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Every Teamster Has a Story
Darlene Hoy, of Vancouver, British Columbia, has a demanding job as a rock truck driver. The young Local 213 member is the only woman among her 50 co-workers. Thousands of miles away in Salinas, Calif., Eleanor Pineda drives a farm labor bus for Dole Fresh Foods. A Teamster for an incredible 52 years, Pineda, a member of Local 890, gets excited when she talks about her Teamster family and the great life she has led as a union member. Pineda opens her purse to pull out her Teamster contract, which she carries as a reminder that she has rights, that she can speak up for herself and her co-workers, and that she has a voice. View photos from Day 3 of the Women’s Conference. View more photos.
Hoy and Pineda pass each other in the same halls where more than 800 Teamsters have converged at the annual Teamsters Women’s Conference in San Francisco. Each of these members has a story to tell—a story of perseverance, resilience, hardship and triumph.
Over the past three days these proud Teamsters have participated in workshops, networked with each other and gained inspiration and information from prominent speakers. They heard from and met with Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa, General Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), California Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom and San Francisco Fire Department Chief Joanne Hayes-White, among others.
On Saturday, Aug. 25, the final day of the conference, the audience heard from Sylvia Allegretto, an economist and co-chair of the Center on Wage & Employment Dynamics at the University of California at Berkeley. Allegretto put into clear and understandable terms the causes of the financial crisis and the impact the economy is having on people.
“It’s quite amazing the pain and suffering that is going on in communities. Meanwhile, 60 percent of all gains went to the top 1 percent,” Allegretto said.
Allegretto called on the women to speak up, highlighting the critical role that unions play in fighting for fairness and a balance of economic power.
Fighting Spirit
That fighting spirit was on display through the stories that a panel of Teamster women shared next on stage. These speakers displayed the full diversity of professions within the union. The speakers work as airline pilots, school bus drivers and sanitation workers.
“I’m thrilled to announce that less than 48 hours ago, Allegiant Air pilots voted to join the Teamsters,” said Tiffany Tokar-Vlasek, an Allegiant pilot. “There are 360 pilots, and of those, 26 are women pilots. And now we’re honored to be part of the 1.4 million-member Teamsters Union.”
Also on stage was Stephanie Choate, an American Airlines mechanic from Tulsa, Okla. Choate is currently working with her co-workers to organize with the Teamsters.
Durham School Services school bus drivers Linda Aguiar and Maria Lopez talked about favoritism and a lack of respect from the company, which led them to recently join Teamsters Local 853 in San Leandro, Calif.
The crowd also heard from Karla Campos, a waste worker with American Reclamation, who is fighting to organize and improve upon the deplorable working conditions at that company. Campos talked about low wages, poor safety conditions, and of the rats and roaches that run in the sanitation facility and which the workers are exposed to.
Becky Brandais, a member of Local 117 in Seattle, spoke about the importance of unity for herself and her co-workers at the Port of Seattle.
Jeff Farmer, Director of the Teamsters Organizing Department, called these speakers “heroes” for their courage to tell their stories, fight injustice, organize and ensure a better future for generations to come.
“Women want a union. It pays to have a union contract in your back pocket,” Farmer said.
Eleanor Pineda couldn’t agree more.
“There are forces that want to take away our contracts. We need to stand up for our rights and we need to vote,” Pineda said.
As the conference comes to a close, Sunday, Aug. 26 will mark the 92nd anniversary of the 19th amendment, guaranteeing American women the right to vote.