Ben Field
Executive Officer
ben@southbaylabor.org
Ben Field was elected to the post of Executive Officer of the South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council in December 2012. The SBLC represents 94 local unions, which constitute most of the Labor Movement in Silicon Valley. Before his election as Executive Officer, Ben served as Chief of Staff for the Labor Council from 2009-2012. Prior to joining the Labor Council, Ben served as a Deputy District Attorney in Santa Clara County for 15 years, where he prosecuted a variety of cases including murders, sexual assaults, gang offenses, and white collar crimes. He is also an adjunct professor at San Jose State University, where he has taught courses on the U.S. presidency, constitutional law, judicial politics, law and society, and political history.
Ben currently serves on a number of Boards, including Team San Jose, a partnership of the San Jose Convention and Visitors Bureau, hotels, the arts and labor, the Nova Workforce Investment Board, and the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority’s Advisory Committee. Previously he has served as the co-chair of the Friends of PACT, a faith-based group that supports community organizing and social justice activities, the Chair of the Cardozo Society, and as a member of the Jewish Community Relations Council. He has volunteered as a Habitat for Humanity Team Leader, traveling a number of times to Latin America, and he is a senior fellow of the American Leadership Forum. After graduating with a degree in Political Science from Columbia University in 1986, Ben worked as a legislative aide to Congressman Don Edwards and later on the United States Senate Banking Committee, Subcommittee on Housing and Urban Development. He earned a law degree and a PhD in American History from the University of California at Berkeley and served in the U.S. Naval Reserve from 1988-1998. He has authored several articles and a book on history and the law. Ben is an avid runner, having competed in several 100 mile races, and he plays the harmonica in a garage band known as “The Retribution Blues Band.”
Dianna Zamora-Marroquin
Political/Communications Director
dianna@southbaylabor.org
Dianna Zamora-Marroquin is responsible for promoting the Labor Council’s public image and interests and is the Labor Council’s primary news media contact. Dianna has enjoyed a successful career, holding a number of positions ranging from a Consultant for the Select Committee on California-Latin American Affairs for a State Assembly Member to the Communications Liaison for a State Senator. She has also excelled in strategic messaging creation and market research, working for a renowned research firm in San Diego. Prior to joining the SBLC, her career took her to Washington, D.C. where she served as the Communications Director for two California Congressmen. Dianna, who is fluent in Spanish, earned a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations with a minor in Italian from the University of Southern California and Master’s Degree in Global Leadership from the University of San Diego.
Brenda L. Rodríguez, MPH
Organizing Director
brenda@southbaylabor.org
Brenda L. Rodríguez has had the honor of organizing in the workers’ rights movement for the past 9 years. After she graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, she was a literary graduate student in Texas and a rank-and-file leader of the Texas State Employees Union. During the height of the Occupy Movement, she decided to join the labor movement and build worker power. Her background includes organizing with UNITE HERE! and Working America. She's organized film and dairy workers in Albuquerque, trained new organizers across the Western region and created electoral analysis and strategy. She grew up in Little Village, an environmental justice community on the southwest side of Chicago. Informed by these experiences, she's a strong advocate for occupational health and safety and environmental justice. In May of 2019, she graduated with her Master’s in Public Health from John Hopkins University and seeks to advance food sovereignty, health equity, and worker cooperatives. She currently works as the Organizing Director at the South Bay Labor Council in San Jose, California. When she’s not a protest or reading, she enjoys eating churros with her family, playing scrabble, and going on hikes with her blue heeler.
Carmelita (Lita) Gutierrez
Administrative Assistant
lita@southbaylabor.org
Carmelita Gutierrez joined South Bay Labor Council in the summer of 1997. She is charged with administrative and other office management responsibilities. As a student at San Jose State University, Carmelita was an active organizer with MEChA, a Chicano/Latino student organization. As a member of MEChA she helped organize for educational rights on campus and worked with a coalition of other high school and college Chicano/Latino student organizations across California. Her experience allowed her to serve as a liaison from MECha to the African-Black Student Alliance and to the Asian, Pacific Islander Student Union in organizing educational rights issues statewide. “Lita” graduated from San Jose State University with a B.S. in Social Science.
Tania Haque
Accountant/ Human Resources
ap@southbaylabor.org
Executive Board
Sal Ventura
President
IBEW Local 332
Gemma Abels
1ST Vice President
AFT Local 2022
Denise Solis
2ND Vice President
SEIU-USWW
Jason Hall
Recording Secretary
CWA Local 9423
Mark Van Den Heuvel
Sergeant-at-Arms
Sheet Metal Workers Local 104
Enrique Fernandez
Treasurer
UNITE HERE Local 19
Enrique Arguello
Member
Laborers Local 270
Robert Baldini
Member
Carpenters Local 405
David Bini
Member
Building and Construction Trades Council
Doug Bloch
Member
Teamsters Local 350
Sheillena Brunston
Member
ATU Local 265
Jean Cohen
Member
UA Local 393
Paul Fong
Member
AFT Local 6157
Charlie Hernandez
Member
Ironworkers Local 377
Troy Jones
Member
UFCW Local 5
Sean Kaldor
Member
IAFF Local 230
Malinda Markowitz
Member
CNA/NNOC
Riko Mendez
Member
SEIU Local 521
Jocelyn Merz
Member
AREA
Mark Murray
Member
AFSCME Local 1587
Robyn Zamora
Member
AFSCME Local 101
Tony Alexander
Ex-Officio Member, APRI