Members were asked to share their memories of growing up in a union family, how the experience impacted them, and what role being part of a union family played in their joining and involvement in NCAE. Here are some of their stories.
Jan Caldwell, Buncombe County Retired
“My father was a butcher with the A&P Grocery Store in Asheville. I remember his talk of the union, the Amalgamated Meat Cutters Union. I remember his hands – cut and always covered with Band-aids from his work. I remember visiting him at the store and seeing his white apron covered with blood. At the age of 6 I thought it was hard, awful work. My grandfather was also a leader of the United Textile Workers of America with the American Enka Plant, a rayon production factory. He was heavily involved and worked for his fellow employees with a passion.
In high school, I read ‘The Jungle,’ by Upton Sinclair, a book which depicts working-class poverty, lack of social support, harsh and unpleasant living and working conditions, and hopelessness among many workers in the meat-packing plants of the Chicago stockyards. This book, as well as my father’s and grandfather’s views impacted my view of unions and the role they play to improve working conditions."
Jan was a member of SNCAE while a student at Western Carolina University. When she began her teaching career in 1977, she joined the Mitchel County Association of Educators. She transferred to the Buncombe County Association of Educators in 1979 and is now a lifetime member of the NC Retired School Personnel.
Greg Cranford, Newton-Conover
“When I was a little boy, I often heard my father praising the union. Union was never a dirty word to me like it is to so many southerners. I knew my history and knew unions contributed to the building of the great middle class at one time. My father was a classroom teacher and an administrator (a superintendent most of his career). Almost every employee joined the union because administrators supported it and suggested their staff join.
“I will always be a union supporter because of my father.”
Anne Raybon, Durham County
“My mom taught in Georgia for 37 years and was a member of NEA the entire time. I recall reading the magazine as a child. My father served on the school board for 18 years. In the late 70’s, my mom and other teachers traveled to the capital to demonstrate for higher pay and my father drove the bus!”
Troy Cole, Halifax County
“My dad was a career pipefitter. He was a proud member of the Boilermakers Union for years. He participated in a strike in the early 90’s and was fired from his job, as were several others who joined the picket line. While out, the union negotiated a better contract for employees and my dad not only got his job back, but received severance pay.
"One of his sayings I remember was ‘The right to work = the right to be enslaved.’ He was pro-union even though much of my family was anti-union.”
Cheryl Whitaker, Forsyth County
“My grandpa and dad were members of the union while working for General Electric in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I remember them talking about contract negotiations and how dad and mom were extra careful about spending due to the financial unknown. In later years, my dad became a union steward and helped protect people from losing their jobs, worked on negotiations, and took on extra overtime hours while working a swing shift."
Cheryl said she joined NCAE/FCAE at the beginning of her career. Joining the union wasn’t a big decision for her because growing up, she was taught and believed unions work for the best interest of its members.
“My dad showed me by example that collective strength of workers goes far beyond the individual. If the union went on strike, so did he; walking the picket lines and supporting them when he wasn’t walking the line. We tightened our belts until all was resolved.”
Appreciation for her own local was realized in 2014 when her father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She checked into the amount of annual leave days and was told she had enough time to go and support him during his treatment. However, when she received her next paycheck, a large part of her salary had been docked. She called the financial lead and was told the state didn’t allow employees to take annual leave for family members, only themselves.
“I was shocked and panicked, after which I called Colleen Lanier (former UniServ director in Forsyth County). The first thing she said was, ‘It’s going to be okay. I’m sorry to hear about your dad. Your place is with him and your family. Let us worry about the problem. You’re part of our family and we’re here for each other. We’ll help get your days covered.’” Cheryl said her next paycheck reflected the days she had available, and Colleen asked her colleagues to donate extra days so she could continue to be with her father. “The union lessons he left behind are forever a part of my legacy too. If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.”
Jack Chrismon, Johnston County Retired
“I was born into a union family in Oklahoma. My father worked in an oil refinery and was a member of the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers’ Union (OCAW). I attended union meetings with him and saw and experienced the need for unions. When hired by the San Antonio Independent School District in 1970, my first question was ‘who is my union representative?’ When I moved to North Carolina in 1982, I immediately joined Wake NCAE. I later moved to Johnston County and continued with JCAE. I retired in 2013 and am a lifetime member of NC Retired Personnel.”
Jack served as a building rep, a NCAE Convention delegate and NEA Convention delegate every year from 1985-2013, local president, treasurer, and as a member of the NCAE Board. “I always tell public education employees, you’re not a professional unless you are a member.”
Amy Harrison, Guilford County
“Both of my parents were active in NCAE, my mom serving as a local president and on the NCAE Board of Directors and my dad a proud building leader. I remember attending lots of meetings with them, watching as they lead our union. My brother and I did our homework at the back table of restaurants and school buildings, getting help from our union family and building relationships with other union babies. It warms my heart to now see my union brothers’ and sisters’ children come to meetings and build relationships and love for this union and public schools like I did so many years ago.
“I clearly remember attending a Lobby Day with my parents. We were in a senator’s office who had promised to vote for a bill and he didn’t follow through. My mom was upset and was using her stern teacher voice. I started crying and said, ‘you lied to my momma – you shouldn’t lie!’ He was very apologetic and promised to vote the right way going forward. He did, and always made a point to ask my parents about me as they met and worked to make public schools better. I ended up working on his re-election campaigns and interviewed him as part of my eighth-grade NC government project. As a student this helped me to see the power of NCAE and gave me even more of a reason to join when I began teaching.”
Amy has been member for 23 years and serves as the Region 4 director on the NCAE Board. Her mother represents Region 4 on the NCRSP Board of Directors.
Ellen Sigmon, Catawba County
“Both my mother and father were educators and members of NCAE. Because of this, I became a member as soon as I started teaching in 2006. My dad worked for Gaston County Schools for many years as the head of psychological services. He and I could clear a room with our discussions on education policy whenever we got together! He passed away in 2020 at the age of 89 but I still keep a plaque awarded him by the local for his years of service in my library to remember him and his commitment to a quality education.”
Michelle Burton, Durham County
“Growing up in Chicago, unions are a big part of the culture. Many in my family were proud union members but it did not dawn on me until I was in my twenties how unions impacted my life in so many positive ways."
“My grandfather set the standard of being part of unions for my family. He was a Pullman Porter and a member of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first union for Black men in America. Being a member of the union allowed my grandfather to provide extras for his family, such as a yearly vacation and trips to local amusement parks. In 1957 he was killed in a tragic train accident and my grandmother was able to receive his pension for the remainder of her life, allowing my mother and her three siblings to attend college if they wanted. My uncle became journeyman electrician in the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). As a child, my brothers and I would brag to our neighborhood friends how he helped build the Sears Tower (now the Willis Tower). He was one of many union electricians who wired the Sears Tower, once the tallest building in Chicago and the world. His being a union member gave him the opportunity of a lifetime to create a good life for himself and his family and work on one of the most recognized buildings in America. In 2004, he became the business manager for his local and was also elected vice president of IBEW Local 134. He was the first black official elected in 104 years!"
My family is the reason I joined NCAE when I began teaching in the 1990’s. As I near retirement, I have purchased a life membership in NEA and will continue my membership in the NC Retired Personnel Division because unions literally kept my mother and her family from falling into financial despair.”
