The thrilled and grateful honoree thanked the assembled group which also included a number of special guests. Western Territory Grand Lodge Representative Claudio Figueroa gave an emotional speech in her honor and passed along the best wishes of General Vice President Gary Allen and the rest of their office. Local Lodge 1584 Business Representative Chris Rasmussen and office manager Rebecca Carbello presented Mary with a check from the Local Lodge. Nancy Morris and Patricia Larriega were there to present the best wishes of District 190. Charlie McCallef from the International Retirees office sent a letter and gift of a Machinists' hat, T-shirt and tote bag. See a copy of the letter by clicking here.
Mary worked at the Oakland Del Monte Cannery on 29th Avenue for a number of years before transferring to the newly opened Del Monte can manufacturing plant on San Leandro St in the mid-1950s. The can factory was her first union job. It was originally a Teamsters shop but in 1961 they joined the IAM.
She started working at age 16 picking fruits and vegetables in the fields that were very common around the bay area at that time. She earned 15¢ an hour, less than half the California minimum wage (33¢ from 1920 to 1943) but even got cheated out of that sometimes. One day her entire family was refused their pay after they had all worked a full day in the fields. She was very happy when she went to work at Del Monte for 33¢ an hour and an honest pay policy.
She was happier still when she joined the union and knew that her rights were further protected by the power of a united workforce. She was very reliable and hard working. She was #1 on the seniority list at the can factory as she was the first to accept a transfer and was among the first to be asked. She never missed work and was only late once, although she still gets indignant that they docked her pay 15 minutes worth even though she was only 11 minutes late. She retired from Del Monte in 1979.
Mary is still quite active. She does her own housekeeping and most of her own yard work. She has her own vegetable garden and has several fruit trees in her back yard. She loves having the freshest produce possible. It tastes so much better than store bought and the price is right too. She has a flower garden as well and her yard is among the loveliest on her street.
A favorite story the Retirees Club loves to relate is when Mary decided to resume attending the Retirees Club meetings after a lengthy period of inactivity. She walked the 3½ miles from her home to the Local Lodge. This was only six years ago when Mary was age 94. As Mary described it she got impatient waiting for the bus and decided to walk along the bus route until the bus came along. Before she knew it she had reached her destination. Needless to say she got a ride home that day and someone from the retirees gives her a ride both ways now. Mary returned to an active role in the retirees club because she missed all her IAM friends and she missed playing bingo, a tradition after Retiree Club meetings.
