MaryBe McMillan

MaryBe McMillan

Template:TOCnestleft MaryBe McMillan is Secretary-Treasurer of the North Carolina AFL-CIO representing 120,000 union members throughout the state. With her election to this position in 2005, she became the first female officer in the history of the organization. In September 2009, she was elected by acclamation to a second -term. Prior to working for the AFL-CIO, she worked as Research Director for the Common Sense Foundation and as State Policy Analyst for the Rural School & Community Trust.

Background

McMillan has previously worked for the Common Sense Foundation, the Rural School & Community Trust and the Union Community Fund. She received a PhD in Sociology from North Carolina State University in December 2000. Her thesis was: Your Freedom Ends Where My Nose Begins: Conflicting Views of Large-Scale Hog Farms in Eastern North Carolina

MaryBe grew up in Hickory, North Carolina. She is a long-time social justice activist who became involved with union organizing as a student. MaryBe graduated with honors from Wake Forest University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology. She also holds a Master of Arts degree from UNC -Greensboro and a Ph.D. in sociology from NC State University. MaryBe is a member of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 465 in Durham, North Carolina.

Institute for Southern Studies

In 2011, the Board members of the Institute for Southern Studies included:

• Ajamu Dillahunt
• Kieran Walsh Taylor
• MaryBe McMillan
• Pam Spaulding
• Jane Stein
• Timothy Tyson

Anti-globalization

In an August 2010 column McMillan wrote that globalization has a negative impact on the South. She wrote: "The southern United States is the center for exploitation of workers of all colors. Employees in the South have the lowest wages, the fewest worker protections and the least union representation. And nowhere are the harmful effects of globalization and flawed trade deals more evident than in the South."

North Carolina AFL-CIO

McMillan serves on the AFL-CIO staff in December 2011 along with:

• James Andrews, President
• Mike Okun, General Counsel
• Jeremy Sprinkle, Communications Director and General Operations Manager
• Adam Orlovich, Field Program Coordinator
• Theodora Grimes, Office Assistant

Occupy Raleigh

McMillan spoke at Occupy Raleigh on October 16, 2011. In her speech she said, "And let’s make a promise right here, right now, that we will not be divided. We will not back down. And we will not be silent until the 99% of us finally get our fair share."

AFL-CIO panel on trade

December 1, 2014, the AFL-CIO convened a aanel about Pending Trade Deals as Free Trade “Charm Offensive” Comes to Charlotte

Panelists will highlight for public and press what pro-traders want to hide, Dec. 1 at 6:30 PM

The panel of policy makers, policy experts, business leaders, and workers will discuss whether trade deals lead to job creation and greater prosperity for our country or the devastation of our manufacturing sector, more offshoring of service-sector jobs and a growing trade deficit that leaves us more in debt to the rest of the world.

Who: Congresswoman Alma Adams; Celeste Drake, AFL-CIO trade policy expert; MaryBe McMillan, Secretary-Treasurer of the NC State AFL-CIO; Chris Kromm, Executive Director of the Institute for Southern Studies; Tony Hawkins with UAW Local 5285; Ed Kaleda with CWA 3603; Rick Malliris, retired CEO of KB Alloys (now known as AMG Aluminum).

Contacts: Jeremy Sprinkle, Communications Director, DeLane Adams, AFL-CIO Field Communications.

"Organizing the South"

After the UAW’s bid to represent workers at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee was narrowly defeated last winter, mainstream pundits wrote off the AFL-CIO’s much-vaunted commitment “to develop a Southern organizing strategy.” But the obituaries are premature. Just days after the vote, panelists at a crowded forum in Durham, North Carolina October 2014 , rejected the pessimistic conclusion that organizing unions in the South remains futile and pointed to areas of potential growth. Their common message was that unions can win in the South through a variety of tactics, such as reaching out to new constituencies, cultivating and mobilizing community support, running innovative campaigns, recruiting and retaining public sector workers, and political action.

Chris Kromm, director of the Institute for Southern Studies, pointed out that the South has the lowest rates of union membership and the worst concentration of poverty in the United States

MaryBe McMillan, secretary-treasurer of the North Carolina AFL-CIO, believes that the changing demographics of the South, with people moving from elsewhere in the United States, along with substantial immigration from other countries, mean growth in segments of the population—particularly African Americans and Latinos—that are more likely to support unions. These trends represent an opportunity for labor and for the broader progressive movement.

Justin Flores, vice president of FLOC, noted that farm workers lack any protection under federal labor law, and many are also vulnerable as undocumented immigrants. Despite these challenges, FLOC was able to follow a successful strike against the Mt. Olive Pickle Company with a ground-breaking collective bargaining agreement between the union and the North Carolina Growers Association... Zaina Alsous, an organizer with NC Raise Up, discussed the ways that retail and fast-food workers have departed from the traditional union organizing script of seeking formal certification through National Labor Relations Board elections...In North Carolina, commented Angaza Laughinghouse, president of the North Carolina Public Service Workers Union, UE Local 150, collective bargaining agreements between unions and public employers are illegal, as are strikes by public service workers. Despite these obstacles, UE 150 has succeeded in organizing and winning improvements in wages and working conditions for its members. It has done so through rank-and-file workplace action, including wildcat strikes in some instances.

Clean Carwash event

What do hip hop and labor have in common? If you ask the Los Angeles-based hip hop artists the Inner City Dwellers, hip hop and labor have a similar message. Labor is the voice for the working class and community hip hop is the voice for the disenfranchised and working poor. According to Fuerza Mexica (Cesar Castrejon), one of the Inner City Dwellers said "We are artists who won't turn our backs on workers and we see labor as an organization that won't turn its back on the workers."

The People's World luncheon honoring workers in the struggle was held March 20 at the Clean Carwash Workers Center, home of the Carwasheros organizing campaign in South Central Los Angeles. The Inner City Dwellers opened the People's World luncheon in Los Angeles with a spirited bi-lingual rap about the plight of hard working families. Their message and performance is a "Love song to the working people," according to Andres Rivera, one of three members performing at the event. Rivera, Jorge Cutera along with Cesar Castrejon make up this community-based hip hop group. This hip hop performance set the tone for the entire afternoon.

Eric Gordon, union member with the National Writers Union (NWU), staff writer and editor with the People's World welcomed the audience, speakers and introduced Rossana Cambron, People's World staff writer/videographer and Southern California District leader.

Cambron greeted participants at the People's World fundraising event and introduced the program, starting with a cultural presentation. "This is not entertainment because art, music and poetry need to be an important part in raising awareness in our communities," said Cambron.

"We couldn't have gotten here without you," said Rusty Hicks, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. "Labor and community supporters worked hard to raise the wage in Los Angeles City, Los Angeles County, Santa Monica, Long Beach, Pasadena and hopefully West Los Angeles." Hicks went on to say that 2015 was the year for Raise the Wage. The new campaign for 2016 is Build Better L.A., a campaign to create more affordable housing. Union members are currently collecting signatures to get Build Better L.A.'s affordable housing and quality jobs on the November 2016 ballot in Los Angeles.

Hicks presented his perspective on the upcoming national elections before welcoming keynote speaker MaryBe McMillan, Secretary Treasurer of the North Carolina AFL-CIO. Hicks told the audience that unfortunately the current presidential election is divisive and the discourse has fallen to a low level. His message was that it will take getting out more votes if we want to win.

MaryBe McMillan

MaryBe McMillan expressed the need to organize one-by-one especially in a right to work state such as North Carolina. In a thoughtful assessment of organizing in the south, McMillan said: "If you want a glimpse into the future of the United States, look to the South." She went on: "I preach the gospel: We must organize. We must organize in the South. Why the South? Because the South is a reflection of our nation's future. The South is not a backward state as some think. There is a clear reason why the South is for the most part a right to work state. Right to work must not mean right of surrender. That is why a Southern campaign needs to be put in place by labor."

References

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