“Active” isn’t strong enough of a word to describe Local Union 957’s Women of Steel (WOS) Committee, District 8’s Jefferson Award winner. Completing at least one project each month, the group’s efforts bring goodness to their community and solidarity to the union. From holiday toy drives that benefit the children’s cancer unit at Ruby Memorial Hospital to food collections for local pantries, these women regularly dedicate their time to serving those in need.
One of the committee’s biggest projects is a purse drive that benefits the Rape and Domestic Violence Information Center (RDVIC). This year the committee also made gift bags for kids to give their moms at RDVIC on Mother’s Day. The work the women do for RDVIC is in memory of a former WOS member, Tammy Teagarden, who was killed, along with her two children, in a domestic violence attack.
Local 957’s WOS also donated money to the Fairdale Free Methodist Church and built a Noah’s Ark playground in honor of Tammy’s children.
Cookie Bercini, one of the founders of the project said, “It’s good to do community service because we are the WOS from the USW and employed at Mylan Pharmaceuticals and we have to let people know that unions are good; we do good things!”
Currently led by Carla Hartley, the WOS committee also actively honors and remembers Mike Puskar, late founder of their employer Mylan Pharmaceuticals. To this day, his legacy continues to inspire the group, and this year, they celebrated his memory by placing a bench dedicated to him on the local Rails for Trails.
District 8 Women of Steel Coordinator Karen Shipley is proud to call herself a Steelworker because of the organization’s strong sense of community engagement. “The oath we take as Steelworkers talks about how our strength comes from being united, helping each other,” Shipley said. “Thank God our union encourages us to be good citizens, help others and make our communities strong and unified. We all win when that happens.”