2002 Woman of the Year
Teressa Dianne Altic was born in Princeton, WV on July 29, 1949, to Ms. Juanita Stover Altic and Mr. Robert Long Altic, Jr..
Her mother was a graduate of Radford Community Hospital School of Nursing and retired from Carilion Hospital in 1989 after 30 years of service. Her father retired from Medeco Lock Company in 1999 as a tool and die maker after approximately 40 years of service. Her brother, Robert Long Altic, III lives in Bottoms Bridge, VA and is a graduate of the Medical College of Virginia’s School of Pharmacy. He currently works as a registered pharmacist in Richmond.
After graduation from William Fleming High School, Teressa worked as a nursing assistant at Community Hospital of the Roanoke Valley. She enjoyed helping others and decided to attend Roanoke Memorial Hospital’s School of Nursing. She graduated in 1971 and passed the Virginia State Board of Nursing that same year. She worked at Roanoke Memorial Hospital as a staff nurse and then was offered a position with Dr. Edgar N. Weaver, Sr., as his office and operating room nurse, where she worked until 1976.
In 1976, she accepted a position at McGuire VA Medical Center as a staff nurse in Intermediate/Rehab Medicine before transferring to the VA Medical Center in Salem, VA, in 1978. While at the Medical Center in Salem, she has worked as a staff nurse in Extended Care, Intermediate Medicine, and Acute Psychiatry.
Teressa was a resource person for the employees with whom she worked and would advise them of contract language. In 1981, she became a member of Local 1739. Her interest in the union continued, and she wanted to be involved in helping her coworkers and the veterans in a more active role. There were several incidents that occurred which precipitated her deciding to become a steward in her local in 1986.
One of the most significant events that occurred was that she and Ms. Carolyn Jones, LPN, were held hostage by a former patient at the hospital. Ms. Altic had been pulled back to Ward 12-2 from the psychiatric unit where she was working to assist in coverage for 90 days due to staffing shortage. Ms. Altic and Ms. Jones were on the evening tour on Ward 12-2 (Intermediate Care) when, around 5:00 p.m. while working in the nurses’ station, a former patient in a wheel chair entered. After talking for a period of time, he pulled out a gun and would not allow them to leave. He apparently had become upset about discussions of placement and left the hospital without permission a few days prior. Ms. Jones was allowed to leave around 9:00pm and Ms. Altic remained a hostage until some time around or after 11:00pm.
After being released, Ms. Altic was told that no one had called her mother to let her family know about the situation. It was not until the news media called her home did she find out that her daughter was being held hostage. Teressa was very concerned, since her mother had a heart condition and the shock could have precipitated a heart attack. As a result of this incident, Ms. Altic wanted to see that other employees worked in a safe environment, to strive to reduce potential hazards, and to see that employees were treated fairly and equitable with respect and dignity.
She has held the position of chief steward of the professional unit for 16 years. She is a strong advocate of employees and veterans that she serves. When the Local needs someone with experience to work on EEO, Disciplinary Appeal Board for Title 38 employees, MSPB and arbitration hearings, she readily accepts the role.
She reviews policies and, with the recent JCAHO review, has revised and recommended changes on 150-200 policies in the past few months. Other duties include review of new position descriptions and revised position descriptions, review of new competencies, working to upgrade several groups of employees, and handling grievances and employee complaints. She is an AFGE representative on hospital committees (Administrative Executive Board, Clinical Executive Board, Director’s Morning Report, and Awards) and as a member of the Nurse Professional Standard Board at the VA Medical Center. She often serves as a resource person for other locals that call for advice on issues.
In March 2001, AFGE was elected to represent the non-professional unit of Veterans Benefit Administration (VBA). The Roanoke Regional Office decided to merge with Local 1937. Teressa volunteered to assist them in setting up their local office, even though she had a full schedule. She spent more than seven months training the liaison representative, Mr. Dave Dawkins, and handling issues there.
Teressa is a dedicated representative who spends long hours on the job and even takes work home so that employees can be provided the best representation possible. Many employees seek her out for representation, and many managers have said that, if they needed representation, they would want her to represent them because of her compassion for employees and her knowledge.
Teressa works closely with other offices and stewards to provide training and guidance, and as a resource person. She currently is working with two representatives to train them in the hearing process. She is very modest about her accomplishments and will often say “I did my best, like I would want someone to do for me if it was my case.” She tries to exemplify “true unionism.”