Women in the Trades
JOURNAL: ISSUE 3 - 2015
From left, Local 15 MO/KS/NE bricklayer/pointer-cleaner-caulker Jana Ashton, Local 21 IL finisher apprentice Nicole Russell, Local 21 IL bricklayer Lily Calderon, Local 74 IL bricklayer Jackie Townsend, Local 2 WA/ID/MT bricklayer Mary Lovette, and Local 1 NY bricklayer Glenda Samuel.
 Photo by Phil McCarten |
As reported in the previous Journal(Issue 2, 2015*), the 5th Annual Women Building the Nation Conference held in May in Los Angeles represented the largest gathering of women members of the organized building trades – more than 1,000 – ever assembled, in the U.S. or any nation. In addition to the participation of 21 BAC members, the Union was well represented at the conference’s general sessions with remarks by BAC President James Boland and Victoria “Magan” Smith of Local 8 Southeast, who gave the National Keynote Address.
After serving more than eight years in the Air Force as an Aircraft Armament Systems Specialist, Sister Smith was medically retired and when the time came to transition to civilian employment, she connected with Helmets to Hardhats and the Local 8 SE pre-apprentice program in Tampa, FL. She is currently a Local 8 SE bricklayer apprentice. Despite her years in the military and working long hours in a male-dominated field under tough conditions, her work with the tools has its challenges. “But between the pay and the benefits and the pride you take in your work, it makes everything worthwhile,” she told attendees
President Boland commended the conferees for reinforcing “the capacity of my Union and the organized trades to benefit from, and utilize your experiences and insights to create a more equitable, welcoming environment for women as tradesworkers and as union leaders.” And in a special shout out to the BAC members present, Boland said, “As you can attest to, our trades are no ‘walk in the park.’ It’s hard, hard work; and regardless of gender, you have to really want it to succeed, so congratulations for staying the course. The satisfaction of mastering a craft that goes back centuries, and creating something of enduring beauty that you can point out to family and friends for all to see – there’s nothing quite like it.”
BAC and the Journal acknowledge Conference attendee and Local 1 WV pointer-cleaner-caulker apprentice Sister Renata Bruza for the use of her photographs.
*Correction: The Journal regrets that the photo caption of Conference attendees on page 14 of Issue 2, 2015 failed to identify Jennifer Vogt of 2 MI, Jana Ashton of 15 MO/KS/NE and Yolanda Overstreet of 21 IL. The online caption has been corrected and Sisters Vogt, Ashton and Overstreet appear in the photographs on this page.
From left, Local 15 MO/KS/NE bricklayer/pointer-cleaner-caulker Jana Ashton, Local 21 IL finisher apprentice Nicole Russell, Local 21 IL bricklayer Lily Calderon, Local 74 IL bricklayer Jackie Townsend, Local 2 WA/ID/MT bricklayer Mary Lovette, and Local 1 NY bricklayer Glenda Samuel.
Pointer-cleaner-caulker apprentice Kristine Azzoli and bricklayer Leslie Alonso, both of Local 1 NY, carry Local 1’s banner in the conference’s union banner parade.