When I was a work study student with the Labor Center at Evergreen in the late 80s, I learned so much and went to so many places and knew we were in the heart of the struggle. Dan taught me about ‘Political Self Respect’ which has carried me far.
Dan, Helen, Mary Rose and I got to travel to Mexico City and meet Frente Autentico de los Trabajadores in 1992. Dan sang Avanti Popolo in Italian on the plane there. He had a ‘learn Spanish quick’ book that I borrowed, but I still got us all in trouble asking ‘que son chicharrones’ in the taxi and the driver yelled the gringa’s question to the other taxis driving by.
The Labor Center sent me to the Burlington-Mt Vernon WA Farm Workers March planning and it propelled years of solidarity efforts with Chateau Ste Michelle workers who now make union wine.
I worked at The Trinational Coalition for the Defense of Public Education gathering with the Labor Center at Evergreen then joined the Vancouver BC gathering as representative from my teacher’s union at the time. Dan always told the importance of representation, participate not just for yourself – bring it all home and organize.
Early in the 1990s Dan sent me to Colorado to a meeting of the ‘New Party’ to gather intel and represent the PNW and our dreams for new political action. Years later we all gathered in Portland with folks from the Working Families Party to continue strategizing.
When Octavio and I were married in Twanoh State Park in 1996, Dan gifted us a ‘Women in the Mexican Revolution’ book. Long after the epic San Patricio gatherings (amazing seal came in the mail many times), I finally made it to Melaque and saw the school Dan and battalion organized to support.
When Elevate Mason County was born after the 2016 Election, Dan guided us with charts and analysis of facism, government structures and popular resistance. We got to hang out in the Evergreen archives going through Labor Center history just before the pandemic. Of course they all look best in the binders, but long live the Labor Center online for all to search.
Working with Ricardo Ayala in the 80s Labor Center, he would call him ‘Papa Dan’ and he earned that title as he took us all on a great ride – especially when he rented the Lincoln Continental for the occasion.
