Pierre Duchemin, Driver Representative
Pierre Duchemin is a long-time member and leader of the BTDA and a community activist in Boston. He has been active in community organizations and labor unions, for many years in Boston and Brockton. Pierre has coordinated service for immigrants to help them with literacy, citizenship and learning their rights, and he has organized and advocated for tenants in Boston’s neighborhoods. A musician, Pierre is a drummer and bassist who plays Haitian Roots and Reggae. He supports visual and performing arts through his work with the Musikavanhu Art Gallery in Roxbury at 391 Dudley Street.
Pierre is an activist for human rights in Haiti. Pierre was a New England Observer as part of a delegation to Haiti in 1994 to 1995 to monitor the abuse following the coup. After the 2010 earthquake, he helped raise funds from labor and community groups in Boston to provide earthquake relief as part of the GEP Foundation.
He frequently represents the BTDA at community and labor coalitions meetings, speaking on behalf of drivers and their struggles for justice and fairness. He has been featured in many media articles. Pierre is a member of the organizing committee and started the Driving for Wellness partnership with the Whittier Street Health Center, to bring healthcare services directly to drivers at the airport. He has been driving a taxi for 14 years. Please ask Pierre about his work and the union when you see him at the airport.
Donna Blythe-Shaw, Staff Representative
Donna Blythe-Shaw has been involved with the labor movement for 24, years. A Vietnam veteran and graduate of Boston State College, Donna worked in state government for 20 years. In the mid-1970s she worked in the state legislature and became Executive Director of the State Democratic Committee. An energetic and passionate advocate for democratic values and causes, she skillfully organized many democratic campaigns.
Born and raised in Dorchester, her labor career began in 1989 when she led 550 fellow workers at the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority in a three-year fight for equity and justice to a successful and hard-fought campaign to join the United Steelworkers Union. Elected twice as Local 9358 Union President, she was appointed as a USW International staff representative in 1995. Since then she has organized workers in both the public and private sector, bringing thousands of new members to the Steelworkers in New England. Assigned to organizing and special projects throughout the USW District 4 Northeast region, her organizing skills have brought new locals to state authorities, municipalities, utilities, steel mills and foundries.
For the past six years, she has worked with Boston taxi drivers in their campaign to form the Boston Taxi Drivers Association (BTDA) as a Steelworkers affiliate. Donna has been an executive board member of the Greater Boston Labor Council since 1995.