Steel Edge Women Quarterly Caucus
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Steel Edge Women Spotlights
November 11, 2020
Before entering construction, Giday Adhanom was a nursing assistant and was advancing in the medical field. Giday completed ANEW, which is a program dedicated to improving the access and advancement of women in non-traditional career pathways. She became a member of Local 528 in 2005.
June 9, 2020
Danielle Green has been a member of Local 528 since April of 2000. Her Cement Mason brother, Richard Gregoire, was the motivator to join. During these hard times, she was trying to raise her 3 children while struggling to earn a living. She started with Larusso Concrete and then spent the next 10 years, on and off, with Mid-Mountain Contractors.
January 24, 2020
After working for 12 years at different retail jobs, my good friend asked me if I'd like to come work for them at their small business. I didn't really know what her husband did for a living but I was adamant about changing professions. In 1995, I started my Apprenticeship making more than I had been making in retail. As my wages increased, I became financially independent and was able to raise my 2 children on my own terms. After being a Union member for about 6 years, I decided that I was going to attend my union meetings on a regular basis. Within 6 months, the Business Manager was having me fill in for the Recording Secretary and I was eventually appointed to the position. I have held the position for 17 years, running unopposed for each term. Holding this position helped prepare me for my interview for my current Business Agent position.
The proud women of OPCMIA have a steel edge, and they are among the best, toughest, most skilled craftspeople anywhere in the world.
Tell Us Your Story
Resources
Note: Links to external websites are provided for reference only. External websites are maintained by other organizations, agencies, and companies, who are solely responsible for their content.
- Chicago Women in Trades – https://cwit.org
2444 W. 16th St., #3E, Chicago, IL 60608, W: 312-942-1444 | W-fax: 312-942-1599 - empowHER – Building Trades Women’s Group whose goals would be to reach out to gain members, answer questions about how to achieve leadership and upward mobility in the industry, be visible within the community to make people know we are here and show that they can follow this path as well. Find us on Facebook right now as we aren’t on a website quite yet. Regular meetings third Wednesday of each month at 5:30 pm at Milwaukee Building and Construction Trades Council, 5941 W Bluemound Rd, Milwaukee, WI 53213
- HHW Ohio (formerly Hard Hatted Women) – https://www.hhwohio.org
41957 North Ridge, Unit 2, Elyria, Ohio 44035, W: 216-861-6500 - Local 528 Steel Edge Women – https://www.opcmia528.org/528women
- Missouri Women in the Trades – http://www.missouriwomenintrades.org
8300 Manchester Road, Brentwood, MO 63144, W: 314-963-3200 | W-fax: 314-963-3286 - National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE) – http://www.napequity.org
PO Box 369, Cochranville, PA 19330, W: 610-593-8038 | W-fax: 610-593-7283 - National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) – http://www.nawic.org
327 Adams St., Fort Worth, TX 76104, W: 817-877-5551 | W-fax: 817-877-0324 - Nontraditional Employment for Women (NEW) – http://www.new-nyc.org
243 W. 20th St., New York, NY 10011, W: 212-627-6252 | W-fax: 626-486-2293 - Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. – http://www.tradeswomen.net
3934 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., #101, Portland, OR 97212, W: 503-335-8200 | W-fax: 503-249-0445 - Pennsylvania Women Work – http://pawomenwork.org
411 Seventh Ave., #925, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, W: 412-281-9270 | W-fax: 412-281-9279 - State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, Women in Construction – http://www.sbctc.org/doc.asp?id=310
- Tradeswomen, Inc. – http://www.tradeswomen.org
1433 Webster Street, Oakland, CA 94612, W: 510-891-8773 | W-fax: 510-891-8775 - Vermont Works for Women – http://www.vtworksforwomen.org
32A Malletts Bay Ave., Winooski, VT 05404, W: 802-655-8900 | W-fax: 802-655-8922 - Women in Non Traditional Employment Roles (WINTER) – http://www.winterwomen.org
3655 S. Grand Ave., #210, Los Angeles, CA 90007, W: 213-749-3970 | W-fax: 213-749-3918
From Roses to Rivets Documentary Film Project
Celebrates women’s contributions to the work force past and present – http://www.fromrosestorivets.com
PBS Documentary features women in Iron Workers #377 in SF.
Women Can Do Conference
This is a great short piece and very real! She is doing post tensioning work.
Nontraditional Employment for Women (NEW)
Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc.
From Fences and Locks to Jobs and Paychecks
What to Do if You’re Expecting
If you’re a Steel-Edge Woman and you become pregnant, there are a number of questions you may have about your rights on the job and the need to protect your health. The answers will vary, depending on the terms of your collective bargaining agreement, your specific craft, and applicable state and local laws. But here is a broad guide to help connect you with resources and information we hope you will find useful, with special thanks to OPCMIA Steel-Edge Women Chair Kilah Engelke, Business Agent for Local 599 Area 558. Kilah just gave birth to her first child, Marleigh Jade. Congratulations!
Please know that the OPCMIA and your Local Union stand ready to help if you encounter any problems. We have got your back!
PROTECTING YOUR SAFETY AND HEALTH WHILE PREGNANT
- To learn more about protecting yourself from hazards on the job, please see the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health website at: www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/repro/workers.html and www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/repro/pregnancyjob.html
- For more detailed information on how to protect yourself from specific hazards:
- Physical demands, such as lifting, standing and bending: www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/repro/physicaldemands.html
- Heat: www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/repro/heat.html
- Shift work and long working hours: www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/repro/workschedule.html
- Noise: www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/repro/noise.html
- Lead and other heavy metals: www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/repro/heavymetals.html
- Regarding heavy lifting, the familyeducation.com website finds, “Generally, it’s agreed that pregnant women can lift items that weigh 25 pounds or under, all day long without harm. Also, they can occasionally lift items that weigh up to 50 pounds with no problem. This explains why you can carry your toddler and preschooler occasionally, but not constantly. But if your job requires you to lift weights between 25 and 50 pounds or more on a regular basis, you should ask for reassignment or take your leave:
- By the 20th week of pregnancy if you’re repetitively lifting weights over 50 pounds.
- By the 30th week if you are occasionally lifting weights over 50 pounds.
- By the 34th week if you are repetitively lifting weights between 25 and 50 pounds.
- For information about appropriate personal protective equipment, please see: www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/repro/ppe.html
- Here is an account of working on a construction site while pregnant by a British site engineer: www.womeninconstructionsummit.com/blog/michelle-hands-pregnant-construction-worker
- For information about working on the job while breastfeeding, please visit: www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/repro/breastfeeding.html
YOUR RIGHT TO MATERNITY LEAVE
- Contact your Local Union to find out what benefits are available through the Local or one of your local benefit funds. You can find your local union contact information here if you’re in the U.S. — www.opcmia.org/us-locals/ — and here if you’re in Canada — www.opcmia.org/ca-locals/
- To learn more about the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, which provides for 12 unpaid workweeks of leave in a 12-month period in the U.S., please go to: www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla
- Here is an account of best practices in pregnancy and maternity leave produced by Chicago Women in Trades: iwpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Pregnancy-and-Maternity-in-the-Trades_revision2.pdf
- For general guides to maternity leave policies and options, please visit any or all of the following:
- www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/maternity-leave
- www.parents.com/pregnancy/my-life/maternity-paternity-leave/your-smart-guide-to-maternity-leave/
- www.thebalancecareers.com/planning-maternity-leave-3545036
- www.nerdwallet.com/blog/health/maternity-and-paternity-leave-a-guide-for-expectant-parents/
- online.rider.edu/online-masters-degrees/masters-business-administration/guide-to-maternity-leave-in-the-u-s-statistics-tips-resources/
If you are pregnant or raising a newborn child and have further questions about your rights and protections, please contact your Local’s Business Manager. The OPCMIA is a family-friendly union and you have a right to a career that allows you to work in our crafts while raising your family.
News & Articles
- June 10, 2021 – Not Your Average Career
Read Article -
March 21, 2019 – Ironworkers’ Vicki O’Leary Earns ENR’s 2019 Award of Excellence
Read Article -
January 10, 2019 – Vicki O’Leary: Preventing Harassment to Make Jobsites a Safer and More Productive Environment for Workers
Read Article
