Members of Plumbers, Steamfitters and HVACR Service Technicians Local 342 support two food banks, one for Alameda County and the other for Contra Costa and Solano counties.
Once a month, volunteers from Local 342 participate in various roles to support these local food banks. These volunteers are organized through Local 342’s Work Preservation Committee.
Local 342 Business Manager Ché Timmons said a group of 20 people between the two counties donate their time on a regular basis.
Mike Harteau, a retired Local 342 plumber, leads the volunteer group for the Alameda County Community Food Bank, and Annie Blevins, a Local 342 journeyman, leads the group of volunteers for the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano.
“We provide fresh food and lots of canned food,” Blevins said. “The food bank will drive to and set up in different neighborhoods on certain days and give out fresh food but you can also go to the food bank and get boxes of non-perishables, so a lot of the work we do is to separate the non-perishable food and bag up the fresh food. For every dollar, they turn it into two meals.”
The Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano distributes 2.7 million meals monthly, partners with 260 local non-profits, rescues 7.5 million pounds of food waste annually, feeds its neighbors seven days a week and provides 65 percent of the nourishment through produce, proteins and dairy products.
In July, 13 Brothers and Sisters from Local 342 volunteered at the Alameda County Fair Feed the Need Food Drive, where 32 bins of non-perishable food were collected.
Those 32 bins held 18,438 pounds of food, making an estimated 15,365 meals to feed their neighbors.
As a recovering addict with 28 years of sobriety, Blevins is strongly committed to volunteer work.
“There was a time in my life, even when I wasn’t making bad choices, and even when I first got clean, I utilized that food bank, so it’s close to my heart because it kept my kids fed,” Blevins said. “Even after I got clean, it was still a struggle trying to get my life together.”
For Blevins, joining the UA was life-changing as it allowed her to support her family independently.
“It’s changed my life,” she said. “I have met people who are truly my family.”
Both the food bank and the UA have significantly impacted Blevins’ life, so when Local 342 leadership asked her to volunteer for the food bank, she felt like it was fate.
“To me, it was kismet,” Blevins said. “We have a lot of other committees, so when they approached me to ask if I was interested, they had no idea how close it was to my heart.”
Work Preservation Committee
Blevins actively recruits volunteers for the Work Preservation Committee to foster a sense of community and improve retention, particularly among women in the trades.
“I’ve been reaching out to apprentices because there are not a lot of committees apprentices can be on, but the Work Preservation Committee is one they can be on,” she said. “I don’t only ask the Sisters, but I know from being a woman in the trades that getting on a committee will help them connect with other members, and I feel like it would help with retention.”
Joining the Election Committee as an apprentice helped her build connections with her Local 342 Brothers and Sisters and gave her a sense of belonging.
In addition to the Work Preservation Committee, Blevins is running for the Executive Board and is actively organizing events for the women of Local 342. These events help promote mentoring and networking and build connections among the women.
“Being a woman in the UA is tough, especially in the steamfitting and industrial industry,” Timmons said. “Annie is a really good character and a good person. She does a lot for us and is really involved in the Local.”
