At age 25, Amy was a single parent raising two children with no job, no car, no education and no place to live. She knew the only way to give her children the life they deserved would be through hard work and determination – and when Amy walked across the stage to receive her GED, her two children, Chassity and Joey, sat in the front row cheering her on.
Amy’s determination to give her kids a better life led her to her get a job at Kroger where she found that having a union contract could give her the stability she and her family needed. She saw right away that there was a place for her to take a leadership role in her union. She became a steward because she saw that her co-workers needed a strong voice on the job.
Over the course of the last decade, Amy has helped to negotiate her union contract three times, serving as part of the team that meets with Kroger management and bargains the wages, benefits, and working conditions for more than 12,000 UFCW Local 227 members across Kentucky and Southern Indiana. Now, in her capacity as the Chief Steward at her store, Amy helps ensure that Kroger implements the union contract correctly, and makes certain that her co-workers understand and take advantage of the full range of benefits they’re guaranteed.
Amy’s hard work and commitment to improving her family’s life and her workplace has spilled over into the community. She served as the PTA President at Tates Creek Elementary for three years, and in 2014 ran for City Council – losing narrowly in a primary.
Determined, committed UFCW moms like Amy continue to inspire us and are an important part of our union family! Stay tuned as we celebrate more moms across the UFCW in our lead up to Mother’s Day.
