Interview with Loretta Carol
Fv: And you are?
LC: Loretta Carol. I started working for CSEA in 1984, in the steno pool, within
the steno pool. It's now the records maintenance department. I was a clerk
typist/receptionist. The part I hated the most was being on the switchboard, so
I worked very hard trying to get out of that department. I went to night school,
and a wonderful part of working for CSF'A is they paid for all the education
that I wanted to have and I was able to get an executive secretary position in
the executive office. I worked there for the last 12 years. I saw a lot. I
worked for three statewide secretaries, Irene Carr being the first one, and she
had a lot of history. She was very involved in the history of CSEA. Then I
worked for Candy Saxton for a brief period, and then Barbara Reeves, the present
statewide secretary.
FV: You could tell stories about all three of them. For CSEA. This doesn't go...
LC: Irene was ... I admired her very much because she was a great woman. She
was all for women's causes, children ... she worked very hard at her job, and I
did admire her a lot. Candy I liked very much. She wasn't there very long.
They had another election and Barbara Reeves won the election.
Fv: What are some personal recollections of these people? We want to know what
made them tick and how they did it.
LC: Irene was driven. She was very much for the underdog and kind of..I learned a
lot of union lingo and causes from her. Candy, I really didn't know that well,
but she was a wonderful person. Barbara is just the greatest speaker, and she
fights for her causes and gets people going. She I s a very kind and caring
person.
FV: What makes CSEA CSEA? What have you learned about the history of CSEA that
you could tell us, that you can share with us?
LC: The labor organization, I didn't really know much about it at all when I
started here. Fighting for workers' rights and I enjoyed the rallies. I'll
always remember Dan Campbell with his bullhorn and getting ... I know it was sad
to lose him. Just knowing that there's somewhere people can go to fight for
their jobs. And people at CSEA from the legal department through our officers
really do care about these people.
Fv: Do you have any memories of actual instances or things like that? What
happened? How did these things happen? Who did what?
LC: Oh, I can't think of anything specifically right now. I do remember that
there were a few people that would call and I would go to bat for them with the
officers or whatever officer was involved, or department involved, because they
were nice on the phone.
FV: Local leaders, workers
LC: No, they seemed to be wronged and rightly complaining about it in a nice way
and kind of desperately looking for help.
Fv: What makes CSEA, CSEA? What are you most proud of?
Interview with Loretta Carol
LC: I think their dedication to the working people.
FV: I believe..on the other side of the coin, what are you most disappointed by
with CSEA?
LC: I'm not prepared for these questions. I don’t ... I’m really not sure. I
just ... well, I, you know, personally, a few things. But I just ... one thing
that..they have two house unions within CSEA, HSU and FSA. One thing I would like
to have seen is somewhere management people could have gone for problems.
FV: Were you a part of rallies and demonstrations?
LC: Once in a while.
FV: Once in a while. What do you see as the most important events during your
time of involvement with CSEA? What are the big things?
LC: Well, that contract, for one. The last contract.
FV: What did you see? What happened?
LC: Well, just the number of people that came out on the buses, and rallies, and
it was ... That was something to see, for staff. I was a staff person, enjoyed
. because I did the board minutes and the delegates meeting minutes, and I
always enjoyed meeting the members and talking to different people. We got to be
really friendly with some of them. And we got to see the other side.
FV: Board meetings and delegate meetings, you know some of the infighting that
went on. Why don’t you tell me about...
LC: I know a lot of that. I don’t want to talk about that, though. (laughs)
Fv: That's what we want you to talk about.
LC: My first experience was when they fired the law firm of...I wasn't really ..
I was on the fringes of that. had just started with CSEA and I was in the back
of the room and I really didn't understand everything that was going on.
FV: But you saw things.
LC: I saw things. I guess I did, but I don't remember anything.
FV: Taking the fifth, huh?
LC: (laughs)
FV: Alright. How long did you work for CSEA?
LC: Eighteen years.
Fv: So, you know a lot of the recent history of CSEA and probably before that,
but what lessons do you think CSEA's history holds for CSEA's future?
LC: I'm really not sure how to answer that.
Interview with Loretta Carol
Fv: A message for the future of CSEA Danny and whoever succeeds Danny. What
would you tell them about CSEA that they should know, about the history and the
progression of the union?
LC: One thing is not to lose sight of the history, to get to know as much as
they can about the organization by reading the constitution, and get involved in
the rallies, and the strike actions, just to know what the members are fighting
for.
FV: The..Anything else you want to say, since you're here and the tape is
rolling? This is your opportunity if you have a message for anybody, remembrance
of anything you want to get onto the record.
LC: Not really. It's just that it was really a good experience for me and I
enjoyed working there.
FV: Good.
