Hoffa and Solis Address Teamsters Women’s Conference
Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa and U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis made a special appearance on Friday at the 2009 Teamsters Women’s Conference, an annual event that has brought more than 800 Teamster women to Las Vegas. View photos from this event.
Click here to see a video of Hilda Solis addressing the conference.
“The theme of this conference is ‘Raising the Stakes’ and that means being involved and being active. It’s about your involvement as a Teamster to make this union better and make America better. It’s Teamster time. It’s time to change America,” Hoffa said.
Prior to taking the stage, Solis met with Republic Services recycling workers and their families. Thirty Latino Republic workers in Las Vegas are seeking justice, dignity and respect after they were fired while working to organize with the Teamsters.
Solis spoke passionately about the fight for workers’ rights and expressed her belief in the Teamsters Union’s power to effect change in America.
“The magnitude of this moment is not lost on me at all. What a wonderful country this is where the daughter of a Teamster can go on to be a cabinet secretary for one of the greatest presidents,” Solis said. “In many ways, I feel very close to this union. It was my father’s membership that allowed my parents and six brothers and sisters to have health care benefits and a good life.”
Solis praised Teamster women for their hard work ethic and involvement in helping other workers, and she spoke about the role of the Department of Labor in the new administration.
“I want the Department of Labor to be for the women in this room, for everyone,” Solis said. “I want to really open it up so people understand that the Department of Labor is on your side and we want to invest in the best resource I know—and that’s workers and that’s women.”
“It’s good to know a woman is in power who will help us,” said Wanda Caban, a member of Local 122 in Boston, who is attending her second Teamsters Women’s Conference. “This conference is really empowering and shows how important it is that we all get involved and get our country back on track.”
During the plenary, workers were also welcomed by Oscar B. Goodman, the Mayor of Las Vegas, and heard from Christy Bailey, Director of the International Union Political and Field Action Department and from the Package Division, led by Director Ken Hall.
The Teamsters Women’s Conference continues through Saturday with even more speakers, workshops and educational programs.
