By Tom Dalzell, Business Manager
Helen worked for PG&E for 53 years and was still an active employee when she died. I saw her last on March 1st at the San Francisco pin dinner and presented her with her 50-year pin and plaque.
Helen burned with loyalty — to her fellow workers, to her company, to her union, and to justice.
When I was a teenager I had a scrapbook with pictures of my heroes — Joan of Arc, Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, Abraham Lincoln, Emily Dickinson, Leo Tolstoy, Woody Guthrie, Dr. King, and others. I don’t keep that scrapbook, and don’t know if I could find it in my garage if I wanted to, but if I were still keeping it, Helen Gan’s photo would be in it, right next to the retirees in Nevada who led the fight to restore their retiree medical benefits.
Over the last months I have been at pin dinners from Bakersfield to Eureka, from San Luis Obispo to Reno. I have seen and talked with hundreds of members celebrating their service and union membership. Some have five years of service, some like Helen have 50. Few shine with the intensity with which Helen lived her life and supported her union, but all exemplify our greatest asset. Our members are loyal and proud, and they know that with their long and dedicated service they leave a better company, they leave a better union, and they leave a better world. In small ways, every day they are making a difference. Their tradition of service is our greatest asset.
They are leaving a legacy, both with their employers and with the union. Their hard, diligent, and shrewd work help their union negotiate the wage levels, benefits, and working conditions that we currently enjoy. What we enjoy today, and what members of the future will enjoy, is the result of their hard work and the legacy that they are leaving for us.
Heroes inspire. Let’s be inspired by Helen Gan and her generation. Let us be inspired and focus on the legacy that we will leave. Our work is just beginning. I am heartbroken to see Helen go, but I know that we will carry her spirit and passion with us into the future. May she rest in peace.