History, heritage at heart - Retiring AFL-CIO official Chavez-Thompson decries ‘us-and-them’ views on immigration, seeks further progress for women, Latinos

“Linda Chavez-Thompson, who rose up from picking cotton at age 10 to become the highest-ranking Latino with organized labor, is going home to Texas.

Last week was the executive vice president’s last at the AFL-CIO. Chavez-Thompson, 63, started out at the organization working with Spanish-speaking laborers because nobody else spoke the language. Arlene Holt-Baker, a one-time labor organizer from California who has worked for the AFL-CIO since 1995, will serve out Chavez-Thompson’s term, which expires in 2009. When an unprecedented revolt swept the AFL-CIO 12 years ago, Chavez-Thompson was elected executive vice president, becoming the first woman and first Latino to reach such a position.”

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