Stories of Pride
The following articles and videos are part of the Stories of Pride profile series by the USW LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee.
Local 1155L’s Jamie Martinez and the Fight for Life-Saving Care
As a Trans person and a worker, Jamie Martinez (they/them) knows that the struggle for dignity and respect is never over. Recently the Local 1155L member engaged in one of the most important battles of their life when fighting for gender-affirming care.
When starting their transitioning journey, Martinez was focused primarily on top surgery. Their first call was to their insurance company, who told Martinez that their policy excluded gender-affirming procedures.
“It is critical that gender-affirming care is accessible to folks like me,” said Martinez, who works at Bridgestone-Firestone in Tennessee. “It’s life-changing and, in many cases, life-saving. To be told there was a specific exclusion preventing me from getting the care I needed was absolutely devastating.”
Fortunately, this is not where the story ends. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.
Abagael West of Local 1088 Celebrates New Life as Union-Represented Professor
As Abagael West (they/them) wrapped up the academic year at the University of Pittsburgh this past May, the Teaching Assistant Professor began a new chapter that was a long-time coming: one as a USW member protected by a collective bargaining agreement.
At midnight on May 11, nearly 3,000 faculty members at Pitt, including West, ratified their first-ever union contract, nearly three years after voting to join the United Steelworkers.
When West first learned about the union campaign six years ago, they didn’t know much about labor, yet as they grew to know the organizers, the biology professor quickly found a like-minded community.
“I knew they were doing something good and right,” said West, who is now a proud member of Local 1088.
Daisy Alvarez Leads with Empathy at Local 8599
Daisy Alvarez (she/her) has worked as an interpreter/sign support for Deaf and hard-of-hearing students across the Fontana Public School District since 2007. Throughout the years, what she has loved the most about her job is watching her students grow.
“I’m gay, I'm Mexican, I'm a woman – I've had all these strikes against me, but to know I’m someone who’s become a shoulder to lean on makes me proud,” said Alvarez.