Painters launch Strategic Organizing Division with new, diverse hires

The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades has hired three diverse young women to launch the IUPAT’s Strategic Organizing Division. IUPAT says the new division, under the leadership of General President Kenneth E. Rigmaiden, and supervision of General Vice President James Williams, Jr., will be a key component in driving the union’s organizing efforts in bold, innovative new ways.

Neidi Dominguez migrated from Mexico at the age of nine with her mother and sister. She was raised in Pasadena, CA, and joins IUPAT as the national strategic campaign coordinator and assistant to the general president. She will help develop, execute and manage comprehensive strategic campaigns in several cities around the country, as well as advise IUPAT leadership on matters of immigration and racial justice.

Dominguez is a long-time labor and immigrants’ rights organizer and leader. She co-directed the CLEAN Carwash campaign in Los Angeles, CA, which successfully unionized hundreds of carwash workers in Los Angeles County and changed working conditions for thousands of low-wage immigrant workers through enforcement policies at the state and local levels.

In 2012, she was a key leader in the campaign to win Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA); a policy which, to date, has allowed over 800,000 young immigrants in the country to apply for work permits and legal status in the United States.

Prior to joining the IUPAT, Dominguez was the national director of Worker Center Partnerships and deputy director of Community Engagement at the AFL-CIO.

Tamara Brummer is originally from Indianapolis, IN, and was raised in a union household where both of her parents were longtime union members. She joins IUPAT as a national strategic organizer and assistant to the general president. She will support the execution of strategic campaigns in several cities across the country.

Brummer most recently was the northeast community engagement coordinator for the AFL-CIO, and has worked with state federations and local labor councils to deepen relationships with community partners and build a broader economic justice movement.

Prior to joining the AFL-CIO, Brummer was the community engagement coordinator on a joint campaign between the building trades and New York-based hotel and property service unions, which was focused on rebuilding the middle class by providing good, reliable jobs and responsible development.

Rosa Lozano is a first-generation Salvadoran raised in Washington, D.C. Her parents migrated to the United States as political refugees during the civil war in El Salvador. Lozano joins the IUPAT as a national strategic organizer and assistant to the general president. She will support the execution of strategic campaigns in several cities across the country.

Prior to assuming this position, Lozano was a student organizer at CASA de Maryland, and co-led the successful campaign to pass the Maryland Dream Act, which granted students access to higher education at in-state tuition rates regardless of immigration status. In addition, she worked as the coordinator for Mid-Atlantic Jobs with Justice for the Verizon Campaign, which was led by the Communications Workers of America.

Most recently, Lozano was a local organizer at UFCW Local 400, where she worked with low-wage grocery store workers to demand both improved wages and working conditions for Latino and African immigrants. Before joining IUPAT, Lozano was the National Worker Center Partnership coordinator at the AFL-CIO.

“We are very excited to welcome these talented individuals to our union,” Rigmaiden said. “Today’s landscape calls on us to use new ideas and innovative methods to make real gains for all working people. The IUPAT is committed to successfully developing new strategies and tactics to better represent workers who make up our union, and we believe that Neidi, Tamara and Rosa will help us make real progress towards a bold future for our members and communities.”