Member Voices
Christine Campbell
Member, ATU Local 1001, 1001
Christine Campbell, a bus operator for the Denver Regional Transit Authority, is new to political and union activism. After watching her local go through several rounds of tough contract negotiations, she decided she should get involved. "If you don't like what is going on, you have to get active," she said.
Now, "I'll volunteer for anything," she said. That includes helping to launch her local's women's caucus, holding a bake sale to raise money for fellow ATU members in need, and helping with the AFL-CIO's Labor 2006 political program.
"I was really ignorant about politics before," said Campbell. "I knew I was supposed to vote, but that was it. I didn't even know what assembly district or congressional district I lived in, who the candidates were or why it even mattered to me." "Now I realize how important politics is to transit workers."
Nine Hours A Day
For the final two months of the election, Campbell was released from work to help with the Labor 2006 program. She spent five days a week, nine hours a day, knocking on doors to talk to union members about important races in the Denver area, as well as to inform them about a ballot initiative to raise the minimum wage in Colorado. On her days off, she volunteered in the Labor 2006 office or her local union office with administrative and other tasks.
"It's been a great experience," said Campbell. "The first time I had to go to someone's door, I sat in the car for about 10 minutes trying to get up the courage to do it. After that, it was a cinch." "Most people are very nice and appreciative of the information we give them," she said. As for the people that aren't so nice, "I'm a bus driver. I can handle them," she joked.