ILWU International President Bob McEllrath (left) with newly elected Local 34 Vice President
Jeanette Walker-Peoples .
The recent San Francisco Ship Clerk’s union election has resulted in a new generation of Local 34 officers, including their first Mexican-American President, David Gonzales – and Vice President Jeanette Walker-Peoples – who is the first woman and first African American to hold a top slot in the local union.
Together with longtime Secretary-Treasurer Allen Fung, the trio reflects the growing diversity in the ILWU’s membership.
ILWU International President Bob McEllrath attended the ceremony to install Local 34’s new officers on January 21. He administered the oath of office and congratulated the new team. Jeanette Walker-Peoples has been a Ship Clerk member for 7 years. Last year she served on the Labor Relations Committee, but already knew some of the ropes from her father, Andrew Walker Sr., who became a Local 34 member back in 1966.
Starting at Local 10
Mrs. Walker-Peoples arrived at Local 34 in 2009 after accumulating ten years of longshore experience at Local 10, which she joined in 1999.
“When I first came to Local 10, the job was such a blessing,” she said. “That’s where I learned the importance of listening, so I could see how things worked and learn from the other members.”
Mrs. Walker-Peoples said she received help and encouragement from the “old-timers,” including pensioner Ralph Rooker who recently passed.
After listening and learning during her first year at Local 10, Mrs. Walker-
People’s offered to step up and serve as a Relief Dispatcher. The following year she decided to take an even bigger step by running for a full-time Dispatcher position, which she won.
With encouragement and support from her co-workers at Local 10, Mrs. Walker-Peoples says she was “never afraid to speak up, voice opinions or ask questions. From day one in the ILWU, I felt obligated to speak up for myself and other union members.”
Arriving at Local 34
“When I came to Local 34 in 2009, I gained experience the same way by attending union meetings and listening,” said Mrs. Walker-Peoples. After five years, she attended a meeting where she says then-President Sean Farley was trying to encourage members to run for the Vice-President position, “but nobody stepped up.” The following year, she decided to run for that position and was elected.
Changing color of Clerk’s membership Mrs. Walker-Peoples said she is “proud to be Local 34’s first African American and woman officer,” and would like to see more African Americans play leadership roles in the local.
The racial makeup of San Francisco’s Ship Clerks union is now changing quickly after decades when the membership was predominantly white. The difference now, says Mrs. Walker-Peoples, is the “one door” policy – that supplies new Clerks solely from the ranks of nearby longshore locals, which in the case of San Francisco, means Local 10.
“In the most recent group of new Local 34 transfers, all came from Local 10 – and 19 out of 21 were African American,” she noted. “We’re still not the majority, but it’s an important and welcome change to see the diversity within the rank and file of Local 34.”