Shop Steward Heather McMahon is all in on Union involvement.

It was an (excessively!) hot labor summer in Wenatchee as hundreds of delegates from across the State convened for the Washington State Labor Council's (WSLC, AFL-CIO) annual convention earlier this month.

Under the banner Reclaiming Worker Power, Energizing our Movement, workers and their reps met July 16-18 to connect, build power, and strategize ways to grow and strengthen the labor movement. 

In the house was a powerful delegation, 26 members of Teamsters 117, including Heather McMahon, an outreach coordinator and shop steward at MV Transportation.

Heather was a key leader in an organizing drive that led to her co-workers joining Local 117 in 2020.  

You and your co-workers at MV came together to join Teamsters. What was the motivation? 

There were 10 of us in our Department and COVID just hit. A few of us couldn't do a project for health-related reasons and, we were pulled into the office and written up. Our boss told us, "Washington is an at-will state, and you don't have a union." That's when I knew we had to organize. 

How did you come to represent Teamsters 117 at the WSLC convention?

Memo* invited me. He called and asked me about it. I told him I want to get more involved in the Union and my community, maybe run for school board or city council. I was a para-educator for 10 years before my job with MV. I love working with students. My daughter is a teacher. Education is a big part of our family.

Heather (r) and Memo (c) together with Karla Clark (l), a shop steward at King County.

Describe your experience at the Convention. What was most powerful?

It was neat meeting other Teamster members. I usually only work with my steward group at MV. Being around people who are all for the same cause was powerful. Seeing April and Cherika**, powerful women of color leading the convention, was so inspiring. They’re normal, down-to-earth people — real women. 

Plus, we were all Teamsters standing together. We all voted together. If we were unsure about something, we talked it over first. That way we all stayed united.

Were there any other speakers who really inspired you?

The new president of SEIU, April Verrett. Her speech was phenomenal.

What do you find most exciting about the state of the labor movement as it stands right now?

We’re all together. We all want that unity for working people to stand with each other, to be strong for each other. That solidifies everything the union stands for, and I don’t want to see that go away.

*Guillermo Mogollan, is the Political Organizer for Teamsters 117
** April Sims is the President of the WSLC and Cherika Carter is its Secretary-Treasurer.