UNITEHERE! Local 19 Business Manager Enrique Fernandez first joined his union in 1983, two days after arriving from his native country, Uruguay.
He worked as a dishwasher, bus person, and ultimately as a bartender at the Red Lion and Le Baron Hotels (now Holiday Inn and Doubletree) in San Jose.
Enrique was a shop steward and in 1989 was hired as an organizer for the union and worked on landmark downtown organizing campaigns including the Fairmont Hotel and the San Jose Convention Center.
“I’ve been fortunate to work with our union’s members during a time of a major shift in hotel and hospitality industry union density in San Jose,” he says, noting that in addition to the Fairmont and the Convention Center, Local 19 has organized all of the major downtown hotels including the Marriot, Hilton, and the Saint Claire (now Westin) properties.
The union now represents more than 4500 members in Santa Clara County and 8500 throughout its jurisdiction that includes Monterey and parts of the Central Valley. One of its most recent organizing campaign victories was on behalf of the caddies at Pebble Beach where Enrique is leading the bargaining team toward their first contract.
In addition to his leadership of Local 19, Enrique is a UNITEHERE! International Vice-President and a Vice-President of the California Federation of Labor Unions. He’s been the South Bay Labor Council’s Treasurer for decades.
“We believe strongly in the strength of coalitions of unions. The South Bay Labor Council is a vehicle to demonstrate the power of that solidarity, and it also serves as a strong political arm for our local unions,” Enrique explains.
That coalition work is currently on display at the San Jose Airport where Local 19 and other impacted unions have joined together in a Labor Council-led coalition to raise standards for the hundreds of workers employed there.
More than 60% of Local 19’s members are immigrants and the union’s biggest challenge, according to Enrique is responding to the “cruelty of the Trump administration” and its attacks on immigrant workers.
“Much of our union’s work is driven by rank-and-file members, including many of those immigrant workers. God bless them. We’re working hard to build the next generation of union leadership to meet the challenges ahead,” Enrique says.
While Enrique’s schedule is a challenge, in his rare downtime he enjoys watching his two grandchildren, ages 6 and 9, play soccer “especially since my legs don’t allow me to do so very much anymore,” he says.