Trade Unionists Respond to Amber Czech Murder

Women in Trades: Fight Together with Men Against the Bosses!

March 19, 2026

Dear comrades,

As a retired woman worker, I was struck by the murder of 20-year-old Amber Czech at a Minnesota factory. This is the worst of what women face in nontraditional jobs. I was the only woman apprentice in the stamping department of an auto assembly plant when an incident occurred—out of the many demeaning injustices and attempts at humiliation I had faced throughout the years in the trades—that has stuck with me.

During a crash of automated machinery, a group of us gathered to organize getting the line back up and running. A journeyman instructed me to start rebuilding a damaged component. A group of us had begun working at a large worktable when the union head of the apprentices, who also worked in the department, showed up to throw his “authority” around. He ordered me to go be fire watch—a well-known tactic used to sideline those deemed useless in a high-pressure situation when it was all hands on deck.

At first, I ignored the union rep, knowing he was trying to insult me. But as he demanded it a couple of times, I refused, just saying I had been given work to do. At that point he lost it. Not wanting to be shown up in front of men, he started screaming at me calling me a c---. He also ranted that he ordered me to be fire watch not because of what was between my legs and not to flatter myself about that. The guys around me were open-mouthed in shock. The union bureaucrat went on for a minute but given that I ignored him and kept working, he eventually walked away. Of course he wasn’t going to do any work!

Only after the rep left did the guys defend me. They said what had happened was outrageous and urged me to go to management and get the guy fired. I told them I would only report the incident to the union; that the bosses should not be involved. This was something to be settled amongst ourselves. After all, the unions were built and are tools of struggle through which workers can organize and defend themselves independently, resisting the power of their bosses who exploit them.

After finishing the work, I reported the incident to my shop steward, who insisted on a meeting together with the union rep and management. I refused, not wanting to involve the bosses in a union matter. Some of the guys, not seeing the importance of using the union, went to management on their own. Throughout this whole ordeal I stood my ground, not giving in to any of the pressures.

Some might question what was gained given that the union rep managed to maintain his post for a time. Yet despite this, he was ostracized by his co-workers and exposed for who he was. More importantly, it showed in practice the necessity of fighting within the union for a new leadership. It is relatively easy for bosses to fire workers; however, challenging the sell-out bureaucrats—fighting for the unions, not management, to have full control over whether and how workers are disciplined—is an important battle and gain to win. By uniting, workers can demand dignity on the job and safer conditions (among other things), that are difficult, if not impossible, to secure alone or by relying on the “goodwill” of the bosses. To honor women murdered and abused at work, we must stand together—men and women alike—to defend women workers as equals and strengthen the power of unions as a whole.

Daria Stern

Bring Women in as Equals!

January 7, 2026

Why do we not see many women in the trades? Typically union brothers will respond with, “they are physically incapable” or “they aren’t interested.” Furthermore, in my experience, a woman worker entering into the construction trades typically gets assigned to a “light duty” position, which creates resentment and judgment among some male workers. It is alienating for women workers who feel like they are just skating by because they are not involved in the construction process, where learning and gaining experience take place and where camaraderie can be established.

Our local representatives, the AFL-CIO and the contractors all shout, “We need more women in the trades!” but this will never be enough. What is required is for union brothers to look out for union sisters who are already involved in the trades. This means union brothers involving women in the work and in the conversations, just as we would for any male worker apprentice who seeks to be better at their craft and included in meaningful work.