Local 2083 Helps Build Habitat Home for Alabama Couple
'The House that Labor Built'

Story by Jennifer John

On Dec. 16, 2000, Ross and Penny Hargett were heading for shelter at her parents’ house in Tuscaloosa, Ala., when a tornado hit, throwing the couple from their car into a field several hundred feet away.

The violent F-4 twister killed 11 people, and hundreds lost their homes.

The Hargetts, and their mobile home, survived.

“It was terrifying,” said Penny, 29, a receptionist who escaped with minor injuries, including a broken wrist and facial cuts and bruises. “Luckily, we don’t remember much after the impact of the tornado.”

But Ross, 27, was seriously hurt. His back was broken, and since then he’s had surgery to implant eight screws and two metal rods.

A clerk at the county courthouse, Ross was out of work for nearly nine months. This year, he’ll need two more surgeries to remove the hardware.

Despite their “Wizard of Oz-like” experience, the couple’s future is bright.

Thanks to the efforts of UAW Local 2083 members and other affiliates of the West Alabama Labor Council, the Hargetts will soon get a new home, in conjunction with the Habitat for Humanity project.

It’s been a true community effort with support and supplies from area UAW Region 8 CAP councils, the University of Alabama, a sheet rock plant in northern Alabama and the Steelworkers.

“We wanted it to be ‘the house that labor built,’” said Ann Skelton, Local 2083 financial secretary and president of the labor council.

Both Tuscaloosa natives, the Hargetts managed to salvage their damaged trailer after the tornado, but they’re grateful to be moving into a new home with their infant son, Austin, who was born Oct. 30.

“You just don’t know how big a thrill this is,” said Penny. “We’re both just so excited. We never, ever expected anything like this.”

According to Skelton, the project began in January 2001, with a search for a piece of property in Tuscaloosa. Once they found the land, Habitat folks helped find a family, based on income, need and other factors. In addition, Habitat requires that the chosen family put in 400 hours of community service (called “sweat equity”).

The Hargetts qualified, and not long after they were selected, laborers poured the foundation and began building their house. As of December, the exterior was completed. Next, they’ll install insulation and sheet rock while IBEW electricians wire the inside and apprentices put in plumbing.

Habitat’s rules require the Hargetts to pay back a $30,000 mortgage within 30 years, with no interest.
The three-bedroom, one-bath house will be completed early this year.

“It’s just a wonderful feeling to give something back to the community,” said Local 2083’s Skelton.