 She earned a master's degree in early childhood education from Chicago State University and applied for a job with the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU), which was looking for someone to start a child care program for workers in 1969.It was the first union-sponsored day care program in the United States and was funded by a negotiated percentage of salaries paid to workers by the contribution of clothing manufacturers.The center provided, at no cost to union workers, care for 3 to 6-year-old children, which included free health and dental assessments and twice-weekly meetings with a psychiatric social worker.