Leaving Summer School Empowered and Inspired

By Natalie Hofmeister

I had planned to write this blog on the racism woven into Right-to-Work laws. After Labor History Night, I’m finding it hard to focus on the past, and others have written and spoken brilliantly on racism and right-to-work. I want to look towards the future.

I am new to the labor movement. I came to Summer School hoping to learn as much as I could. I wish I could rewind these last five days to go back and wring out even more knowledge from all the conversations I had.

It’s taken me years as a member of unions to grasp how essential it is to organize. I grew up in a middle-class family, knowing next to nothing about “Labor,” and joined my union as a Master’s student at Columbia University as their fight to unionize gained momentum. Today, I’m a graduate worker and student at Cornell, where I teach and research evolution.

Graduate students are a growing segment of the labor movement. Since many jobs require higher degrees, we seek out Master’s, professional, and doctoral degrees to do the work we’re passionate about. Degrees of any kind are expensive. Many people cannot afford to go to college, let alone to spend another five, six, even ten years to get a Ph.D. It’s easy to spend a decade getting your degree if you’re asked to take on unpaid labor serving the university or taking on additional, uncompensated tasks in the classes you teach. Graduate workers share many of the same struggles.

Because going to graduate school is a privilege, I felt incredibly apprehensive about claiming space for myself and my peers in the labor movement. To every single sister in the UALE Summer School: thank you. You made me feel so welcome and empowered.

I’m leaving our school with twenty pages of notes, quotes, and ideas to improve working conditions for my fellow graduate workers, who often work twice their allotted hours, who go without pay for months at a time, and who berate themselves for wanting a more just workplace. (That last one is me.) After I shared our struggle with you all in the General Session, I was amazed by how many sisters suggested strategies and voiced their support for Cornell Graduate Students United!

I’m soaking up the energy each sister shared, and taking it back to my sisters at Cornell. Today, I am not afraid, thanks to you.

P.S. No example from this work illustrated the intimacy between social justice and labor struggles as well as this video on the racism in the “right to work.” I strongly recommend it!

Break Time with Legacy Sisters

By Maytté Martinez 

The following blog post is inspired by sisters who have energized and empowered me throughout my first UALE Northeastern Summer School. This is an interview with sister Susan Tindall.

Interview @ Labor History Night

1.Where/When did you start your career in the union?
I went to work for the workers union out of Bloomingdales Local 3of the United Store Worker Union in 1984. 

2. What union did you belong to?
DC37 AFSCME, which is the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees NYC.

3. Are there any other women from your union that have inspired you or mentored you?
Founding mother Ida Torres held the distinction of going to every school since 1974. 
I was the shop steward and sat in negotiations with Ida as the secretary of Treasure, it was like watching a tennis match. Watching the negotiations as Ida was across the table from Bloomingdales’ management was nail biting. She was short in stature but a killer. 

4. What changes would you like to see in the union? 
I will wait to see people get angry. Take it to the streets! 

5. Something to live by or any final thoughts?
I’d just like to say a very special thanks to everyone who lent a helping hand. To everyone who snatched my stuff out of my hands and carried it for me. To all those who just checked to ask if I was ok. To each and everyone of you that filled my heart with love and gratitude. To all who never allowed me to stagger alone, I say “Thank You.” I love you all to pieces. There is nothing like the company of my sisters!


Leadership is not a title, it is an action.

Black Women Workers and the Janus Ambush

By Maytté Martinez 

The following blog post is inspired by sisters who have energized and empowered me throughout my first UALE Northeastern Summer School. This is an opinion piece written in collaboration with sister Michelle Keller. 

The recent ruling of the Supreme Court in the Janus case was nothing more than a decision to potentially weaken our collective bargaining power. This is the power that has historically benefited women of color more than all other members in our movement. These are members who are the most vulnerable in the labor market and members who face the double challenge of discrimination based on race and gender.

Women of color are (in general) more than 30% more likely than their white male colleagues to belong to a union. Black women are the largest single demographic amongst all public sector works (1:6 workers). Even with the wage gaps closing for union women in general, black women still make $.72 on the $1 of a white male. (White women make $.88 on the $1 of a white male.) Black women have gained their access to middle class via unions and lifted to the qualifications of so many others.

public sector unions are under attack; and the impacts of this attack will be felt disproportionately by female people of color. Our unions help police job titles, functions and qualifications to create public transparency. By extension, it is black women in unions who have been able to gain employment in the public sector and advance in their career paths.

The impact of Janus could mean less funding for labor unions, threatening our ability to negotiate and maintain our benefits and freedoms in the workplace. The coordinated effort of big business, corporations, politicians and the “Bad Hombre”, have targeted non-union members, encouraging them to stop paying their fair share. This coordinated effort has targeted sectors heavily populated by women such as; hospitals, daycare, education, social work and administration. It is not attacking male-dominated workforces such as engineers or police and fire unions. The intent is to derail unions, strain labor relations, crush WOC laborers and bury their voice.

The labor movement cannot afford to leave anyone behind; it’s personal and too close to home. We need action; run for office, demand a quality of service with a louder voice, engage your colleagues and family, educate and empower them, and most importantly protect all that we have gained and hold dear.

Hopeful for a Better Tomorrow

By Sheron Whitter

1199SEIU UHE Organizer

New York 

I arrived at UALE Summer School Saturday with no expectations. One thing that I was not expecting was how summer school would give me fresh energy and stir my passion profoundly for social and economic justice. The weekend kicked off with a discussion on Saturday evening around the “me too” movement that was awesome. 

Sunday was so much more interesting as we dived into discussions of the progression for work and wages since the 1900s. I believe the labor movement was the catalyst to the progress and forming of unions. I also believe that there are not enough concerted and coordinated efforts within today’s labor movement to build legislative power to secure “union rights”. There was and have always been a hidden, strategic agenda to take the rights of working people backwards. The Janus vs AFSCME case and it’s ruling by the Supreme Court is a direct result of this agenda. This has made me really ANGRY.

However, after listening to so many women speaking out on the inequities they face and sharing their experiences as it relates to social and economic injustices and EQUALITY FOR ALL, I am EXCITED and HOPEFUL. Women are making huge contributions at work and in their communities every day. With the continued strength, action and collaboratives of each of us working together, I am convinced there will be a better tomorrow.

Grievance Handling for Building Resistance workshop

What does the super shop steward look like?

She knowledgeable, she's iconic, she's strong and wears many hats.
She fights for all and has big eyes because she is always watching out for you.
She has a big mouth because she has a strong voice and will be heard and will call out injustices.
She has big ears because she hears your story.
She isn't afraid to roll up her sleeves to get the job done.
She is proud of her union and stands strong with all workers.
(I had fun doing this artwork with my amazing union sisters!)

You can never learn enough

Learning is an experience that gives us the skills to succeed and take in more knowledge than you think and know.

We thank sister Angela Ferrito, Organizer, AFSCME Council 13 in Pennsylvania, and sister Amari Verastegui, Finance and Operations Director at the Center for Innovation in Worker Organizing in New Jersey for helping us build power in union and community organizations.

Food: A highlight of my Summer School experience!

Foods! Yay!!! This is how excited I was when I got to dinner on Saturday evening at UMass Amherst at the 42nd Northeast Summer School for Women in Unions and Worker Organizations.  

As I took the bus from Port-Authority to Massachusetts I did not get to take lunch, so I was looking forward to eat. Burritos, tacos, black beans and corn salad, pinto beans, rice were on the menu. People went for second and third plate, after my second plate I was satisfied not because I was full but the food was very palatable.

Sunday morning we headed to the Franklin Dining Commons, I was amazed at the variety of foods that was there. I took a look at the screen to see some information on permaculture which is a system of cultivation intended to maintain permanent agriculture by relying on renewable resources. So, the foods used to prepare our meals are locally grown on a self-sustaining ecosystem. Even the utensils are certified compostable. That resonates with my values for a cleaner planet.

Monday and Tuesday lunch was at the Campus Center Blue Wall. Again, this cafeteria reflects the diversity that exists in the US; it was very difficult to make a choice. Yum! Bakery, Wasabi, Green Fields, Famous Famiglia are among the different choices that we have. Even if I were a student here, I would not be bored eating here; and the food is delicious, savory, and healthy.

I came to Summer School to learn about leadership in unions, now I am writing a blog about foods. That fact became the highlight of my stay, since I love foods, and I enjoy eating a good meal. Oh, by the way the desserts were flavorful and enticing!