Stephanie Patiga: Mom, Organizer, Visionary

Stephanie Patiga is a mother and a wife. She is a hard worker and a career woman. But most of all, she is a visionary.

Driven, passionate and intense, Patiga is an International Organizer for the Teamsters Union. And as an organizer, she ensures that others become visionaries, too.

“The greatest satisfaction is when I watch workers become empowered,” Patiga said of her career. “When you educate yourself, when that fire is sparked, when you stand up and fight for your beliefs, when you become vocal, when you learn the true meaning of respect and solidarity, you become something that is bigger than yourself and you carry those lessons with you for the rest of your life.”

But life for Patiga wasn’t always this way. Prior to becoming an organizer, she worked in the airline industry where she made low pay, few benefits and faced harsh working conditions. In 2001, she took a stand, became an outspoken employee of America West Airlines and encouraged her co-workers to form a union.

Her actions caught the eye of the Teamsters Union and she was soon asked to come on board to help organize other workers just like her. Patiga turned down the offer—twice.

Like most working women, Patiga balanced her home life with her career. Though she was passionate, she knew the life of an organizer wouldn’t be easy. Being on the road, away from home and living out of a suitcase, wasn’t congenial to the needs of her family.

“I turned them down because I had five kids in the house. The youngest was 8 years old,” Patiga explained. “At the time, my priorities were with my family.”

Four years later when, asked once more, Patiga agreed to take on the position and the life of an organizer.

“I sat my family down and we had a round-table discussion. I told them what life was going to be like, that I was going to be gone a lot,” Patiga said. “My family was very supportive. They could tell I really enjoyed this kind of work and that it was for a good cause.”

And although being an organizer means spending time away from her family, Patiga sees her family as a driving force behind her commitment to the labor movement.

“My kids are going to enter the work force one day. I want them to have access to the things we fight for. I want to know that they’re going to be able to go home if they get sick and that they’ll have access to health care and good wages.”

Today, six years later, Patiga has helped thousands of airline employees across the United States find a voice on the job. Though the average organizer stays active for five years, Patiga has no intention of quitting anytime soon. In fact, her heart lies with the future.

“The job that I have today has really opened my mind. I see organizing on a larger scale, not just within our union,” she said, explaining that some day, she would like to use her skills to help people on the island of Guam, where her family is from.

“What difference can I make for the people back home?” she asked herself.

Until that time comes, Patiga will stay committed to helping working-class families in America achieve their dreams. She encourages all workers to take ownership of their lives, empower themselves and exercise their rights.

She also encourages workers—especially women—to think about the future, remember the past, and use newfound knowledge to make change. By doing so, workers in America prevent themselves, and others, from moving backwards.

“It is important for us to remember that there was a time when we [women] couldn’t vote. We get so busy in our day-to-day lives that we forget the strides we’ve made,” Patiga said. “It is important to know that we do have a voice and that we exercise our voice to sustain our rights. We need to always move forward and always think about future generations.”

And it is in the future where Patiga finds strength to carry on day after day. She believes in the workers she helps and in her own self. As a woman and a minority—Patiga is Filipino and Chamorro—she believes her life today would not be possible without organizations like the Teamsters Union.

“I know I can make a difference because I am living that difference,” Patiga said. “I want people—especially women—to know that there is nothing in life that can hold you back. You have to go after your dreams, and the Teamsters can help you get there.