Advance, Cornell ILR School's publication for alumni and friends.
Issue link: https://advance.epubxp.com/i/429746
What do you fnd most signifcant about your ILR work? My undergraduate teaching experiences take my breath away. Our students are so remarkably thoughtful. For over 15 years, I have connected the school with frefghters all over New York. Every steelworker in this region who works for the union has gone through ILR's arbitration program. My most important work now is writing how public school teachers are learning how to regain control over their schools. When did you start teaching at ILR? I came to ILR in the early 90s. ILR Professor Rick Hurd asked me to work with NYSUT (New York State United Teachers) on leadership training. ILR trained all of their current leaders. So many teachers have told me ILR has had a very dramatic impact on them. What was your childhood like? I grew up in Pittsburgh in an Eastern European Jewish ghetto. My dad fnished frst in his class at Duquesne University and started a steel warehousing business. He became incredibly civic minded and religious. He had a powerful political and moral infuence on me. I worked for Dad and often went across the street to eat lunch with a coal miner who explained to me how important unions are. Did you really put yourself through law school driving taxis and moving furniture? Yes. I did terrible in law school, but had quite a career representing working folks for more than 20 years in West Virginia. Cab drivers and coal miners helped me understand that we are all the same. They taught me how to be and where to position myself in society. They taught me the meaning of real dignity. You started your career as a community lawyer in West Virginia. Why there? After a summer working for the Black Lung Association, it was clear, 'This is where I belong.' I was afraid, and often lonely, but I was drawn to it. I looked for legal work with a lawyer who didn't work with coal operators. Tom Seay hired me for $4 an hour in 1975. Can you describe the 1989 case you won that human rights' advocates are still talking about? I represented Dr. Hassan Zavareei, an Iranian-American professor, in his fght to gain equal pay. The case established national origin discrimination in West Virginia. After all these experiences – West Virginia to ILR – what are your thoughts? I feel lucky to have done what I've done. People have cared after me, and I for them. QA Q A & Lecturer, Labor Relations, Law, and History 10