Lily lives in the hill towns region of Western Mass in Plainfield. She is a journey level carpenter and has been in the union for over sixteen years. Lily went to Franklin Tech for carpentry, choosing the field because she liked working with her hands and was nervous about the electrical shop. After high school, she worked non-union for a few years before joining the union so she could gain stronger benefits and pay. Her husband is a mechanic and they have two young children. She is proud to recount that her kids tell people dad can fix anything and mom can build anything.
Its tough being a woman in this work. I had to take layoffs to have my kids. I worked until I was 7 months pregnant with my son. I’ve seen a lot of women come and go from the field because of childcare issues but this work needs to legitimately become a viable option for women.
Journey-level Carpenter, member since 2003, union steward