We welcome all of Ethels family, friends, and comrades to this celebration of a remarkable life.

We have kept the program concise so that you may have time to socialize and talk about Ethel at your tables, to enjoy the food and beverages. and to view the remarkable photographs, quilt, and other remembrances of Ethel. The ofrenda, designed by Barbara Ingalls, is a Spanish term describing a participatory work of art, where you may leave messages, photos, or other memories of Ethel, which will then be shared with her family.

2:00 p.m. Welcome & Introduction of Ethels ofrenda and quilt; recognition of Liz Ellis, quilter, followed by an opportunity to enjoy food and beverages. Please be in your seat for the start of the program. 2:45 p.m. Program: We Remember You by Steve Jones, performed by members of the Forgotten cast, led by director Elise Bryant and accompanied by Bill Meyer and Steve Deasy. Ethel Speaks to Us! Video presentation by Bob Ingalls Comments and recognitions: Dave Elsila Remarks by Ethels family: Judy Vocino Joan Wheaton Larry Wheaton Singalong led by Fred Vocino, Barbara Ingalls, Maryanne Kelly Campbell, Linda Hornsby, Darwin Spaysky, and Ron Stahl Union Maid Joe Hill Bread and Roses Precious Friend Ethels Legacy: the Ethel Schwartz Memorial Scholarship for Labor Education: Brenda Jones* Everyone sings: Goodnight Irene and Solidarity Forever Socializing, and more food and beverages
*invited, subject to change

ince her 90th birthday celebration in 2007, Ethel continued to lead an active life in labor, peace, civil-rights, and progressive political movements. She was a regular participant at Detroits annual Labor Day parade, marching with the Gray Panthers or OPEIU, or, in the last two years, standing proudly at curbside waving to those marching by. She did not let any illness get in her way of traveling to Washington, D.C. for national rallies and demonstrations; in one such event, she traveled with her son-in-law Fred Vocino who guided her in a wheelchair along the Washington Mall. She continued to attend meetings of the Gray Panthers, where she served as co-convener and newsletter editor. People remember how she drove herself to the emergency room after a health scare at home, but stopped en route to pick up some mailing supplies for a meeting announcement. Ethels contributions ranged from serving on the board of the Metro Detroit ACLU and in various positions with the Coalition of Labor Union Women, the Oakland County Democratic Party, the Metro Detroit AFL-CIO, and other groups. She was a source of inspiration to fellow members of union retiree councils. When she moved into a senior living complex in Novi, one of the first things she did was to find political allies who also lived there and to begin to organize them. What Ethel would tell us if she were speaking here today would be to get out tomorrow, Monday, Sept. 3, to march in the Labor Day parade and make our voices heard for worker rights, for peace, for equality, and for social and economic justice for all. No better tribute to her could be made than to join tomorrows march in downtown Detroit.

Judy Vocino, Fred Vocino, Flo Smith, Dave Elsila, Katie Elsila, Maureen Sheahan, Emily Everett, Maria Catalfio, Saundra Williams, Sharon Meadows, Al Benchich, Dan ORourke, Brenda Moon, Mike McBride, Armand Nevers, Jane Nevers, Kate DeSmet, Liz Ellis, Shawn Ellis, Jim Rehberg, Tina Abbott, Karen McCarthy, Barbara Ingalls, Bob Ingalls, Al Cholger, Dan McCarthy

Ethels Posse

Friends and colleagues of Ethel Schwartz, a long-time Detroit-area labor and community activist who died in May have established a scholarship in her name for students in the Wayne State University Labor School and Labor@Wayne program. Ethel, who would have been 95 years old on Sept. 11, 2012, lived in Novi. She was a co-convener of Gray Panthers of Metro Detroit, an Executive Committee member of the Oakland County Democratic Party, and a long-time member of Office and Professional Employees Union Local 494. She served as an alternate member of the Metro Detroit AFL-CIO delegate body, and as a board member of the Coalition of Labor Union Women, and was a board member of the Metro Detroit ACLU. In one of her first jobs, at a Detroit grocery store, she tried to organize fellow clerks into a union, and was subsequently fired. By 1940 she had been hired by UAW Local 157, and during the next 48 years she served as secretary for a succession of union presidents. She later worked in the Health and Safety Department of the International Union, UAW, at Solidarity House in Detroit. In the early 1960s, Ethel helped organize and became the first chair of the Redford Township Assembly for Human Relations. As a Redford resident, in 1963 she participated in a fair housing demonstration in what was then an all-white community, and she marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. both in Detroit and in Washington, D.C., where King gave his famous I Have a Dream speech. A passionate supporter of labor rights until her death, she was a regular presence on picket lines and rallies throughout the area. Her activities also encompassed the peace movement and she participated in anti-war rallies during the Vietnam era and later protested U.S. military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was always Ethels wish that young people, workers, and union activists learn how the labor movement can continue to create a world of economic and social justice. She believed this could be done through both the study of history and labor economics, and through the acquisition of skills useful in building a strong labor movement. The Ethel Schwartz Memorial Scholarship in Labor Studies will provide grants to students enrolled in the Labor School at Wayne State University and to Labor School graduates who go on to study in a degree program at WSU in labor studies. The Labor School provides an opportunity for all to learn more about the labor movement and its goals for the future. Contributions to the scholarship are fully tax-deductible. Checks may be written to Wayne State University and sent to the WSU Fund Office, 5475 Woodward Ave., Detroit MI 48202, with a memo line reading IMO Ethel Schwartz/Labor@Wayne.