Over 250 union members, distinguished guests, staff, and volunteers gathered in Vallejo’s Hanns Park on May 14th, 2022 to honor the achievements and great works of community and labor leaders in protecting and furthering the interests of the working people of Napa and Solano counties. Those in attendance included Solano and Napa County supervisors and city councilmembers, representatives from education, fire, and public works local government units, corporate sponsors, union representatives, Vallejo City Manager Mike Malone, the office of Senator Bill Dodd, Assemblymembers Lori Wilson and Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, and Congressmen Mike Thompson and John Garamendi.

John Garamendi was the recipient of the Mike Thompson Legislator’s Legacy Award, one of many awards that were given out that afternoon.

Corey Penrose of the Vacaville Teachers Association received the Becky Benton Memorial Courage Award for his collaborative cross-union political work as Secretary-Treasurer of the Napa Solano Central Labor Council.

Four Labor Community Partner Awards were given to the Greater Vallejo Recreation District, Cement Masons #400, Carpenters #180, and Ironworkers #378.

The Labor Partnership Awards for Solano County were awarded to the Benicia City Council as well as to Suisun City Councilmember Wanda Williams for her commitment to several projects to improve the quality of life for Solano County residents, her work with incarcerated youth alongside her husband of 29 years Anthony Williams, and her time given to the Solano Land Trust All Access Advisory Committee, Solano Community College Educational Foundation, the Black Elected Officials of the East Bay, and Fairfield-Suisun Rotary. She graduated from University of California, Davis in Spring 2021, majoring in Political Science with a minor in African American Studies.

The Labor Partnership Awards for Napa County were given to the American Canyon City Council and to Napa City Councilmember Beth Painter for her public service in several capacities in the span of her 38-year career, including on the Napa Resource Conservation District, Napa County General Plan Steering Committee, Napa Valley Economic Development Corporation, Leadership Napa Valley, and the City of Napa Planning Commission. She holds a Bachelor of Science (BS) and a Master’s (MS) in the Earth Sciences.

The Labor Activism Award was given to four distinguished leaders and active members of their communities who did the best supporting labor and the council during Issue Campaigns, Rapid Response and Candidate Promotion:

• Chris Benz cofounded Napa Climate NOW! in 2015 to advocate for climate action, sits on the Board of Napa Green, the sustainable certification program, is a member of the Executive Committees of the Democrats of Napa Valley and the Napa County Working Families Coalition, and has served on the Executive Committee of the Napa Sierra Club Group since 2013. She holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from UC Berkeley and a graduate degree in enology from UC Davis.

• Pablo Zatarian made a career out of helping vulnerable communities, serving as Executive Director of Fair Housing Napa Valley since late 2014, working to assist clients with their housing-related needs. He worked with the Napa-Solano Central Labor Council during the COVID-19 pandemic to secure a temporary eviction moratorium in Napa County. He attended UC Santa Cruz.

• Mel Orpilla has led a great career in public service after graduating college, working as Assistant Director of Filipinos for Affirmative Action, Executive Director of Fighting Back Partnership, Community and Government Relations Manager for Kaiser Permanente. He then became a field rep for Senator Lois Wolk and is currently the Senior District Representative for Congressman Mike Thompson. He teaches Filipino Martial Arts at Benicia Boxing and Martial Arts.

• Tom Bartee is an active Vallejo Community member, involved with The Vallejo Main Street Program, CCRC & the Chamber of Commerce, and VEBA and VCAT as a host and producer. After a 24-year career with General Mills and a stint as a food safety consultant, he joined the Vallejo City Council, serving as Vice Mayor in 2008. In 2010 Tom began a 12-year career in the California State legislature working for State Senator Pat Wiggins and is now District Director for Senator Bill Dodd.

The Labor Champion Award was awarded to three distinguished labor leaders who show up and do the work every election cycle, helping develop the field program for the council:

• Nancy Dunn, F-SUTA became a teacher to advocate for students and public education and works to advocate for school staff to be decision makers: her motto is “Educate, Engage, and Empower.”

• John Gomez, UFCW #5 realized the importance of unions when he began working for Safeway in 2006, eventually becoming more involved with UFCW #5 and getting hired by the union in June 2021.

• Susan Sachen, California Labor Federation has worked on numerous campaigns in her time in labor, not limited to the UFW Boycott in New England, New York, and California, the SEIU Justice for Janitors Campaign in the East Bay and San Jose, and the All In to Win campaign with organizing as a central focus.

The Labor Backbone Award was awarded to four distinguished organizers – the backbone of our Labor Council’s continued success:

• Charlie Richard, Painters #376 was union drywall finisher for 38 years and a member of Vallejo’s Painters Union Local 376 for over 20 years, holding positions like Union President and Coordinator for the Volunteer Activist Committee. He supported political and community events in this capacity and did so long after his retirement, spending many evenings and weekends phone banking and precinct walking for local and union friendly candidates. Charlie was one of a kind and will be truly missed by all that knew him.

• Ivory Watts, SEIU #2015 is a teacher by profession who also made time to chair the Bulloch County, GA Democratic Party and to manage the campaign of Jonathan McCollar, the first African American Mayor of Statesboro, GA. She moved back to California and joined SEIU #2015 as a Political Organizer and is now the Political Coordinator covering most of Northern California. Ivory is a firm believer in the importance of local elections, and voter education, because with education voter registration is automatic and voter participation is inevitable.

• Mary Virginia Watson, Federation of Teachers spent the last 10 years building the political power of working people by building community-labor coalitions and electing pro-worker candidates. In 2019, she became a delegate to the Napa-Solano Labor Council representing NUHW and the healthcare heroes at Queen of the Valley Hospital, who went on strike and won a hard-fought first contract―thanks to the solidarity and support of the Napa labor community. She recently became Campaign Director at Peralta Federation of Teachers in Alameda County, helping to expand career training for working people and address historic labor shortages in healthcare.

• Alfredo Delgado, UFCW #5 started his early career with Safeway in 1991 and became a member of UFCW. He began my career as a Union Representative in 2014 and is now a trustee on the Napa-Solano Central Labor Council. He is a strong advocate for strong jobs and protections in the workplace. In his words: “I will continue my fight in the workplace for fair wages and job security. Si se puede!”

The endorsement process entailed a long and thorough series of interviews and discussions within the local labor movement to identify the candidates with the best understanding and support for the issues of working people. This process included workers across sectors, from the public sector to education to building trades and beyond.

The Primary Election will be on Tuesday, June 7, 2022. Online voter registration can be done here – https://registertovote.ca.gov/

With these endorsements made, we look forward to helping get these champions of labor into elected office and fighting for an economy and society that works for all!