Faces of the Labor Movement: SEIU
Bethany Ordaz (left), Jackie Berry (center) and Ethel Gates (right) get ready to knock on some doors in Waukesha, July 30.
CLICK HERE to WATCH Huett Ballard, Jackie Berry, Becky Flagg and Ethel Gates talk about the issues that matter to them and why they support Barack Obama
In Wisconsin, SEIU currently has four full-time staff who will each lead a team of SEIU members leading up to the election. Huett Ballard, Jackie Berry, Becky Flagg and Ethel Gates are all self-described political veterans, having worked the labor program in 2004 and being politically active before that.
Huett Ballard, SEIU 150, has checked in on members who receive home healthcare for the past two years (“I make sure the person who takes care of them is doing what they do.”). Ballard is a Korean War veteran, who wanted to enlist ever since he was a boy shining boots for the paratroopers at Ft. Benning in Columbus, Georgia. After serving 18 months in Korea, he ended up in southeastern Wisconsin for a job. As a veteran, Ballard is concerned that McCain doesn’t want to talk about his background on the issues, only wanting to talk about his military service record. Ballard is also opposed to McCain’s proposals for offshore oil drilling. (“If you drill now, you’re still not going to get any oil now – it’ll take ten years.”)
Jackie Berry, SEIU Local 1, has been a member for almost 17 years, and works as a janitor in downtown Milwaukee. She serves as a worksite leader (or steward) and on the bargaining team for the downtown janitors. Her mom, who retired when she was 77 years old, was chief steward for the local. “She’s the one who inspires me,” said Berry. “First time voters, young voters – we have to get out here and educate them.”
Becky Flagg, SEIU 150, has been involved in politics since she was 17. She works with handicapped children in the Milwaukee Public Schools and is a worksite leader (or steward) for her local. When walking in Waukesha last month, she talked to a woman who was a retired school teacher (“I work for the schools too so it was easy to get a conversation going.”). The woman and her husband are both considering coming out of retirement to help out their sons financially, one who is in school and the other who had to leave the city in order to find work. At first she didn’t want to say who she was voting for, but after talking with Flagg said, “I’m voting for the working man – you know who that is” meaning Barack Obama. “We need to educate older people too,” said Flagg. “They can’t afford to buy medicine or go to the grocery store. We have to talk about what’s going on in the world – about facts, not garbage.”
Ethel Gates, SEIU 150, is a 32 year member and has served as a union coordinator (used to be Chief Steward) and as a worksite leader (used to be Steward). She has also been on the bargaining team, on the state council and an executive board member. “I don’t like to be out front,” she said. “I like to be in the background. I’ll give you information so you can make an informed decision.”
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