Armed with enthusiasm and curiosity, young women and girls from all around Boston descended on Local 103 for the annual Massachusetts Girls in Trades career fair, an event the local has hosted since 2015.
“Local 103 has made it possible for our eastern conference to happen,” said Sarah Adams, program manager for Massachusetts Girls in Trades, or MAGIT. “Especially as we’ve grown these last seven years and gained momentum, their kind donations of staff and a venue have made all the difference.”
Massachusetts Girls in Trades was launched eight years ago by a partnership of educational, governmental and union organizations to encourage girls and young women to pursue careers in the trades. Since its inception, Local 103 has been a partner, offering facilities and other resources for the annual career fairs.
“103 gets to do what we do best, and that’s organize,” Business Manager Lou Antonellis said. “Our women are actively recruiting and encouraging these students to take a good, hard look at a career in the IBEW for their future. Hosting the event just proves that we’re leading Boston’s labor movement in diversity, especially when it comes to attracting women to our trade.”
In addition to hosting the event, which took place in November, Local 103 had members from its Women’s Committee on hand, as well as signatory contractors and instructors, to answer questions from the attendees, about 450 of whom were students. The girls also heard from Chrissy Lynch, the first woman president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, and state Sen. Lydia Edwards, who is the product of a union household and a veteran of the U.S. Air Force.
“Senator Edwards is a force to be reckoned with,” said Renee Dozier, Local 103 business agent and a MAGIT steering committee member. “She’s strong, she’s intelligent, she speaks several languages, and she’s not afraid to say ‘union’ or ‘PLA [project labor agreement].’ She’s a real example of girl power.”
The event, which is free to female high school students and their educators, gave the girls a chance to hear from a panel of tradeswomen about what a day on the job is like and how they can join. Dozier said the girls came with a lot of questions, proving their interest, and that a number of teachers asked if Local 103 could come out to their schools to continue the conversation — especially the part about women members getting paid the same as their male counterparts.
“The partnerships we form and maintain with our community groups and the schools is really the driving force,” she said. “The want and the need are there, so we’re happy to facilitate.”
The conference, which also had members of Brockton Local 223 in attendance, has grown so much over the years that there is now a second event in western Massachusetts, which included representatives from Springfield Local 7. Adams said they had almost 40 organizations and 26 schools participate in the eastern conference.
“I see these young girls and I am excited for their future,” Dozier said. “I see them bright-eyed and ambitious and it reminds me of what it was like to be young and open to exploring new ideas, experiences and possibilities. They are potentially choosing a career path here and we’re responsible for giving them the right information. And of course, we want that career to be with us.”
Dozier said it was particularly helpful to have the Local 103 Women’s Committee members there because some of them had come from the area’s vocational schools themselves and are now proud journey workers and JATC instructors.
“Some of these girls don’t even know the power in the room and how it will affect their future careers, but some of us older ones do, and that part makes me smile,” she said.
