For the first time, the women of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) organized a conference designed to honor and inspire women to step up into union leadership. More than 100 women from the Southern California longshore and warehouse divisions of the ILWU attended the event on Monday, September 27th in San Pedro. The day’s theme: “Where His-story Meets Her-Story,” was woven into three main sessions and three workshops focusing on issues relevant to women on the waterfront and beyond.
The conference was organized by “sisters” from Locals 13, 63, and 94 with the goal of bringing women together to educate and inform them about the possibilities that exist in union leadership. Conference co-chairs were Patricia Aguirre, Francesta Grove, and Tanya Scotlan.
“I wish they had programs like this when I was up and coming in the union,” said Aguirre. “There’s something to be said about women educating women; there’s a camaraderie that takes place because of a mutual understanding between the teacher and the student.” Aguirre, a Marine Clerk with Local 63, is the first woman to chair a committee in the longshore division, currently serving the West Coast Longshore Division Education Committee.
Participants at the 2010 ILWU Women's Leadership Conference
“It’s important for us to unite because our union is so big,” said Grove, a foreman in Local 94. “If the women in the union work together, the entire union will benefit. It will bring the whole family together and we won’t be so divided and separate at our various divisions and locals.”
Local 13 member Tanya Scotlan had originally volunteered to assist with some of the workshops, but quickly stepped up to fill a need in the longshore division of the planning committee.
“This is long overdue,” said Scotlan. “Once I realized what the vision of this conference really was, I didn’t want anything to stop it from becoming a reality.” The three co-chairs worked diligently and saw to that.
“I’m here because I want to learn how to properly deal with some of the unfair practices that affect me at work,” said Local 13 member Cherlyn Osteen. “There is so much I want to do but I just don’t know how to get involved.”
Prior to becoming a longshore worker, Osteen served in the US Navy for six years and was a letter carrier for the US Postal Service for 14 years. “I had no idea there was so much going on for women behind the scenes of the ILWU, but I like it, and I want to help. The ILWU is the most proactive and progressive union I’ve ever been in,” Osteen said. For years, Osteen was hesitant about stepping up into union leadership because of family commitments, but now that her children are grown, she believes that the time is right.
Keynote speaker, Maria Elena Durazo, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, spoke about the life lessons she has learned in her many years in the labor movement as being “commitment, sacrifice, and service to a cause that is bigger than we are.”
In her tenure as the leader of the Los Angeles County labor movement, Durazo has met with political heavy hitters bearing impressive titles such as Governor and Senator, and even President, yet she stated that there is one title which commands more respect and reverence in the workplace.
“Union members referring to each other as brother or sister is a great tradition proudly passed down through generations in the labor movement,” said Durazo. “It means something special.”
Several leading ladies within the ILWU were honored for their union leadership, with a Lifetime Achievement Award bestowed upon Luisa Gratz, the first woman President of the Warehouse/ Watchmen’s Local 26.
“The ILWU is a rare institution which is why this conference is not just important for women, it is equally important for men. As long as one of us is unequal in the eyes of the employer, we are all unequal,” said Gratz.
The first woman foreman on the waterfront, Sharon Espinoza, was forced to raise her three children on her own when her husband, also a longshore worker, was killed in an auto accident more than 30 years ago. When the opportunity to transfer from Local 13 to 94 presented itself in 1995, Espinoza did not hesitate. “I was not scared of becoming a boss; I just did what I had to do to support my family.”
The three workshops – titled Women in Union Leadership, Understanding the ILWU, and Harassment and Intimidation in the Workplace – empowered women with practical tools that could be applied daily while on the job. The three main sessions included Durazo’s moving keynote address, an inspiring presentation by renown labor educator Helena Worthen, a dramatic presentation of the famous Harry Bridges monologue “From Wharf Rats to Lord of the Docks” by British actor Ian Ruskin, lively closing remarks by Los Angeles Council Member Janice Hahn, and music by local sensation Maiden and the Scalawags.
The conference was supported by different locals within the ILWU and the Harry Bridges Institute, and was sponsored by several local businesses. Big plans are already underway for that, with the primary goal of including other ILWU divisions and Northern California locals.
– Vivian J. Malauulu, M.A.. Local 13