My grandmother Delia, was born in County Cavan Ireland, in 1872. She left Ireland in 1888 at the age of 16. She arrived in Minnesota and made her way to Superior, Wisconsin where she lived, married and raised four kids the oldest of whom was my Dad, Emmett. She died in 1975 at the age of 85. Delia came from Ireland with a decent education and a keen interest in providing for herself and her family. She started a grocery store in her community which was very successful in providing funds to be able to do what mattered most to her: send her children to college. She held education as the highest value and acted on that belief including providing an education for her daughter as well as her three sons. Grandmother Delia also taught her children and grandchildren the importance of being involved in her community. Delia ran for a local office, was elected and served for several years. She also conveyed that value to her children and grandchildren. I was raised in a home where loyalty to the Catholic Church and the Democratic Party, unions and working people were almost inseparable. Those underlying values have remained and shaped my life and work. Mary Jean Collins is a consultant who has devoted her life to progressive...
He would tell you he is a Teamster. Papaw worked hard all his life and was able to retire when he turned 65. Thanks to his union he has healthcare and a pension to this day. Growing up he talked a lot about the importance of hard work as well as the power of collective bargaining. His values shaped my own work in politics and organizing...
My Grandfather arrived from Russia in early 1900. The first thing he did was to get a job. The second thing he did was to enroll in a night class to learn English. I can still remember the picture of my grandfather holding his certificate that he had learned English. He was so proud of that. He always felt it was a privilege to be a US...
Remember the cafeteria lady at your high school? That was my grandmother, Juanita Lavelle Shuler. She raised five children and worked full time to support the family, as my grandfather was disabled. She was hard working and took her responsibilities very seriously. She went to work every day and cooked the food that kept the children and staff at Oregon’s Sandy High School moving. She took a lot of pride in her work. The most important lesson I learned from her about work was that if you work hard and do your best at whatever job you have, you can let your work speak for itself. You don’t have to do any self-promoting or bragging about all the wonderful things you’ve done – just let the hard work do the talking. Liz Shuler is the Secretary-Treasurer of the...
