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CLUW Celebrates 45 Years
by Helen Ramirez-Odell
The Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) was founded in Chicago March 24, 1974, and is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year. CLUW is the national women's organization within the labor movement. CLUW is leading the effort to empower women in the workplace, advance women in their unions, and promote policies that support women and working families.
Katie Jordan, President of the Chicago Chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women, went to Washington DC this month, to lobby for the Paycheck Fairness Act, Raise the Wage Act, and the Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act as part of the "Sisters Not Afraid of Power: On the Hill" program. This was one of the activities carried out by the CLUW National Executive Board when they met April 9-11 to plan the 2019 CLUW convention, which will be held in October 2019 in Las Vegas.
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2019 CLUW AWARDS DINNER
CLUW Celebrates International Women's Day:
Six Women Honored
Edited by Joan Morris
The Chicago Chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) hosted its annual dinner celebration of International Women's Day on March 21, 2019, at the Martinique at 8200 S. Cicero Avenue in Burbank. This year's theme was "Women, Making Waves for our Future."
This year's keynote speaker was Marcia Walker-McWilliams, author of
Reverend Addie Wyatt: Faith and the Fight for Labor, Gender, and Racial Equality. Dr. Walker-McWilliams earned her Ph.D. at the University of Chicago. In her book she acknowledges help provided by two WWHP board members: Katie Jordan for conversations about Addie Wyatt and Joan McGann Morris who shared an extensive interview of Addie Wyatt she had conducted for WWHP. Walker-McWilliams spoke emphasizing the importance of keeping stories, like that of Addie Wyatt, in the public view.
Chicago CLUW gave 4 awards, each named for giants in the labor movement: Florence Criley, Olga Madar, Joyce Miller, and Addie Wyatt. The Florence Criley Award was shared by three women: Patricia Ousley of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Lakesia Collins of Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and Deborah Cosey-Lane of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU). Letitia "Tish" Taylor (AFSCME) received the Olga Madar Award and Clayola Brown of Workers United received the Reverend Addie Wyatt Award.
Our own Jackie Kirley (CCCTU retiree) received the Joyce D. Miller Award, which she accepted on behalf of the Working Women's History Project. Jackie said receiving the Joyce Miller award was particularly moving because of Miller's commitment to child care, a particular concern of WWHP. As Vice President of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, Miller helped establish child care centers for the union, including the center in Chicago that a government report called "the Rolls-Royce of day care." When Miller later became President of CLUW, a delegation from CLUW visited child care centers in Israel, Sweden and France and later published a booklet on their findings on the general subject of child care. WWHP's interviews with parents of young children and teachers and providers of child care was the basis for
Handle With Care, a play written by Tracy Walsh, ensemble member of Lookingglass Theater, through WWHP's partnership with Lookingglass Theater's Civic Practice Lab.
The six women who received awards at the dinner clearly exemplify the activism and leadership that CLUW represents. They also inspire young women to take on leadership roles in their own unions or other organizations.
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Helen Miller: Union Leader and Fighter
for Better Pay for Home Care Workers (1936-2019)
by Amy Laiken
Helen Miller was born Helen Ruth Ashford in a small town in Mississippi in 1936. She
moved to Chicago following her graduation from high school. After finding work in industrial laundries and marrying Collin Miller, she became a home care provider for the city of Chicago, and then the Illinois Department of Rehabilitation Services (DORS), caring for seniors and disabled people in their homes. Helen Miller was an early member of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 880 (currently SEIU Healthcare Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, & Kansas).
In the 1980's, Mrs. Miller and her co-workers were classified as independent contractors, in spite of their local's affiliation with SEIU. That designation meant that the workers did not have the right to bargain collectively. In 1987, she testified before the Illinois General Assembly, asking that the home care workers' pay be raised to the minimum wage at the time, $3.35 per hour, from an hourly wage of $1.00. Shortly thereafter, the state legislature increased the workers' pay to $3.50 per hour.
In 1999, Helen Miller was elected president of her local following stints as treasurer and vice president. She served as president for eight years, until her retirement in 2007. In 2003, the home care workers won the right to bargain collectively, and were eventually successful in securing gains in wages.
Mrs. Miller also helped home child care providers to organize with SEIU Local 880, resulting in the local growing to over 70,000 members in 2006, according to the SEIU website. In commenting on Helen Miller's legacy, Gwendolyn Vaughn, lead organizer on the Homecare team for SEIU Healthcare Illinois, Indiana, Missouri & Kansas (and who is also a WWHP board member), said, "I am standing on her shoulders."
Helen Miller, who returned to Louisville, Mississippi following her retirement, died there on March 5, 2019. She will be remembered as a woman who fought tirelessly for fair wages for underpaid workers who provide valuable services so that senior citizens and disabled people can remain in their homes.
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