English
UDW Riverside member organizer and home care provider, Blanca Quintero
Women comprise 56 percent of AFSCME’s 1.6 million members. Their activism and leadership have been critical to our union’s strength and success. Through leadership programs – and this year’s women’s conferences – the national union is equipping women with the tools and knowledge they’ll need to make a difference in our union, the labor movement and our nation. Here are the stories of five activists who are doing their part to build AFSCME’s power and confront the challenges ahead.
By Jon Melegrito, AFSCME Publications
IN MY CO-WORKERS’ SHOES
Blanca Quintero, a 43-year-old home care provider, says that the opportunity to work for women through her union has been “a great blessing.”
A member of UDW Homecare Providers Union (UDW/AFSCME) for seven years, Quintero is one of approximately 1.7 million independent providers nationwide – mostly women – who are employed directly by the “consumers” of their services. These are the elderly and disabled who live in their own homes, or sometimes, the homes of the providers themselves.
In her role as member organizer, Quintero reaches out to other providers, “who feel vulnerable and defenseless. They come from different countries, and cultures and language barriers often keep them from getting the help they need.”
And she identifies with many of them because their situation is similar to hers.
When Quintero’s 18-month-old daughter, Lislany, died of Cerebral Palsy 25 years ago, she struggled with “the most wrenching pain in my soul.” Two years later, she gave birth to daughter, Lizeth, who also has special needs.
“Lizeth needed me to take care of her,” says Quintero. “She’s 23 now but she still functions like a six-year-old.” Quintero, and her husband, Roberto, have two other children: Edgar, 27, and Lesly, 17.
But rather than curse her fate, Quintero considers herself fortunate. “What made me who I am is the fact that I have been the mother of a child with special needs, twice. The experience of living in fear for both of my daughters has made me value life even more – as a human being and as a woman. For children with disabilities, I have learned that I am the arm, the ears and the voice they do not have.”
With this insight, three years ago Quintero founded “Grupo Mariposa,” (Butterfly Group), a support organization for Latino parents of children with special needs. Drawing on her union’s resources, she organized house meetings and workshops in Spanish to help them become better providers and active members of the union. Last summer, she led a busload of families and friends to Los Angeles to protest state budget cuts to In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS). They were outraged that the state would reduce wages for workers like them who care for the elderly and the disabled.
“Coming together to share our pain and join hands to fight injustice made us all realize how important a union is,” Quintero says. “I’ve learned what it’s like to be in my co-workers’ shoes. They have told me that I had something to do with their getting involved, that they also feel rewarded for giving back because of the security and support the union provides.”
“Blanca has done a tremendous job as chair of the Riverside Chapter to mobilize and get home care providers active,” says UDW Exec. Dir. Doug Moore, who is also an International vice president. “Her demonstrated leadership and activism have inspired many of her co-workers to step up and be involved.”
Quintero points to the union’s training tools, including the conferences and street actions, as indispensable to her development as member organizer, chapter chair and executive board member of UDW’s State Board.
“Many of us are natural leaders but aren’t able to develop to our full potential,” she asserts. “This is especially true among women who come from cultures where they are discouraged from seeing themselves as leaders. AFSCME has given us valuable opportunities to learn from one another, to change, to grow and value ourselves for who we really are.”
