May,
a Washington, D.C. native, often shares the
following predictive anecdote to explain her chosen
career path:
"Whenever I drink lemonade, I grin. It is possibly the
reason I am where I am today. I started making lemonade when I was nine,
rummaging through the kitchen cabinets and piling lemonade mix into my arms
when I was sure no one was looking. After creating a concoction I could stand
behind, I would set up shop in front of the busy road than ran by my
working-class neighborhood. Twenty-five cents bought a Dixie cup worth. The
work did not end there though. When night fell, dressed up in black garb, I
would sneak out of the house and place my profits into the mailboxes belonging
to the kids who received free lunches at school, the foster families, and the
families with a laid-off or injured parent. I am not sure how much
help my meager earnings were, nor the reactions of the recipients upon
discovering change or, occasionally, a couple of dollars. I do know two
things. From an early age, I was astutely aware of economic class. And, to
this day, my mother cannot believe how much I loved lemonade as a
kid."
May graduated from Cornell U.'s School of
Industrial and Labor Relations, and now studies at Catholic University of
America’s Columbus School of Law. She works as a strategic analyst at the
AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Dept. where she's primary author of CB
Digest, a private newsletter for union leaders. She writes for
the AFL-CIO blog, and
provides research support for campaigns.
Previously, she's held positions as community organizer with Planned
Parenthood,
congressional correspondent with UNITE-HERE and researcher with
SEIU.
May's ultimate goal is to shape labor law to benefit working families.
She firmly believes the
middle-class has fueled the prosperity, strength and history of
America. She wants to ensure quality education for children, viable pensions and wages, and
affordable
healthcare for everyone. We're grateful for
May's lemonade and
her
commitment to America's working men and women.
We're thrilled that this
remarkable woman keeps a blog at Everyday Citizen. You can
browse through and read entries from May's
complete historical blog archives
here.
By May Silverstein on April 30, 2008
The AFL-CIO has released a new Executive PayWatch website, linking the compensation schemes for top executives at financial companies and the sub-prime mortgage crisis. The website also unveils a comprehensive database of brand new CEO pay figures.
The CEO of a Standard & Poor’s 500 company averaged $14.2 million in total compensation in 2007. By comparison, the median pay for workers rose only 3.5 percent to $36,140 in 2007, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Read More ...
By May Silverstein on April 21, 2008
Well, it is time to post my first blog piece. There are a billion directions that this could go, and, trust me, I’ve spent time analyzing each one. I plan to give a quick introduction, hoping to illustrate my innate passion and unyielding commitment to working families before focusing more on what I know best -- work stoppages, negotiations and first contract fights. Here goes nothing . . .
I graduated high school at 17, lacking the finances to go to a four-year college. Not deterred, I enrolled in junior college and worked several jobs. I tutored English as a second language and learning-disabled adults out of the campus Learning Center. I also worked as a classroom aide in developmental courses, and spent nights at the campus bookstore. I would tell students that achievement was not out of reach, as long as their effort was unyielding.
I tutored a woman in her 50s named Linda, who suffered a brain injury that affected her short-term memory, focus and basic cognitive functions. She was always in the center. Afterwards she worked all night cleaning offices to make ends meet and eliminate medical bills.
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