Meet Diana Coopersmith, a fascinating and determined ironworker, who was one of the first few women to work on the Golden Gate Bridge. She’s also an educator and change maker in the metalworking and welding industry, an iron sculptor, she’s worked with the late artist, Richard Serra, she’s a photographer and she’s a mom!

Tune in to hear her stories of being uplifted and sometimes, nearly falling hundreds of feet down to her end. Take a listen to Diana's terrifying AND a hilarious stories about climbing the San Francisco city skyline!

Photo credit: Diana Coopersmith
Check out Diana's work: https://www.dianacoopersmith.com/contact

welding ironworking local 378 crucible women gender expansive

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April is National Welding Month and Thick Skin is celebrating!

Ever heard of a national, women’s iron working training program?

In this episode I take a tour at the Bay Area’s Local 378 Iron workers HQ and talk with Jeff, a leader in the iron working field and advocate for women working in the trades, especially in iron working. We talk about Local 378’s all women iron working training program, maternity leave,and the University of Iron. The program is open to women anywhere in the United States!

Jeff says it’s time for women to receive the respect they deserve!

Jeff also shares his stories about the joy of his career in iron working, the truth about reprimanding bad workplace behavior, the importance of creating a diverse workforce for the future, and the right for everyone to have access to a decent paying job.

Jeff is 100% hopeful that the incoming generation of iron workers are making the trades a more welcoming place for women and in turn, all people.

Also - Jeff recently retired- CONGRATULATIONS JEFF!! Thank you from THICK SKIN for the work you have done as an ally to all people in the iron working trade!

Be sure to visit the the Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge. It “is the only bridge in the United States named for a blue collar worker. It represents the men and women of all building and construction trades.”

https://www.alzampabridge.com/

Photo Sources: Iron Workers 378 and Alicia Crawford

FOR MORE INFO ABOUT Local 378's WOMEN’S PROGRAM

https://www.universityofiron.org/womeninthetrade.html

https://ironworkers378.org/

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Meet Alex! She’s the Executive Director of WINTER (Women In Non Traditional Employment Roles).

For 18 years she and her team have worked tirelessly to prepare BIPOC women for careers working in the construction trades in the Los Angeles and Long Beach areas. (Check out Episode 2 for the full WINTER founding and origin story!)

This is not a job, it’s a career and Alex and her team have high expectations for all who enter through WINTER’s doors!

This successful per-apprenticeship program is a hardcore legit “boot-camp” to the extreme because Alex believes in women and their power to change our country’s economy!

Alex is also a supreme negotiator when it comes to working with city officials. She also won’t take no for an answer and because of WINTER’s efforts, they’re seeing an actual increase in women working in the construction trades.

Tune in to find out just how much she and her team have moved the needle for women working in construction!

“You empower yourself! - Alex

FOR MORE INFO ABOUT WINTER: https://www.winterwomen.org/
Winter’s mission is to train, educate, and prepare women and youth for transformative careers in the construction industry.

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Susanne = Exacting. NASA. Uncompromising. Competitive. Humorous. A Global Manufacturing Mastermind!

Susanne was a 15 years old when she began working in manufacturing in Germany, nearly 40 years ago. She made her way from the machine shop floor to building parts for NASA to her current role as a leader for a global manufacturer and a mentor to others following in her footsteps.

We talk about cobots, giant tanks of acid in the desert, and horses! And mentor of hers who worked on the Apollo program who changed her life’s trajectory,

We also talk about how important it is in the trades for all women identifying people to receive encouragement, support and training so they’re able to thrive in the industry.

In that effort, Susanne now dedicates much of her spare time to Women in Manufacturing @womeninmfg to support the effort to recruit and maintain women working in manufacturing.

AND she has HORSES! Don’t miss this conversation with Susanne! She’s absolutely fascinating!!!

Supporting Inspiring & Promoting Women in Manufacturing visit

www.womeninmanufacturing.org

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SEASON TWO CONTINUES!

WOW! It’s Women’s History Month AND Women in Construction Week so we’ve got a double scoop episode for you!

We’re serving up some riveting (that’s right) history about women, their successes in saving the war effort, and on the flip side, the true challenges of racial inequity and segregation at the shipyards during WWII. Then we’ll chat about youth, gender inclusivity, equity, diversity, and the future of the trades.

Then hop aboard with me as I tour a possibly haunted, 1944 Naval ship built by women but made for men!

I’ll be talking with Sarah, the Executive Director at the Rosie the Riveter Trust, and with Desiree, a fork-lift driving, raven tending, ghost-hunting, ship keeper!

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Jazzy started welding as a teenager at 13, and now works as a fabricator, an artist, an educator, and a fierce advocate for BIPOC (Black & Indigenous people of color), women, femme identifying, Queer and Trans people in the trades and industrial arts. Jazzy is unphased by anyone who doubts her skills and even uses that to urge her onward to reach her big, welding dreams. She’s igniting her own pathway and is always extra prepared to blow everyone’s expectations way out of the cooling tank! She’s killin it, with her "guns blazin," as she says!

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This is the final episode in our four part documentary. Aryn’s internship and mechanic training program is winding down, they’re faced with getting a full time gig ASAFP, and Aryn reveals their big dreams for the future.

This is a four-part documentary of Aryn’s real-time audio journals and interviews following Aryn from the jitters of the first day of class, through a wildly revealing last day of class, to the rough road of pursuing a full time job as a trans person in the diesel mechanics’ industry.

ThickSkin supports the College of Alameda and thanks them for allowing us access to the shop so we could take photos of Aryn on site. If you are interested in the Diesel Mechanics program at the @collegealameda, check out https://alameda.peralta.edu/academic-program/diesel-mechanics/

For more resources about this topic check out @reckoningtradeproject www.reckoningtradeproject.org

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Aryn tries to give their Imposter Syndrome the steel toed boot and then takes matters into their own hands when they’re rejected TWICE from the program’s employers.

Aryn (or “Mykel”) is a queer trans person living in Oakland, California. They recently decided to leave their career in the nonprofit sector working as a disability rights advocate and as a part-time home care aide and took a big, bold leap into the world of automotive and diesel mechanics.

This is a four-part documentary of Aryn’s real-time audio journals and interviews following Aryn from the jitters of the first day of class, through a wildly revealing last day of class, to the rough road of pursuing a full time job as a trans person in the diesel mechanics’ industry.

ThickSkin supports the College of Alameda and thanks them for allowing us access to the shop so we could take photos of Aryn on site. If you are interested in the Diesel Mechanics program at the @collegealameda, check out https://alameda.peralta.edu/academic-program/diesel-mechanics/

For more resources about this topic check out @reckoningtradeproject www.reckoningtradeproject.org

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