Gwen Vaughn
Gwen Vaughn became a home healthcare worker in 2006 when a friend asked her to take care of his mother. With a background in union organizing, she quickly joined the SEIU 880 Union, and soon became an organizer and eventually a lead organizer. She remembers being struck by the magnitude of the work when, at her first union meeting, an organizer told her that it wasn’t long ago that home healthcare workers were paid only $1 per hour. She is so passionate about the work that she remains with the union as of 2024. SEIU shared offices with ACORN and often collaborated on campaigns. The organizations shared the same values, working to give low income communities a better life. “SEIU organized workers, and ACORN organized communities.” In this interview, she shares being extremely proud of organizing a union in St. Louis — it took several years, but ultimately they were successful. She talks about direct action, walks on bosses with petitions demanding better pay, die-ins at banks and corporations that were getting tax breaks when the state was claiming their was no money in the budget to give home healthcare workers and child daycare workers a fair and livable wage. She remembers once organizers moved into a Bank of American bringing in furniture to set up a bedroom. Vaughn wants young organizers to know that the work is about storytelling; sharing your story when you are canvasing or organizing creates a sense of recognition, trust, and gets people to open up. It let’s community members know they are not alone in their struggle. She would like to be remembered as someone who tried to bring people together to make change, and didn’t try do it alone.