I had some fine teachers at UM. Barillari for Western Civ, Roelofs for Philosphy, Birdsall for English — but one of my best teachers did not hold any academic position and did not have regular office hours. That person was Gladys Jefferson, president of AFSCME Local 1072, the campus workers’ union.

In the 1960’s, UM’s Jim Crow legacy was starkly apparent in the campus workforce. Most of the organized white workers were allied with Maryland Classified Employees Association(MCEA), which tended to represent the higher paid campus jobs then held mostly by whites. The MCEA was an “association”, not a union and had no affiliation with the AFL-CIO.

AFSCME Local 1072, affilitated with the AFL-CIO, represented mostly Black workers, who had that time were largely concentrated in janitorial, food service and grounds.

Black workers were subjected to racist harassment, low wages, dangerous conditions and their career advancement possibilities were limited. Gladys Jefferson was determined to change all of that and AFSCME Local 1072 was her vehicle. The union was born out of the civil rights struggle of that time and was proud of that heritage.

As a speaker and organizer Gladys was dynamic , smart and energetic. She had no illusions about the difficulties she faced on a campus like UM. She was definitely in it for the long haul.

I first saw Gladys in action in 1968 at a protest meeting held in the Student Union. A number of union members were there along with Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) members and other sympathetic students.

To help the union press its demands, Gladys had decided to ally with SDS, the most radical student group on campus.  John Phelps and Eric Lerner were two of the main SDS people initially involved. She also developed a relationship with the Black Student Union, although I do not know the details of this.

At the time, I did not grasp the enormity of what she had done. The University administration was violently hostile to both SDS and the BSU. She had taken a huge risk not only for herself but for the union. By publically associating herself with the SDS and the BSU, she had thrown down the gauntlet.

It was also a challenge to the students who supported her. Were we serious about helping the union bridge the racial gap that divided UM employees? Were we serious about helping the local overcome the decades of segregation that had left an ugly stain on university labor relations.

Over the next several years, a number of campus radicals not only came to support AFSCME 1072 as students, but became active in the local when they got jobs as campus workers — people like Craig Newman, Saul Schniderman, Astrid Nader, Eleana Morgan, Sue Lesser, Alan Nader, Raul Rizik and yes, even me.

Some of us were full of youthful arrogance and know-it-allism when we first signed on, but Gladys was patient with us and could see past our inexperience. She taught us that the road she had chosen was a difficult maze of possible choices with no simple roadmaps to guide us. She introduced us to many of the longtime workers and their families, helping us to see complexities of their lives.

She was always willing to put the union’s name on all kinds of solidarity actions and encouraged us to use the union newsletter and union meetings to educate her members about the larger labor and social justice issues.

She taught us that workers solidarity was not simply a slogan or an impossible dream, but the product of hard work, courage, patience and intelligent strategy.

Gladys Jefferson retired, but many years later in 2001, campus employees voted for union recognition and AFSCME 1072 was their choice.  Thanks to the efforts of Saul Schniderman (a former 1072 steward), Gladys was invited to the victory party and was presented with a huge blow-up of the photo on this page. Chief Steward Craig Newman gave a speech followed by Gladys who delivered a rousing talk about the importance of “keepin’ on”. The dream of Gladys Jefferson was finally realized.

Most of the early radicals have moved on to other jobs, but we were all changed by our AFSCME Local 1072 experience. Some us continue to be active in the labor movement down to the present day and plan to continue our commitment into the foreseeable future.

I think I can speak for all us who at various times were members or supporters of AFSCME Local 1072:

Thanks, Gladys.