We have been a union house for years, but this will be my first march in the Labor Day Parade

Marta was CWA from 1975-1993 including the 3 week strike of 83. I was GAU when I got fired in 1980 for organizing a non-union print shop. After going through an administrative law judge, the NLRB, and Federal Appeals Court in St. Louis, I won my case. I was by then working as a seasonal with the City of Omaha. When the local tried to organize seasonal workers, I had 100% of the group I was in signed up. Unfortunately city wide they fell short of the 50% plus 1 requirement.

I started full time on December 15, 1997 as a park caretaker. The job was eliminated in August of 2006. I posted the newspaper story with my picture at the time. I started in a new department last October. Because of ADA charges I filed against my old department, I was fired in retaliation Feb. 22nd this year. Three days before binding arbitration was to start, the city settled. I was reinstated and made whole for my loss less the $ I earned while waiting for my case to come up.

The only time up until now I have been a working member of a union I had to work in my old park location every Labor Day. This will be my first year to walk full of pride in Monday's parade.

Omaha Steve Chief Steward AFSCME local 251

Isn't it "funny" that we don't really talk about working people on Labor Day? Labor seems to be off the radar. I was talking with my brother yesterday about JFK's campaign. Our father was in a shoeworkers union and John Kennedy was very proud of their support. While he was a candidate, our dad actually took him around the shoeshops and mills to shake people's hands. I can't imagine that happening today. What a shame.

shape the people we are today. You post many important issues dealing with labor. I find them so relevant given the fact that many jobs that are not threaten to outsourcing are threatened with visa workers ie. nursing to manipulate wages. Very greatful for your impact in this area and for never giving up-congratulations!

Steve, enjoyed your account so much that it made me recall my efforts in this regard, so I just cut 'n pasted some excerpts from my earlierweb posting of my previous union-organizing effort down here in Florida:
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May 2006. I initiated a process to establish union representation in my workplace, which at that time was in a newbie, fiberoptic-based telecommunications company, based in the 'research triangle' of North Carolina, with a fielded workforce of about 30 technicians covering a number of residential construction sites, mainly in Florida but in various sites in the Southeastern US.

...I felt there was sufficient grounds to build a local chapter of the CWA (Communications Workers of America). A lot of favoritism, discrimination, the aforementioned bigotry and other issues could not be resolved by addressing them to management independent of a worker's organization. After all, they were originating the problems to begin with.

...I found them to be even more openly racist and bigoted, particularly with Hispanics. A strategic blunder for a service-oriented company that has targeted about 75% of their business here in Florida, with residential sites even higher in proportion of Hispanic populations.

...I did not expect any major concessions to come from my effort as the company had relatively decent benefits in terms of its insurance and other side benefits. But I felt it would help to produce a more positive environment in the workplace and for equitable treatment for all the workers. By federal labor law, I only needed 30% support in the workplace to bring in a vote. Which in this case would only be a couple of permanent hires.


They had to act quickly. By early August 2006, three months from the day I first began openly organizing in the workplace for the CWA, the company conveniently found grounds to terminate me. "Disclosure of company information to non-company personnel" was one of their excuses.

In any event, they pushed me into a corner for my union-organizing but I wasn't going to back down from what I felt was the right thing to do. Although in the end I didn't remain employed in the telecommunications industry after this experience, coincidentally within a week, I found myself enrolled into a completely different job, albeit as an apprentice in the Iron Workers Union Local #808 here in Orlando.
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Although I really enjoyed the union experience there, I didn't get enough initial work as an apprentice to pay some outstanding bills at that time, I've sinced moved onto another union-shop environment, within the AFSCME group. I work at a local university as a landscaper. Lower pay but steady work. Haven't been able to attend any local meetings yet, my second part-time job keeps me occupied sometimes, but I'm a dues-paying member and I never regret anything I've done to improve the work conditions for anyone and everyone where I find myself working.

The only possible thing I could regret is not pursuing legal action against the telecom employer for wrongful termination. Probaby I should have contacting some union-friendly lawyers back then.