First-Ever USW Jefferson Awards Winners Announced

Contact: Connie Mabin, USW, 412-562-2616

Pittsburgh, PA – A United Steelworkers local union member from Texas who leads a project to provide scholarships for survivors of domestic violence to study for family-sustaining employment at union-represented oil refineries has been selected as the first-ever USW Cares Jefferson Awards Champion.

Priscilla Puente, an oil refinery worker and member of USW Local 227 in Pasadena, Texas, has been selected to represent the USW at the Jefferson Awards Foundation national ceremony in Washington, D.C., where she will be in the running to win an award as the nation’s top Jefferson Awards Champion volunteer. Priscilla was among 14 members and retirees honored as 2016 winners of Jefferson Awards as part of the USW Cares program, the union proudly announced Monday in conjunction with National Volunteer Week.

“The amazing work that Priscilla and her local union are doing with the Bridge Over Troubled Water organization is life-changing. We’re so proud of them for showing that Steelworkers are not just leaders in our union, but leaders in the communities where we live and work,” said Leo W. Gerard, USW International President.

The USW is in its first year as a Champion with the Jefferson Awards Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to building a culture of service through a variety of programs and awards. As a Champion, the union was able to create a formal structure to allow members and retirees to be nominated for Jefferson Awards and putting a spotlight on USW Cares efforts in communities across North America.

The union received 125 nominations in its first year. Submissions included stories of amazing work being done in the United States and Canada by Steelworkers, both active members and retirees. Puente was selected as the overall winner for her volunteer work leading the local union’s support of the organization that helps those suffering from domestic violence and their children receive physical, emotional and other help. The local has raised enough money to provide scholarships to domestic violence survivors.

Bridge Over Troubled Water’s mission is really the same as our mission as a union,” Puente said. “They want to break the cycle of domestic violence and we’re actually helping do that by helping people help themselves. Family-sustaining jobs like ours can help someone become economically free from their attackers and give victims a way to improve their lives for themselves, their children and their children’s children. If you give someone in need a gift, you improve their day; however, if you give someone in need a family-sustaining job, you change their life.”

“I’m so amazed by the dedication and compassion of our members,” Gerard said. “When you read through the nominations, it’s hard not to get emotional. This work is making such a difference in our communities, and there is so much more volunteerism being done that did not result in a nomination. I’m very proud to say that among our union’s values is an authentic, deep commitment to service. The USW really does care.”

Puente was selected as the USW’s overall Jefferson Awards Foundation Champion volunteer for 2016. The union honored community service in each of its districts in the United States and Canada and from among its Steelworker Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR). Those winners are:

District 1 (Ohio): Rich Banichar, Local 3057. Banichar leads bi-annual food drives that feed thousands at a local food pantry.

District 2 (Michigan, Wisconsin): Richard Ziolecki, Local 209. Ziolecki leads efforts to collect hundreds of pounds of food for a local food pantry.

District 3 (British Columbia, Canada): Ronald Palmer, Local 1944. Palmer worked to change service dog laws in Alberta.

District 4 (New York, Vermont, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Puerto Rico): Cindy Marlow, Local 3609, Women of Steel. Marlow organized food drives and led efforts to collect socks, hats and scarves in the Buffalo, N.Y., area, including drives that earned media coverage last year for Steelworkers randomly tying scarves to trees for anyone to retrieve as needed.

District 5 (Quebec, Canada): Billy St. Pierre, Local 9490. St. Pierre led community service work to support members in need.

District 6 (Ontario, Canada): Rick Bertrand, Local 6500. Bertrand led his local’s efforts to raise over $65,000 for a PET medical scanner, the single largest donation in the Sam Bruno Foundation’s history.

District 7 (Indiana, Illinois): Steven Minchuk, Local 6787. Minchuk is a firefighter who co-founded a camp for child burn victims and leads efforts to raise money to send children to the camp free of charge.

District 8 (West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky): Women of Steel Committee, Local 957. Led by Chairwoman Carla Hartley, the committee spearheaded various projects, including monthly food drives serving hundreds of people and efforts to support the family of a fellow USW member who was slain in a domestic violence attack.

District 9 (Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee): Kuyzendra A. Cobb, Local 425. Cobb led various efforts, including working with the Halifax County Leadership Equity Project, which provides leadership training to those who volunteer in various community nonprofit and other groups.

District 10 (Pennsylvania): Mark Simko, Local 1219, Next Generation Coordinator. Simko leads multiple efforts, including an annual bike drive to collect and distribute bicycles to underprivileged kids in his neighborhood and regular food drives for the poor.

District 11 (Minnesota, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa): Tammy Renzaglia, Local 6115, Women of Steel. Renzaglia volunteers countless hours and money to help patients fighting breast and prostrate cancers in her community.

District 12 (California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Idaho): Raylynn McIntire, Local 5. McIntire leads fundraising efforts to assemble gift bags, toiletries, blankets and other necessities for hundreds of local veterans.

District 13 (Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas): Priscilla Puente, Local 227, Women of Steel and Next Generation. Puente leads efforts to volunteer in various charities, including local shelters for survivors of domestic violence. The local, led by Priscilla, began a scholarship fund to help women gain the skills needed to pass entrance exams to gain employment and economic freedom at USW-represented oil refineries.

SOAR: Jeff Rains, President SOAR Chapter 7-34-2. Led by Jeff Rains, SOAR Chapter 7-34-2 is always there for those in need, from volunteering at various charities to leading efforts to mail Christmas gifts to troops stationed overseas and mentoring Next Generation young activists. 

About the USW: The USW is North America’s largest industrial union, representing 1.2 million active and retired workers in metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply, and the energy-producing industries. For more information: @Steelworkers on social networks and www.usw.org/cares.

About the Jefferson Awards Foundation: The Jefferson Awards Foundation is committed to tapping into the incredible capacity and spirit of Americans. Its Youth programs, Students In Action, LEAD360, and GlobeChangers, support, train and empower youth to be leaders and changemakers. Its vast network of Media Partners honors local unsung heroes who are the best of their communities. Its Champions and National Partners are engaging, activating and celebrating their millions of constituents and employees. All together, working to build a culture of service in the country. For more information: www.jeffersonawards.org, @JeffersonAwards.

 

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