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I entered the wonderful wacky world of UCSC after graduating ECHS, helping to start the Women’s Studies Program there. I graduated with a double major in Community Studies and Women’s Studies, confirming, I’m sure, my parents’ doubts that my college education would render me employable. I then worked as a staff member at the University Library, right at the time that Higher Education workers won collective bargaining rights by state law. So after many years of doing neighborhood organizing and working on progressive electoral political campaigns, I got bit by the union organizing bug. I served as shop Steward, then Local President of the Union until I was offered a staff job representing workers at UCSF Medical Center and UCSC.
I met my husband George through our union, AFSCME. He has been the elected union official who represents California in AFSCME at the national level. We have been lucky enough to travel with labor union delegations to various countries throughout Europe and to Japan and Zimbabwe. Otherwise we are hard at work negotiating labor agreements, organizing workers and representing them in grievances, as well as doing political and legislative work on behalf of labor.
Putting off having kids was delayed by work, and as my parents needed more attention as aging set in. They both died within months of each other in mid-2001, and it took a long time to recover. The sale of their house left us with some money to put to good use, so we adopted two sisters from Russia, Kristina (4) and Katia (2) in 2004. My mom was Russian so it was especially great. All I can say is 1) I have learned volumes about developmental issues due to early childhood neglect, and 2) I have met my match in my younger one. Payback is a You-Know-What, (and so am I) and my mother is looking down and laughing.
Contact Info
email: nadiabp@earthlink.net
snail mail:
Kids 2008 pictures
