2023 Women Labor Leaders

Elevator Constructors (IUEC)

Amy Kayes has been a leader and mentor to the women in IUEC Local 8. 

She's held an elected position on the Executive Board since 2016, and as of last year, was appointed to a position on the Joint Apprenticeship Committee. 

Amy is a service mechanic in San Francisco and works for San Francisco Elevator. 

Kimberly Charlton

United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipefitters (UA)

Kimberly Charlton is at the top of her class. She was a huge part of building Warriors Stadium. There are six union members in her family, and union participation goes back three generations. She takes pride in her union and has certifications in medical gas, pex and brazing. Charlton is learning to weld and always working to do her best. She is always giving 100%, and she stands behind the union concept indefinitely.
 

Laborers (LIUNA)

"As a member of LIUNA Local 464, I have learned that I don’t need a college degree to have good wages, insurance and a pension. Since joining the union, my mental health has improved because I don’t dread work. Union membership has made a difference for me financially. I don’t need to worry whether or not I can afford to go to the doctor or what I will be eating at night. LIUNA has made a great impact on not only myself, but also my union brothers, sisters and siblings."

Vice President, National Nurses United (NNU)

Catherine Kennedy is a registered nurse, member of the Council of Presidents for the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC) and vice president of National Nurses United (NNU). A staff nurse at Kaiser Permanente Roseville in the neonatal intensive care unit, she has been an outstanding advocate for nurses in her position as commissioner to the California Healthcare Workforce Policy Commission (2013–2021). 

Additionally, she is a current member of the California Health Workforce Education and Training Council under the state’s Department of Health Care Access and Information (2021 to present) and advocates via her exceptional mentorship and cultural competency work with California Nurses Foundation (CNF). She is also a passionate public supporter for the NNU and CNA/NNOC campaigns for Medicare for All. 

In October 2017, Registered Nurse Response Network, a disaster-relief project of CFN and NNU, chose Kennedy to lead a team of 50 volunteer registered nurses to aid Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, coordinating with a 300-person relief delegation from the AFL-CIO. 
 

Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS)

Veronica “Ronni” Benedetto, an aviation safety technician at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), has dedicated her life to helping others. She began her federal career in the Civil Rights office at the Department of Defense and transferred to the FAA in 1996. She became a PASS contract representative in 2015 and is the union’s designated rep to assist workers who have been injured on the job navigate the workers’ compensation process. “Being a union member is the best job insurance one can have!” says Benedetto.

Communications Workers of America (CWA)

Grace Catania is a longtime member of The NewsGuild-CWA (TNG-CWA) Local 34071. She is an immigrant to this great country, having left her home country of Poland in 1980, when she was 20. She moved to the United States moments before martial law was imposed in response to the Solidarity Movement. Having arrived in the United States with no connections except an older uncle, Catania had to make her own way. She studied English and landed a union job as a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW).

In 1994, she began a career as a per diem court interpreter while continuing to work in retail. She and her peers worked against the “contractor” classification and were finally recognized as employees when the Chicago Newspaper Guild Local 34071 was recognized as the bargaining unit in 2004. Soon after, the union obtained a first contract and better working conditions. Since then, Catania has served as interpreters’ unit steward, unit chair and contract bargaining team member. She became active in the local union and rose through the ranks to become the president. She also has served as a member and chair of the CWA National Women’s Committee. In addition, she was part of the Illinois Legislative Political Action Team and lobbied at the state and national levels. She has participated in many marches and actions, and actively supported other units in the local. Catania is proud of her three children and seven grandchildren, and lives in the suburbs of Chicago. 

United Steelworkers (USW)    

Kisha Byrd is an active member of USW Local 10-00086 in Norristown, Pa., and serves as Women of Steel coordinator for USW District 10. She helps organize activities year-round, including a Christmas party for local families and volunteer days at a local pantry and soup kitchen. She believes every worker has power in the union. “We all have our different personalities that come together to create what we have,” says Byrd.

Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT)    
    
Debbie Lee Stevens is an industrial painter by trade, with more than 30 years in the industry. She is a leader by nature and continues to share her knowledge as a national instructor. She has achieved certifications, such as National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE), CIP 3, C3, C5 and, most recently, NACE CCA Examiner status. Stevens is a mentor and takes pride in her training and skill sets to encourage the "why" in the next generation. 
 

Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)    

Pam Boyd has been a member of IATSE Local 336 for 27 years and a recording/corresponding secretary for 17 years. She continues to bring our local into the computer age and still manages our website. She was the political coordinator for the local up until this year and still continues as the IATSE Arizona AFL-CIO representative. She fought H.B. 2112 in 2016 and has done so much more. Our thanks go to you, Sister Boyd. In solidarity, your brothers, sisters and siblings of IATSE Local 336.