June 7, 2010
Labor Activist Intends to Help Restore Huntington’s Community
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By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
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Huntington, WV (HNN) – After finishing her labor career outside of Huntington, Teresa Ball, formerly with the AFL-CIO and its Working America branch in Washington, D.C. has come home to retire. She energized the recent Southwestern District Labor Council Hall of Fame banquet with a variation of the Marshall University chant molded into, “We Are … Union.”
Following the dinner, HNN spoke with Ball about her career and how she envisions helping her hometown recover from the economic downturn.
HNN: What is Working America?
BALL: Working America is a community affiliate of the AFL-CIO. It’s was started in 2004 to reach out to workers and their families that did not have the benefit of a union on the job. We knock on their doors, talk to them about the issues --- health care, retirement, all the things people are concerned in today’s economy --- and ask them to join Working America so they have a voice. And, join our fight against injustice in this country. Once they join, they become an affiliate member of AFL-CIO, so we can communicate with them like our union members.
HNN: They are not union members, but they support some of the issues…
BALL: It’s community unionism. We are going back to our roots. They do not have a workplace union, but we’ll build a union in the community.
HNN: During your introduction, universal health care was mentioned as a goal. What’s your thought on the bill championed by President Obama and passed by Congress?
BALL: It’s a milestone. During my 30 year career I’ve been fighting for health care. Is it a perfect bill? No. But, it gives a foundation to build on. Union members know, their first contract is never the best contract. It’s a contact you improve every time you go to the table. That’s what we will do with the health care bill. There’s some wonderful things in it. Was it everything we wanted? No, it’s a foundation we will build on.
HNN: You are returning to Huntington after more than a decade and stated, “Let’s take back our city.” Would you elaborate?
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Ball: When we have police that shoot down our kids in the street and there is no transparency. They said he had a guy, [but] did he have a gun? No, it was not proven that he had a gun. He had a record. And that was justification for killing him because they were fearful he might have a gun.
[Editor’s Note: Ms. Ball apparently refers to the shooting death of Rashuwn Harless, 19, who died of bullet wounds received May 11, 2008. Although the officer involved in the shooting was cleared, the Harless family maintained he did not have a gun. ]
When we have a MU professor harassed by city police, and, our grievance procedure in the state system says, ‘ he’s a tall , African American man and very threatening. That is crap. This a highly educated African American man and that’s why they think he is dangerous.
We have politicians that do not represent the people , they represent themselves. It’s a good ole boy system. We’ve got to get rid of those folks.
Where are the jobs? We want to see the people and politicians work together to bring good jobs --- not flippin’ hamburgers service industry jobs --- jobs where people can have a living wage, have health care, and retire with dignity.
There’s a whole lot of things [wrong] with this community and one’s across the country.
I’m coming home to my community where I read every day online in the paper with heart broken. Can we fix it all overnight? No. But as you saw in this room tonight, we can begin. We’re going to do that.
HNN: One of those areas of community deterioration likely would be drug sales and use…
Ball: I’m sick of them blaming it on the Detroit boys. Kids born and raised here have gone down that path too, because there are no opportunities here… there’s no jobs. How do we get them the education they need to better their life, instead of blaming somebody else. It’s our fault. I want to put together a group of concerned citizens, labor unions, companies like Neighborgal which cares about this community . Let’s put it together, talk about the real issues, and how we are going to fix them, instead of blaming Detroit boys or the drugs.
HNN: Prior to leaving Huntington to work for the AFL-CIO, you orchestrated a mountain of labor achievements. One of those legends has to do with taking over the House of Delegates in Charleston.
BALL: We had nursing home workers fighting to gain respect and a living wage. We lined up all the contracts to expire at the same time across the State of WV. We bussed 600 nursing home workers into Charleston. We wanted to talk to the politicians about why it was more important to put a million dollars in the state budget for an arts center than for nursing home staffing.
They would not talk to us. So, we went in the house chamber ---- we chanted, we cheered, we sat down and said we will not leave until they came and tell us why they would not address staffing in WV nursing homes.
The end result was the insertion of one million dollars in the budget for additional staffing.
HNN: Didn’t they send state police?
BALL: They had some there, but there we just too many [of us].
Note: Ball gives credit to Prof. Phil Carter for teaching her labor group about principles of civil disobedience, which he had practiced as during the civil rights movement.
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Labor Activist Intends to Help Restore Huntington’s Community
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) – After finishing her labor career outside of Huntington, Teresa Ball, formerly with the AFL-CIO and its Working America branch in Washington, D.C. has come home to retire. She energized the recent Southwestern District Labor Council Hall of Fame banquet with a variation of the Marshall University chant molded into, “We Are … Union.”
Following the dinner, HNN spoke with Ball about her career and how she envisions helping her hometown recover from the economic downturn.
HNN: What is Working America?
BALL: Working America is a community affiliate of the AFL-CIO. It’s was started in 2004 to reach out to workers and their families that did not have the benefit of a union on the job. We knock on their doors, talk to them about the issues --- health care, retirement, all the things people are concerned in today’s economy --- and ask them to join Working America so they have a voice. And, join our fight against injustice in this country. Once they join, they become an affiliate member of AFL-CIO, so we can communicate with them like our union members.
HNN: They are not union members, but they support some of the issues…
BALL: It’s community unionism. We are going back to our roots. They do not have a workplace union, but we’ll build a union in the community.
HNN: During your introduction, universal health care was mentioned as a goal. What’s your thought on the bill championed by President Obama and passed by Congress?
BALL: It’s a milestone. During my 30 year career I’ve been fighting for health care. Is it a perfect bill? No. But, it gives a foundation to build on. Union members know, their first contract is never the best contract. It’s a contact you improve every time you go to the table. That’s what we will do with the health care bill. There’s some wonderful things in it. Was it everything we wanted? No, it’s a foundation we will build on.
HNN: You are returning to Huntington after more than a decade and stated, “Let’s take back our city.” Would you elaborate?
Ball: When we have police that shoot down our kids in the street and there is no transparency. They said he had a guy, [but] did he have a gun? No, it was not proven that he had a gun. He had a record. And that was justification for killing him because they were fearful he might have a gun.
[Editor’s Note: Ms. Ball apparently refers to the shooting death of Rashuwn Harless, 19, who died of bullet wounds received May 11, 2008. Although the officer involved in the shooting was cleared, the Harless family maintained he did not have a gun. ]
When we have a MU professor harassed by city police, and, our grievance procedure in the state system says, ‘ he’s a tall , African American man and very threatening. That is crap. This a highly educated African American man and that’s why they think he is dangerous.
We have politicians that do not represent the people , they represent themselves. It’s a good ole boy system. We’ve got to get rid of those folks.
Where are the jobs? We want to see the people and politicians work together to bring good jobs --- not flippin’ hamburgers service industry jobs --- jobs where people can have a living wage, have health care, and retire with dignity.
There’s a whole lot of things [wrong] with this community and one’s across the country.
I’m coming home to my community where I read every day online in the paper with heart broken. Can we fix it all overnight? No. But as you saw in this room tonight, we can begin. We’re going to do that.
HNN: One of those areas of community deterioration likely would be drug sales and use…
Ball: I’m sick of them blaming it on the Detroit boys. Kids born and raised here have gone down that path too, because there are no opportunities here… there’s no jobs. How do we get them the education they need to better their life, instead of blaming somebody else. It’s our fault. I want to put together a group of concerned citizens, labor unions, companies like Neighborgal which cares about this community . Let’s put it together, talk about the real issues, and how we are going to fix them, instead of blaming Detroit boys or the drugs.
HNN: Prior to leaving Huntington to work for the AFL-CIO, you orchestrated a mountain of labor achievements. One of those legends has to do with taking over the House of Delegates in Charleston.
BALL: We had nursing home workers fighting to gain respect and a living wage. We lined up all the contracts to expire at the same time across the State of WV. We bussed 600 nursing home workers into Charleston. We wanted to talk to the politicians about why it was more important to put a million dollars in the state budget for an arts center than for nursing home staffing.
They would not talk to us. So, we went in the house chamber ---- we chanted, we cheered, we sat down and said we will not leave until they came and tell us why they would not address staffing in WV nursing homes.
The end result was the insertion of one million dollars in the budget for additional staffing.
HNN: Didn’t they send state police?
BALL: They had some there, but there we just too many [of us].
Note: Ball gives credit to Prof. Phil Carter for teaching her labor group about principles of civil disobedience, which he had practiced as during the civil rights movement.
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