After 36 years as a part-time pre-loader and a long-time Teamster Shop Steward at UPS in Santa Cruz, Gloria Segura made the transition to Business Agent/Organizer with Local 853 in 2023

Because she “experienced the difference that strong union representation makes for workers.” 

“Thanks to my union contract, I made a great living with a pension and health benefits while only working part-time and knew that my union was always there to back me up,” she explains. “I want to pass that on to my fellow members.”

In her role as a Business Agent, Gloria represents workers at Farmer Brothers Coffee in Castroville, H.A. Rider and Sons Juice Company and Del Mar Foods in Watsonville, janitors at the Gilroy Outlets, and most recently, patient advocates and other workers at Latinas Contra Cancer in San Jose.

“I’m very proud to have worked on the campaign to win a first contract and to represent the workers at Latinas Contra Cancer. It’s a great organization with a strong mission to help mostly immigrant cancer patients navigate the health care system,” says Gloria.

While her job title is “Business Agent/Organizer”, her work up to now has been primarily around servicing her assigned worksites. 

“I love the work”, she says, “but I’m dying to start an organizing campaign because it’s a big and important focus for the Teamsters and the labor movement.”

In addition to serving as a delegate to the South Bay Labor Council, she’s also a delegate to the Alameda County and Monterey Bay Labor Councils.

“As union representatives, it’s easy to get caught up in our day-to-day duties but Labor Councils give us a great opportunity to know about and participate in the activities of the overall labor movement and the community,” she says.

Gloria lives in Watsonville with her husband and has three grown children in the area. Her father was a strawberry farmer, and her favorite hobby is fruit, vegetable and flower gardening. “I’m happy when I’m out working in the dirt,” she says.