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AFSCME Archivist

@afscme-archivist.bsky.social

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I maintain AFSCME's historical records at Wayne State University's Walter P. Reuther Library, Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs.
reuther.wayne.edu
archives.wayne.edu
https://wayne.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/afscme

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AFSCME Archivist

@afscme-archivist.bsky.social

Here's a story from @afscme.bsky.social's magazine from that first victory:
#LaborHistory #nurses #SharpNurses #SanDiego #SPNN

single page magazine article titled "It's a contract! Nurses at Sharp HealthCare worked two years to get a union. Then they spent a year bargaining for their first contract. But what a contract!" Article body reads, in part: For Barbara Dent, RN, there is a face on the new contract she helped bargain with Sharp HealthCare. That face belongs to Nita Alcala, RN. Alcala had worked at Sharp for 28 years when she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Following surgery, she lost
her voice. As she struggled with chemotherapy and speech therapy, Alcala learned she had been terminated. "It's something that will never sit right with me," says Dent, "and it fired us up even further to get some sort of protection." Job security during a catastrophic illness is part of the new threeyear contract ratified on May 22 by an 82 percent majority vote. Most of the pact is built around the ability of Sharp's nurses to provide quality patient care. That, after all, is the primary
reason they organized Sharp Professional Nurses Network (SPNN) —
part of AFSCME affiliate United Nurses Associations of California/National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees — three years ago. With over 2,200 workers in the unit, it was the largest single organizing victory among nurses under the National Labor Relations Act. The carefully crafted organizing drive has established a model that can be used to organize nurses in hospitals and health care organizations across the country as AFSCME fights for quality patient care and quality jobs. SLIPPING STANDARDS. "When you think about it, patients go to a hospital because they need nursing care. That's
why hospitals exist," says Chris McGovern, RN... From the AFSCME Communications Department records, Walter Reuther Library, Wayne State University. Contact AFSCME Archivist if you need the full article.

November 26, 2025 at 3:08 PM

AFSCME Archivist

@afscme-archivist.bsky.social

The Havasupai people live in the most remote reservation in the country. They fought the US government for the return of their land for decades before achieving some success in the 1970s. #NativeAmericanHeritage #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth #GrandCanyon #Arizona

The Grand Canyon, Arizona, as seen from a helicopter, 1983. A rock formation borders the left side of the frame, with lower mountains in the distance and an overcast sky in the background. From the AFSCME Communications Department records at the Reuther Library, Wayne State University.

November 18, 2025 at 3:07 PM

AFSCME Archivist

@afscme-archivist.bsky.social

They made their first helicopter trip into the canyon in December 1982. McCabe, an eligibility worker with the Flagstadd Family Assistance office, grew up on a Navajo reservation, giving her an important perspective for her work with the #Havasupai community. #LaborHistory #NativeAmericanHeritage

In 1983, two women, Ann Wiedoff and Gloria McCabe, walk from a helicopter carrying bags and wearing coats. A striated rock wall fills the background. From the AFSCME Communications Department records at the Reuther Library, Wayne State University.

November 18, 2025 at 3:07 PM

AFSCME Archivist

@afscme-archivist.bsky.social

Here's another image from @afscme.bsky.social's Public Employee magazine of Sobbe (dressed as a pumpkin) with coworkers as children board a school bus on Halloween, 1980. Also pictured are tinman Kathy Forsythe and baker Marylou McManamon. #LaborHistory #HuronValley #BusDrivers

Image from the November 1980 issue of AFSCME's Public Employee magazine showing children lined up to board a school bus who are greeted by their bus drivers, members of Local 202. The caption reads: "AFSCME Local 202 school bus drivers in Huron Valley, Michigan had as much fun as the kids last month celebrating Halloween. The drivers handed out sweet treats on their morning runs, then visited school classrooms to entertain students with hobgoblin stories. From left, tinman Kathy Forsythe, baker Marylou McManamon and pumpkin Joan Sobbe."

November 12, 2025 at 3:17 PM

AFSCME Archivist

@afscme-archivist.bsky.social

The program taught values like "acquiring harmony with the earth's natural resources," plus a variety of crafts and skills. Sobbe said, "The children develop a strong sense of pride about themselves, their Indian heritage and ancestry." #LaborHistory #HuronValley #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth

November 12, 2025 at 3:17 PM