RIP Janice Reed, 1101 Chief Steward

Janice Reed died on December 31, 2020 after a courageous battle with cancer. Janice was the Chief Steward at Arms Acres for more than ten years, and an 1101 steward for ten years before that. She retired from Arms Acres in the summer of 2019 (you can read about her time as Chief Steward here), but her heart stayed with the people there. Janice combined a fierce dedication to protecting her members with a wicked sense of humor and deep compassion for her co-workers.

“The union meant the world to her,” her husband Martin Reed said. “She was constantly helping and advising people, day and night. She had such a passion for it.”

Stephanie Gould was a good friend of Janice’s at Arms Acres; she and her daughter Lexie helped care for Janice in the final stages of her life. Stephanie described Janice as a caring spirit with a quick tongue. “Janice was always in the lounge ready for people who needed to talk. She fought for everybody’s rights. She truly believed in the union. She worked well with management as well, and she got done what needed to get done.”

“She cared about everybody here at the job” Stephanie said. If you were headed in the wrong direction, she’d say ‘I’m going to kick you in the [&*@] but she’d still make you laugh about it.’

Janice helped people not just in regards to union issues like working conditions, wages, and benefits. She helped them live the best lives they could.

“When I was struggling as single mom, I wanted to become a case manager. I took the courses but I didn’t have the money for the CASAC test. Janice pulled the money out of her pocket and said ‘Do it now or you may never do it’. I wouldn’t even be here if she hadn’t pushed me and helped me do that,” Stephanie recalled.

Shashanda Hardy was elected Chief Steward at Arms Acres in 2019 when Janice retired as Chief.  Shashanda had big shoes to fill. Luckily she had a great mentor. “Janice taught me how to reach a healthy balance between management and the members. You need that. After I was elected she was critical in teaching me how to navigate things. Even after she retired I’d call her for guidance. She always picked up the phone, she always listened, and she always gave me sound advice.”

“There are so many members who Janice helped make Christmas happen for over the years,” Shashanda said. “If she knew they were struggling, she’d help make their kids happy at Christmastime. She was a really giving person.”

“Janice talked about Arms Acres and the union all the time,” Martin said. “She always tried to find the good in people. She was a pretty good judge of character. That’s why she’d go out of her way to help people. They were good people and they just needed help.

Janice was no push-over though. ”She was like a bulldog”, Martin recalled. “She’d get what she wanted come hell or high water. I had a lot of respect for that. Janice wasn’t scared of much.”

Outside of her work at Arms Acres and with the union Janice loved spending time with her grandchildren. Rest in Peace Janice. You fought a good fight, and you will be missed.

Janice is survived by her husband Martin Reed; her sons, Joel Barrett and his wife Marie Barrington of South Carolina and Jason Barrett and his wife Tammy of New Hampshire; her grandchildren, Jordan, Kayla, and Journey and Jasmyn, Amya, and Braylan; her brothers, Jimmy Barrett, George Barrett, and Alan Barrett; and many nieces and nephews, especially Nick Barrett.