Members in Politics: A Manager Who Loves Unions

As the elected clerk of Jefferson County, Texas, Carolyn LeBlanc Guidry isn't your typical manager: She'd love nothing more than for her 38 employees to join a union.

Guidry, a retired vice president of CWA Local 6129, even invited her sister, also a vice president in the local, to make a union pitch. So far, she says, "They're afraid. They don't know the value you get for those few pennies you invest."

But she isn't giving up. She talks up unions and the protection she always had over 30 years at Southwestern Bell thanks to CWA. And she believes managing is easier with rules and rights clearly defined by union contracts.

Guidry was first elected last year to fill out a term as chief records keeper and elections officer for the east Texas county and was reelected in March. She meets regularly with employees to listen to their concerns, addresses safety issues long ignored and allows volunteer days which workers can use to help the disabled, for instance, or work in a local food bank.

She's also determined to help voters adjust to an electronic voting system — one chosen by other county leaders. Before it was first used on March 7, Guidry and her staff spent months from dawn to after dark demonstrating the equipment at community events. "It was important that people be able to touch the screen and understand that they don't have to be computer literate to vote," she says.