Katie Couric's Notebook: Norma Rae

Crystal Lee Sutton was the inspiration for the movie "Norma Rae." She worked in a textile factory, folding towels for two dollars and sixty five cents an hour. When she'd finally had enough of poor working conditions and low wages she joined labor organizers in their effort to unionize the factory and she was fired.

Before leaving the plant, she wrote the word "union" on a piece of cardboard and stood silently on her table. Machines quieted, work stopped, and her colleagues held up "V's" for victory.

Crystal Lee died yesterday of brain cancer at the age of 68, after a lifetime of tireless advocacy for the working poor.

She kept a photo of Sally Field as Norma Rae in her living room. The actress won Oscar gold, but Crystal Lee's reward was greater - dignity for working men and women.

That's a page from my notebook.

I'm Katie Couric, CBS News.