Mary Below ~ Aspirus Langlade Hospital Chapter
Meet our featured member, Mary Below. Mary is a Speech Pathologist at Aspirus Langlade Hospital (ALH) in Antigo, Wisconsin. She has worked at the hospital for 23 years. Mary was born and raised in Antigo and has always felt pride in her job and her ability to help her friends, neighbors, and their families. Mary says, “I was a non-traditional student, as I quit college at 20 to get married. I went back to school and finished to become a Speech Pathologist.”
Speaking honestly, Mary said she never thought she would need a union to protect her job; but, many years ago, seeing the challenges she and her co-workers faced in the workplace quickly changed her mind. She immediately became a staunch supporter and has been a union member for most of her career at ALH. Mary said, “Corporate healthcare does not truly care about their employees, and having a union to protect our rights is vital.”
She was secretary of her union for two terms, many years apart, and recently took on the role of President of her Chapter. Mary shared, “I hope that the end of my working career will be enriched by protecting the rights of my fellow workers. I have always been a champion of workers’ rights, and was fired many years ago from a factory job for protesting that men were being paid more for the same work. I filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and settled out of court. I chose not to return to that job, and that was the catalyst for me returning to school.”
Mary is married and the mother of two sons. Her family is her passion, and she is very excited to become a grandmother, anxiously awaiting the arrival of her first granddaughter this summer. Her hobbies include knitting, cooking and baking, the Green Bay Packers, Wisconsin Badgers, and Milwaukee Brewers.