b'materials, and a large lunch area. On top of the lunch table was lunch fit for a King - Pasta, meatballs, sausage, salad, andcold beer (it was payday). Charlie said \'Let\'s eat guys\' and so Charlie Pawson, Richard Campbell, Kirk Wetter, Tito Ortiz andyours truly sat and had my first of many lunches with these brothers. Thank you, Mr. Egan.\x02Laura ScanlanSenior TellerIn her own wordsI joined the Housing Authority in the 1970s. I lived in ahousing project and the manager referred me to a job inthe JOP program. I had switchboard and typing experience,but my first assignment was to clean and organize the hallsupply closet. I guess they thought "once a housewife alwaysa housewife." (Today my first thought would be to call theunion.) Laura Scanlan in 1979 (left), during her early years with theWithin hours I had stacked, alphabetized, numerated, Housing Authority, and in 2001 (right), as a retiree, addressingand labeled every form and slip of paper in that huge closet. the Sunshine Club\'s annual membership meeting"Job well done," the manager said, but when the programended shortly after, I was the first to go.Shortly after, the receptionist left and I got called back to replace her. A title, Hooray! I guess the closet cleaning paid off.During our orientation, a union representative spoke to us about the benefits of belonging. Most people were nottoo anxious to part with dues, but after talking to people about how the Union had helped, and realizing how important itis, they came across and were thankful later.I, on the other hand, said "Where are the forms?" Having been married to a union man at that time for twenty-threeyears, I knew the advantages. They did not have to persuade me. From that time on, I spent a lot of my time convincingfellow workers that the Union was the only way to go.After that, with the help of the union classes, which were very informative, and no cost to us, I was able to climb theladder from receptionist/switchboard to teller, then to Senior Teller. I took the supervising teller test on the day my daughter was giving birth to my granddaughter. Obviously, my mind was not on the test and I didn\'t get a high grade.Then, through negotiations, the Senior Tellers were able to skip a step and take the Housing Assistant test. I took that with a clear head and scored high.Unfortunately, there was a lot of controversy over skipping a step of the ladder, and by the time it was settled, I wasretired. I could have gone back, but with the help of the Union benefits, I was enjoying life too much.Thank God for Teamsters 237! Without them, I probably would still be plugging away or cleaning closets.209 '