece of glass for I know I'll be bringing so much more home with me.

sample post

IDA TORRES

What to Expect at Beautiful University Park, PA

As a Penn Stater, it would be fair to assume that I have some bias when I say that Penn State has the most beautiful college campus on Earth. But I didn’t choose Penn State for nothing! Our scenic campus, however, might be a bit daunting to newcomers because of its size (we have our own zip code!), but as a first year survivor, I’d like to give my sisters some tips on navigating the heart of Happy Valley.

Bring comfortable walking shoes! One thing I’ll never forget is mapping out my class schedule and realizing that my first class on Mondays was 1.2 miles away. While we likely won’t be walking that far (I had a pretty rough schedule), I would recommend wearing shoes that could accommodate 10-15 minute walks a few times a day. The dorms we will be staying in are some of the nicest we have on campus, but they are also a bit out of the way from classrooms!

While we’re discussing footwear, bring rain boots if you have them. You never know what the July humidity will bring! A small umbrella will also be a big help in the case of a rain shower on the way to a workshop. On the flip side, a humid July day with no rain can be exhausting. I never leave my dorm without a water bottle!

Bring a large purse or a backpack for anything you gather from all the workshops, whether it be papers, books, business cards, or freebies! If you are lacking in the bag department, we will be selling totes with our UALE 40^th Anniversary logo! There will be a variety of other UALE swag available, including logo buttons for only one dollar!

Bring your cellphone and or camera! It’s pretty cool to be able to ask that you bring your phone rather than tell you to leave it at home. With 130 + sisters, the school this year's school is at capacity. That means that the excitement will be ubiquitous all week. Capture every moment that you can! Photos and videos will help the memories you make last a lifetime, and they will also come in handy during the blogging workshop, where you will be able to share your memories and our good work with others all over the world wide web! Moreover, the college kid inside me is screaming “Network! Network!”, so having your phone on hand to exchange numbers with sisters and new friends will be a handy convenience during this incredible opportunity to connect with sisters from so many different backgrounds.

This is going to be an amazing week for all of us, whether you’re familiar with Penn State or not. I hope that you are all as excited as we at the Penn State School of Labor and Employment Relations are for the opportunity to gather in solidarity and continue to promote and improve our work for the labor movement. I assure you that Penn State is an outstanding place to do these things, but if you are at all concerned about anything involving our campus and what to expect, please feel free to message me, Jodi Rafalko, on Facebook or email me at jlr5979@psu.edu. We Are….sisters!

See you very soon! 

M. Dante, Sister and Sex Worker

M. Dante` is a Red Umbrella advocate, speaking out about disparities of the sex industry since the early 1990s. Transcending homelessness herself via the industry, and maintaining industry affiliations, she supports the New Zealand model of decriminalization.  Her 2003 Goddard College BA senior study, “XXX: A Cultural Exploration of Contemporary Feminism’s Relationship with Commercial Sexuality” offers discussion on the varying definitions of feminism, along with contemplation on what defines mutually consensual erotic labor services or sex work, forced prostitution during armed conflict or war, and trafficking. M. Dante assists on projects with: Community United for Safety and Protection (CUSP), the Diabolique Foundation, the Erotic Literary Salon (ELS), Erotic Services Providers Union (ESPU), the ESLPER Project, Fundamentals of Communication and Kindness (FUCK) Workshops at Community College of Philadelphia (CCP), Lady Dahlia Entertainment, Philadelphia Anti-Trafficking Coalition (PATC), Scantily Clad Storytelling hosted by Eris Vale, SEXx Interactive in affiliation with Sex with Timaree and GALAEI, Philadelphia FIGHT, Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP)-USA, SWOP-Philly, Project SAFE, Victoria Woodhull Sexual Freedom Summit (VWSFS), International Sex Worker Foundation for Art, Culture and Education (ISWFACE), Reverend Beverly Dale and the Incarnation Institute for Sex & Faith; and more!

M. Dante is herself a sex worker, and also – according to the current federal definition - a former victim of domestic minor sex trafficking as a result of being homeless as a teenager and young adult. She is actively contemplating legitimate opportunities to participate and contribute to the evolving needs of those whose lives are touched by consensual sex work, or coercion by sex trafficking.

“I desire clear, quantifiable, and qualitative outcomes as a result of innovative community collaborations, crossing class and cultural borders, generating entirely new opportunities from what is – I believe defined as - a current state social and economic crisis.” 

Bella Robinson- Fighting for Our Sisters in the Erotic Community

Bella Robinson - a sex worker rights activist -  has worked in the sex industry for over thirty years. She is the director of Rhode Island chapter of COYOTE (Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics) since 2009, and a board member of ESPU (Erotic Service Providers Union) and the ESPLER Project, or ESPLERP (The Erotic Service Providers Union Legal, Education and Research Project).

In 1976 the Rhode Island chapter of COYOTE sued the Rhode Island Attorney General, in the landmark case COYOTE vs. Roberts, regarding the constitutionality of the state’s prostitution laws, resulting in the decriminalization of indoor sex work between consenting adults.

Founded in 2004, ESPU is a California based non-profit supporting the decriminalization of prostitution. ESPU envisions sex workers gaining agency through the model of  industrial organizing for legal, occupational, social and economic rights.

Bella is also a board member of ESPU affiliate, the ESPLER Project.  ESPLERP  is a diverse community-based - erotic service provider led  - group seeking to empower the erotic community,  and advance sexual privacy rights through legal advocacy, education and research.  In our legal advocacy, we seek to create change through a combination of impact litigation, policy statements, and by voicing our concerns for our community in political arenas.  Through educational trainings and outreach, we will empower and build capacity to address discrimination of erotic service providers and the greater erotic community.  Lastly, ESPLERP strive to archive and rate much of the research which has been done by the sex worker community, and build on this history with research which seeks to be increasingly inclusive, respectful, and ultimately, relevant to the erotic service providers, the larger erotic community, and those who need factual information on our community.

We will have the privilege of meeting Bella at our 2015 UALE Summer School. Thanks to Bella for an intriguing submission!