New
Mexico Governor Bill Richardson(left) and Dan McCrory
Dan McCrory : For California
State Assembly
I was born in L.A. but my stepfather missed small-town
life in Texas so when I was five he left his good paying
union job and moved us to work for the county in his hometown.
Our family of six scrimped by with my mother tackling an
assortment of odd jobs to help make ends meet. One of my
most poignant memories of childhood was of my stepfather
laying down what he considered the cold, hard facts of life.
“Why do you read and write so much?” he asked. “You might
as well get used to the idea that you’ll always be poor
and have to work with your hands.”
My mother realized the dearth of educational opportunities
available to me there so I was packed off to live with my grandmother and
great-grandfather in Colorado where I could attend high
school in a middle class suburban setting. After graduation
I went to work for the phone company and became a member
of the Communications Workers of America.
In 1975 I had my first taste of union activism. The
company lowered the temperature to accommodate our new computers
and we were forced to work in sweaters. We staged a wildcat
strike over our frigid working conditions and won the battle.
In 1981 I transferred to AT&T in California. I
tell everyone it took me 20 years to get home. A year later
I became a shop steward and became involved with Quality
of Worklife, a program based on
Japanese work circles, part of our country’s effort to catch
up with their skyrocketing productivity. I became a trainer
and facilitator of QWL committees and after the breakup
of AT&T ran for a position on the executive board of
my new Pacific Bell local. During the 3 terms and 9 years
I held that position, I built our
newsletter into an award winner and chaired various committees,
especially intrigued with politics and our part in the legislative
process.
I was assigned public relations duties during a nationwide
strike in 1989 and, finding I had some affinity with the
tasks of organizng rallies and interviewing with the media, I decided
to take advantage of the company’s new tuition aid program
and acquired my bachelor’s degree in journalism. For a while
I edited our local’s newsletter, the newsletter of the LA
County Federation of Labor and that of Local 18 of the International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. During this time I was
also writing copy for a local graphics communications company
and writing articles on emergency preparedness for the telecommunications
industry.
A lot happened in 1994. I was asked to lead the LA
chapter of the National Writers Union, a nationwide local
of the United Auto Workers. I was appointed chair of CWA’s
Southern California Legislative/Political committee where
I interviewed candidates, trained members, lobbied in Washington
D.C. and Sacramento, and distributed PAC funds to COPE endorsed
candidates. In 1996, Scott Wildman asked me to manage his
campaign for State Assembly. I left early to help labor’s
effort with the presidential race, but Wildman was elected.
After 9 years on the local’s Executive Board I concentrated
on walking precincts and phone banking for a variety of
candidates and pursued some writing projects as well as
working at the phone company and still carrying on my lobbying
efforts in Washington and Sacramento. I also contributed
to the community through my work as a commissioner with
LA Unified School District on the Asian Pacific American
Education Commission, as a board member of the local chapter
of the United Way, as a mentor to a young Latino student,
and as Chair of the KCET Community Advisory Board. More
than anything, all of these opportunities have given me
insight into the diversity that is Southern California.
For the last 10 years, I have been involved with the
Thai Community Arts & Cultural Center. In 2002, I was
elected President of CWA Local 9503,
where I served for 3 years. I also participated in a program
through the Coro Foundation called the Southern California Leadership
Network, which gave me an opportunity to study some of Southern
California’s challenges with changing demographics, water,
transportation, agriculture, healthcare, education, and
our close association with the military. I have also traveled
to Thailand as a goodwill ambassador with the American Red
Cross, sharing ideas and techniques with their counterparts
in Asia, meeting with the prime minister, and talking with
labor leaders about issues both common and unique.
I have just edited a book on African American families
with American Indian ancestry. For many years prior to her
death, my mother attempted to register our heritage with
the Cherokee nation, but died before she was able to fulfill
that dream. I’m currently co-authoring a book with the president
of the American Seminar Leaders Association which should
be published some time in the third quarter of 2006. I’m a member of the Asian Pacific American
Labor Alliance, a delegate to the LA County Federation of
Labor, a member of the National Organization for Women,
and the Coalition of Labor Union Women.
Now I’m running for the Assembly in the 40th
District, a large swath of the San Fernando Valley, dominated
largely by working class folks. In fact, that’s why I’m
running; there’s nothing more noble than making sure the middle class is represented
by one of our own. The district is currently represented
by Lloyd Levine, who will be termed out in 2008.
Contact Dan McCrory tel:323-719-2173 or visit www.mccroryforassembly.com
