My professional journey has taken me through organized labor, business ownership, accounting, management, and healthcare. What once seemed like a varied career path, I now recognize as experience that has prepared me to serve our membership as Secretary-Treasurer.

 

My family's union roots span three generations, beginning with my great-uncle, who took part in UAW organizing efforts in the late 1930s and early 1940s. My own union roots began in the late 1980s as a Teamsters Local 299 member, Union Steward, and member of the contract bargaining team. Later, as President of Abdite Industries, LLC, an aircraft engine manufacturing company with a UAW-represented workforce, I gained experience on the management side of the table—giving me a unique understanding of both labor and management perspectives.

 

My business background spans manufacturing, property management, and entrepreneurship. I bring nearly 20 years of accounting experience, along with experience in human resources, government contracting, financial management, business development, and helping struggling businesses return to profitability. I also co-founded J.R.'s Ice Sculptures and spent 17 years building and operating the company, often while simultaneously working in manufacturing or property management. These experiences taught me firsthand what it takes to build, manage, and remain financially accountable for a business.

 

I later became an RN and have spent more than 12 years working across the Wayne, Taylor, and Dearborn campuses in acute care and Case Management. I hold degrees in Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.

 

For the past 2½ years, I have balanced my full-time Case Management position with organizing, committee work, and bargaining preparation. Throughout 13 months of negotiations, I balanced my five-day-a-week work schedule with bargaining responsibilities, choosing to make up most of the work hours I missed and using only 24 hours of PTO. During negotiations, I became known as “the numbers gal” for digging into the details, analyzing the numbers, and making sure the math supported what we were trying to accomplish.

 

I served as co-lead of the Health Insurance Committee and participated in Pay & Compensation, PTO & Leave, Safe Staffing, the Salaried RN Working Group, and Communications. During one negotiation caucus, we discussed a wage grid similar to the one we previously had at Oakwood. When challenged to find the old grid, I located it that evening and recreated it in Excel, giving our team a tangible starting point. While the grid was not achieved in our first CBA, we secured committee language providing a pathway toward developing one for our second contract. The grid remains unfinished business, but the foundation has been laid.

 

I bring nearly 20 years of accounting experience, more than 14 years of union experience, and a broad background in business ownership and management to this position. Our first contract laid the foundation; now we must build upon it together. I am ready to put my experience, work ethic, accountability, and commitment to work for you as Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 2024.