MEA ESP Hall of Fame
1990—Leland Watkins, Napoleon
1990—Peggy Brown, Bay City
1992—Donna Jean Rose, Orchard View
1994—Yvonne Galloway, Flint
1995—Carol Stevenson, Pinckney
1996—Anne Roberson, Kalamazoo
1997—Karl Bell, Southfield
2005—Sally Krause, Farmington
2006—Dan Haske, Bay City
2008—Gilda Wilson, Muskegon
Longtime Muskegon leader Gilda Wilsonbecomes 10th member of MEA ESP Hall of Fame
Longtime Muskegon leader Gilda Wilson (right), with colleague Linda Robinson, receives a corsage prior to her induction into the MEA ESP Hall of Fame.
Muskegon’s Gilda Wilson, the latest member selected to the MEA ESP Hall of Fame, says support staff are under-appreciated for the work they perform in our public schools.
“We do everything to help our staff and students,” she said at her induction at the ESP Statewide Conference in Traverse City on April 4. “We’re everything to everybody—we are the bus drivers who deliver the students safely to school, the cooks who serve our students a hearty breakfast, the custodians who keep our schools clean and safe, the assistants in the classroom who help our students, and the secretaries—the jacks of all trades.
“You don’t realize the positive imprint that support staff make on a school and students.”
Wilson has worked for 38 years for Muskegon Public Schools, starting in 1970 as a part-time employee making just over $2 an hour.
Along the way she worked as a clerical assistant, she mended books in the library and finally found herself as a building secretary at Bluffton Elementary School.
Wilson only recently stepped down after serving 25 years as president of the Muskegon support staff unit, turning over the reins to her longtime vice president Linda Robinson.
As a member of her coordinating council, the MEA Board of Directors and the ESP Caucus Board, Wilson took her responsibilities seriously, building a reputation for member advocacy and fairness in dealing with members and administrators.
“Leadership is like a fever that gets in your blood and won’t let go,” she said. “Even though I’ve stepped down as president, I still feel very much attached, like a mother hen, to our members. They know they can call me anytime, day or night, if they need help.”
One highlight of Wilson’s union advocacy came years ago when she bargained contract language that provided monthly reimbursement of health insurance premiums for retired members and their spouses ages 49 to 64.
At the time, her local was the only one in the state to enjoy this benefit. It lasted until just recently when both the union and the administration agreed that the benefit had become too costly to maintain.
Another career highlight came when she was able to get all classroom assistants in the Muskegon district classified at the same level.
In accepting the Hall of Fame honor, Wilson said ESP members face many challenges ahead. “Privatization—don’t think it can’t happen to any of us in the state. Members: We must stick together. They may knock us down, but do you know what? We will get back up. Unity and solidarity will keep us together.”