Walk In My Shoes
What’s Your Story? Fill out the form below.
In 150 words or less—accompanied by a picture of you at work…Help us walk in your shoes. We’re open to all union members, active, retired, laid off.
“We want rank and file members to help us to illustrate the rich, diverse tapestry of hard working men and women who make up the American labor movement. They are proud of their work and proud of the contributions they make to their communities,” explains Union Label Department President Richard Kline. “We want to demonstrate to American consumers and businesses that union labor gives added value in quality and reliability to products and services that are bought and sold.”
The pictures and stories we get will be published in the Label Letter and posted on the Department’s website—and perhaps in posters and other promotional materials. E-mail a Walk in Your Shoes to: unionlabel@unionlabel.org; or send by regular mail to:
Walk In My Shoes,
c/o Union Label & Service Trades Dept. (AFL-CIO),
815 16th St. NW,
Washington, DC 20005
What's your story?
Past Walk in My Shoes Submissions
Walk in My Shoes–Joli Tokusato, Hotel Worker, Unite Here Local 5, Hawaii
Aloha! I’ve been a hotel worker and UNITE HERE Local 5 member for 24 years. I’m NOT a politician and I never dreamed of running for office, but I did it! When I was first asked to run for a seat on the Honolulu City Council, my first thought was, “That’s crazy!” I’m...
Walk in My Shoes–Loris Hawkins COOK, WHEELOCK COLLEGE UNITE HERE LOCAL 26
I have worked as a cook for Sodexo at Wheelock College in Boston for 11 years. Last year, we organized a union and won our first contract. Today I proudly say that my workplace has been totally changed for the better and that the Union gave us tools to fight for our...
Walk In My Shoes–Mark Hackbart
My name is Mark Hackbart. I work at The Taylor Companies and I am the Chief Union Steward, Steelworkers Local 48U, in Bedford Ohio. I have been working at Taylor for almost 33 years. Taylor opened in 1816 and is the oldest office furniture manufacturer in the...
Walk In My Shoes–David Skillman
By David Westley Skillman, AFGE, Actors' Equity, SAG & AFTRA I joined the military after high school, serving eight years. I also managed to complete a bachelor’s degree before I was honorably discharged. I went to work for the Equal Employment Opportunity...
Walk in My Shoes–Joe A. Sandoval, Retired Steelworker, Pueblo, Colorado
Following retirement in 2003, Joe A. Sandoval devoted his new found “free time” to recollecting the colorful characters he met and reconstructing incidents he witnessed during his career in a USW-represented steel mill in Pueblo, Colorado. Joe’s book, entitled:...
Walk in My Shoes–Tim Sugrue
By Tim Sugrue, 31-Year Professional Fire Fighter in Montgomery County, MD; District Rep., IAFF Local 1664 6 a.m. relieving the previous 24-hour shift. First order of business: check out the equipment: lights, sirens, tires, fuel. We’re in a semi rural suburban area,...
Walk in My Shoes–JESSE ADKINS, Chemical Operator, Bayer Crop Science Plant
I belong to IAM&AW Local Lodge 656 in Nitro, West Virginia. Next July will mark my 20th year at the plant. I serve on our volunteer emergency squad as a firefighter, an EMT and as a HAZMAT technician. I work on a 12-hour swing shift so I spend half my days and...
Paul O’Connor, Electrician, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
America’s nuclear submarines are all unionmade. When these vessels need repair, the U.S. Navy wants that work done by skilled union workers. Working on the electrical systems in a nuclear submarine is a bit different from wiring switches in a home. Everything we do is...
Walk In My Shoes–Andrew Croom, Insulator Avondale Shipyard, New Orleans
As president of the New Orleans Metal Trades Council, most days now I’m on steward time, going around the shipyard and talking to people who have problems on the job or on safety issues and since they started talking about shutting down the yard 18 months ago, people...
Pete Trinidad, Millwright at Accelormittal, Burns Harbor, Indiana
Vice President USW Local 6787 and Contract Benefits Coordinator I have several titles and lots to do. I don’t work on the shop floor as much as I once did. As contract coordinator, I oversee benefits administration for around 25,000 to 30,000 workers, retirees,...
