Jose Fuentes Almanza had just started his San Francisco Local 6 apprenticeship 25 years ago when his father — a union-represented janitor — suddenly passed away.

Almanza had worked for Safeway stores in San Francisco for more than a decade, rising from checker and bagger to department manager, and had been a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers. He appreciated the power of a union supporting its members.

But he was still stunned and remains grateful to this day about what came next.

“It was my first year. I was not yet a member, but I was going to be all in,” said Almanza, now a Local 6 business representative. “This was all I had at the time, so I went to work three days after my dad had passed.

“My journeyman came up to me and asked, ‘What are you doing here?’ I told him I can’t lose my job.”

Later that day, that journeyman returned with an envelope of cash that was more than Almanza would earn in one week. IBEW members and apprentices on the jobsite chipped in so he could take off and spend time with his family and loved ones.

“I broke down,” Almanza said. “He literally told me: ‘You need to go home and find out why you joined here. This is your Brotherhood. You go home and take care of your family.’”

“That was a turning point,” Almanza said. “That’s when I got involved in the local.”

Did he ever. The first-generation American took on various roles and was eventually recognized far beyond Local 6. He’s served on the San Francisco International Airport Commission since 2022, giving him a voice in the operations of the 13th busiest airport in the United States and a transportation hub of the Bay Area.

“Jose is one of those guys that probably didn’t think he’d be where he’s at, but he’s risen to where he’s needed,” Local 6 Business Manager John Doherty said. “The skill set he brings and the integrity he brings shine through to those paying attention.

“The skill set he brings and the integrity he brings shines through to those paying attention.”

_{– San Francisco Local 6 Business Manager John Doherty}

“That was true even when he was working out in the field,” Doherty added. “No matter what challenge is thrown at him, he’s grown into it. He takes over and owns it.”

The commission’s five members are appointed by the San Francisco mayor and serve four-year terms. It is the primary policy-making body for the airport.

Traditionally, one seat is reserved for a union representative — and that’s where Almanza comes in. Doherty recommended him when officials from the San Francisco Building & Construction Trades Council asked for a suggestion when the seat came open.

Then-Mayor London Breed later approved it, making him the first person of Latin American descent to serve on the commission since it was formed in 1970.

“He’s like every good labor leader,” Doherty said. “He’s a little humble, but he always finds a way to get the job done. So, I said to them that they should put him in.”

Almanza, 56, was born in San Francisco after his mother and father met there after moving from Mexico and El Salvador, respectively.

The family wasn’t rich, but his father’s pride in his work and the power of a union contract allowed them to live a more comfortable life than many of their neighbors in the Mission neighborhood.

“He instilled the work ethic in me,” Almanza said. “I’m fortunate in that sense.”

The son was hired by Safeway in 1987, just out of high school. The younger Almanza had a good relationship with his bosses, who recognized that work ethic, and he appreciated the support of the food workers union.

But even though he knew little about construction, he applied for Local 6’s apprenticeship and got in in 2000, on his second attempt.

Stories like that are common in Local 6, Doherty said. San Francisco is a highly diverse city with no one ethnic group holding a majority of the population. Doherty himself is the son of Irish immigrants. Members of the local’s office staff include first-generation U.S. citizens and people whose parents came from Mexico and China.

“I felt like I was ready to do something else,” Almanza said. “It would not have been a bad thing if I had stayed [at Safeway], but here in San Francisco, the trades have always been strong.”

He built a reputation as an excellent craftsman working for signatory contractors such as Rosendin, Paganini and Design Electric, Doherty said. He was elected to Local 6’s examining board and later became a member of the inside wireman negotiating committee and its delegate to the Building Trades in 2012.

Those are just some of the many roles he’s had at the local, where he became a full-time staff member in 2014, having been appointed a business representative.

Still, he said it was “extremely humbling” when he learned he was joining the airport commission.

“Even more so when they did the swearing in,” Almanza said. “I knew I was the first-ever Latino. It was mentioned in everything written about it. The mayor was there. My wife and son were there.

“It was nerve-wracking but very uplifting. I’m proud of that.”

Almanza and his fellow board members approve contracts involving the airport, many of which involve construction. All inside workers there are covered by a project labor agreement. Local 6 and San Mateo, Calif., Local 617, another inside local, regularly have members on site.

“It benefits us because we represent people who work for the airport,” Doherty said, “and for Local 617, they are always building and rebuilding it, like you do in all good airports.

“He understands construction well, and he especially understands contracts and PLAs,” Doherty added. “If anyone says anything sideways, he knows what to say and how to argue about it.”

Almanza said looking out for workers’ interests is part of the job. But he noted that he’s responsible for setting policy for all aspects of the airport, and he’s enjoyed listening to and learning from fellow board members and the community.

“It’s an amazing place,” he said. “It’s such a world-renowned airport. When I travel, I check out everyone’s airport, seeing what they have compared to what we have.

“You can tell the way the economics are in San Francisco by how the airport is doing,” he added.

He encourages other IBEW members across North America who have a chance to serve their communities — whether it’s elected office, a local planning commission or any governmental body — to jump right in.

“You will always have the sense of pride that you did what you could to help your brothers and sisters,” Almanza said. “You represent so many more people than you know. You’ll be proud of the results, no matter what the concern is.”

Almanza now represents the Brotherhood on a stage he never thought possible while growing up, unsure what he wanted to do but having parents who showed him the power of hard work.

He now lives on the city’s west side with his wife, Janet, and 16-year-old son, Antonio. Sometimes he even gets a chuckle about what he’s doing. Almanza noted he serves on the airport’s arts steering committee, even though he doesn’t consider himself an art expert.

But the airport has a public museum, in addition to numerous displays throughout the terminals, and he marveled at the positive reaction travelers to the Bay Area during Super Bowl week in February gave it.

“I’m very blessed,” he said. “I don’t pretend I am the reason where I’m at. The union has supported me and my family throughout. It’s a lot more than a paycheck.

“It’s still a little humbling,” Almanza added. “It still feels a little weird when they address me as ‘Commissioner.’”