Happy Father’s Day to all the union dads out there, especially my dad, who I can’t see today because he’s sick with the flu. Like many people who grew up with dads who were union activists, my dad inspired me a lot as a labor reporter.
My dad spent 44 years working for the UE union, starting in 1977 when he was 24 and retiring at 68 in 2021. Despite being elected as the UE’s national Director of Organization in 2015, he never once made about $70,000 in his nearly fifty-year career as a union rep.
My father continued the UE traditions started by my great Aunt Lucy and Uncle Herb, who served as UE organizers in the 1940s.
My Uncle Herb, a World War Two combat veteran, was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee at a field hearing in Baltimore in 1957.
At the hearing, my Uncle Herb refused to be named and was fired from his job as a local math teacher. However, he helped to protect the UE from further red-baiting.
For all of my life, the sacrifices of my father, my family members and so many others have inspired me as a labor reporter.
Happy Father’s Day to all the union Dads – union values begin in the household!
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