Alabama PSO Honors Emmitt Jimmar
By: Jesse McDaniel, Alabama Professional Staff Organization
They say history has a way of repeating itself, and if it doesn’t repeat exactly, it might rhythm a little. Members of the Alabama Professional Staff Organization (APSO) heard a familiar refrain as they met in the headquarters of the Alabama Education Association (AEA) on June 4, 2025.
By unanimous vote, APSO authorized a separate fund for the benefit of members during a future work stoppage due to strike, lockout, or some other labor crisis. The union named this new account the Emmitt Jimmar Crisis Fund.
National Staff Organization (NSO) President Brad Darjean commended APSO for this proactive measure. “Unions are built for tough times, but we have to follow through with the action on our part. Alabama joins a list of states taking steps to be more prepared. Good job!”
Emmitt Jimmar was an APSO founder and led the union through the only strike in the history of AEA during the 1970s. He went on to be the first person of color to serve on the NSO Executive Committee. He also was the first Black person elected to the Colbert County Commission where he served 28 years.
Current APSO Executive Committee member Izaak Standridge led the effort to establish the new fund and said he thought it was really important to do this work now while there is no major crisis. He also thought it was appropriate to name it for the late Emmitt Jimmar, whose story is legendary.
“Emmitt was the blueprint for minority representation in NSO and local staff union leadership positions” said former NSO Vice President Catherine Alexander, who first met Jimmar as a new staffer in 1997. “He was always encouraging staff of color to get involved with their state staff union affiliate and to seek out positions. He understood that the issues and concerns of staff needed diverse voices.”
Alexander later served on the NSO Executive Committee with the man whom she knew as “the Godfather” from 2009 until 2014, when Jimmar retired. “His involvement with the Alabama staff strike was a defining moment for his own career and he made sure he passed on the lessons and knowledge he had gained.” In 2014, NSO presented Jimmar with the John Warms Legend Award, one of its highest honors. Alexander recalled, “His willingness to extend himself and reach behind him to pull others in is the epitome of unionism.”
Standridge said it was actually a session at NSO’s annual Winter Advocacy Retreat which inspired new ideas in him about union preparedness. “Every NSO member has access to the Charlie Love Crisis Fund in the event that they’re on a strike or lockout. But I also learned the importance of having our own state affiliate one as well.”
To help folks feel more comfortable with the proposal creating the fund, Standridge shared information about it with key APSO leaders in advance, including La’Kiska Jimmar, Emmitt’s daughter. The younger Jimmar succeeded her father as a UniServ Director in northwest Alabama, and was in the room at the time of the vote to name the crisis fund. She thanked APSO for the touching remembrance. Click the button below to learn more about Emmitt Jimmar’s legacy.
I learned so much from Emmitt when I served eight him on the NSO Executivr Committee. He was a man of incredible knowledge and had the respect of many. What an honor for him to be remembered in this way.