Organized Labor

By Richard Bermack
Contributing Writer

'Often as a woman you'll be on a job site and feel alone. It is so amazing to walk into this conference and know you are really not alone, that all these women here today are in the trades and shared your experiences," said Carol Toliver of Tradeswomen, Inc., addressing the audience at the seventh annual California Women Building California Conference in Oakland, May 17-18. "It is also about union strengthening and making sure we are the best union members we can be. We have a lot to contribute, and it is only through unity and community we can remain strong," she continued.

Some 400 conference attendees came from as far away as Texas and Oklahoma. They ranged from pre-apprentices to master tradespeople and instructors. Every aspect of the building trades was represented. "We are about networking, learning skills, and having a good time," stated Debra Chaplan, the conference coordinator.
Tradeswomen, Inc. proposed that the California State Building Trades Council sponsor a conference about women in the trades seven years ago. Council president Bob Balgenorth not only got approval, but he made it an annual event.

The building trades councils have been very supportive of bringing women into the trades, according to Beth Youhn, former executive president of Tradeswomen, Inc., who was honored at this year's conference. However, the number of women in the trades is still very low. "Getting into the trades is just the beginning," Youhn explains. We have to find ways to help people be successful as apprentices, and then they will be successful as journeypeople. Nationwide there is still less than 3 percent women in the trades."

Assemblymember and state senate candidate Loni Hancock emphasized the need to increase recruitment. "You are still pioneers. The door opened a crack and you walked through…Now you can open the door wider," she challenged the audience. Hancock introduced a bill to provide outreach programs to encourage women in high schools to enroll in apprenticeship programs.

Recruitment, retention, and leadership development were primary focuses of the conference. There were also workshops aimed at improving the quality of life in the trades. The conference attendants also heard from Assemblymember Fiona Ma, Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero and Senator Ellen Corbett.

The importance of participating in electoral politics was another focus of the conference, with the state budget crisis and presidential election looming. State Building Council President Bob Balgenorth emphasized the need to elect a president who would "heal the wounds that George Bush did to all the working people." Referring to McCain as John McSame, Balgenorth warned that if elected, McCain will continue the attack on working people, and we will continue to have "a government of the wealthy, by the wealthy, and to hell with everyone else."

Organized Labor talked with several people at the conference about what it is like to be a woman in the building trades and how the attitudes towards women have changed:
When Laura "Low Voltage" Vergeront, a member of IBEW Local 440, entered the electrical trade 30 years ago, she was not welcomed. "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" is how she jokingly characterized her years in the trades. It took her three years to get into the apprenticeship program.

On her first job, the journeyman called the union and asked them what he was supposed to have her do, stating there was no classification for women. "I did things like bring great big plates of chocolate chip cookies. Another time one of my journeymen told me he would have to lay me off because his wife was making him sleep on the couch until I was off his job site."

At first Vergeront took any job she could get, working as hard as she could until she was recognized as a good worker. Nearing retirement, she now works for the Department of Corrections teaching building skills to the inmates so they will have a marketable skill when they get out of prison. "I want to give something back," she stated.

 Forty-four year veteran painter and District Council 16 member Vicki Cruz has only one year left until retirement. "It was tough back then when I started," she recalled. "There were few women in the painters union. Sticking with it and hanging in there is the name of the game. If you can hang, you'll do well. It's a lot easier now for women. When women came in, a lot of the personal harassment stopped. A lot of the men felt they had to play along with the game and do what they were told. But when we started standing up, they realized they could too. A lot of men have told me how thankful they are. There is still harassment, but now we can do something about it. And the clothing really improved too."

Mel Lowney, one of a handful of men at the conference, is proud of the progress the building trades have made and the changes women entering the trades have brought to the profession. When he joined the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters over 50 years ago, a woman plumber was unimaginable. "Back in 1955 there weren't any women, and the attitude towards women was quite belligerent," he explained. "In those years, construction people were characterized as individuals that stooped over and dragged their knuckles as they walked. That's no longer the case, and women have been a big part of improving our image. These ladies are very intelligent, fantastic individuals and have been a credit to our industry. A lot of them have reached supervisory and management positions. They have really broadened our horizons about the capability of women. And, of course, they have really improved the quality of language at the workplace. Everyone has benefited."

Opal Connor has been an apprentice with Operating Engineers Local 3 for four years. She loves working with heavy equipment, building bridges, and doing things that people wouldn't think women can do. "We're moving dirt and building California. When I'm driving down the freeway with my kids, I tell them, "I helped build that bridge." It's a good feeling. Before joining the Operating Engineers, she drove an 18 wheeler, but she wanted to spend less time traveling and more time being a parent. And she wanted the protection of a union job. "When you're in the union and go out on a job, they have to take you, whether you are a man or a woman. And they have to treat you with dignity."

Karen Trusty

Pipe Fitter and Welders,
United Associates Local 230 Executive Board Member and welding instructor, San Diego 

"I've been a welder for 28 years on the job, and at night I teach welding at the union's plumber and pipefitter school. The guys I hung out with in high school were either in the trades or their fathers were, and they would brag about how much money they were making. I figured I could do that, and it all followed suit. It was hard at first, but it was just a matter of persistence, doing the work and not giving in.
"The joy of teaching is something you can't explain.
I'm just giving back what they gave to me. I'm really proud of the plumbers and pipe fitters and just being part of the construction trades."