By Amanda Kay-Johnson

As a first year carpenter apprentice, I hungered for connections with other women in construction, a deeper understanding of my new way of life, and ultimately a tradeswomen community.  This drive eventually led me to Susan Moir and learning about Tradeswomen Building Bridges’ original trip to India.  Unfortunately, life didn’t allow me to join them on that transformative journey of a lifetime.  However, in 2018, I got to experience my first international tradeswomen trip as a delegate with Sisters in the Building Trades.  The trip was multifaceted.  During this trip, our small delegation interacted with Filipina welders, plumbers, and carpenters both on and off the job.  We visited a few job sites of our sisters (of which the welding sites were particularly informative to me) and also toured the national vocational training school, known as TESDA.  Our travels culminated in hosting several hundred tradeswomen at the Manila Tradeswomen Gathering, a one-day conference connecting the Pinay Tradeswomen, Association of Women Workers in the Construction Industry (AWWCI), National Union of Building and Construction Workers (NUBCW), Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI), government agencies, and local unions.  It was a fantastic first trip to The Philippines establishing friendships that have continued all these years later!

In 2019, my friend and fellow delegate, Amber McCoy, and I returned to vacation and reconnect with the Filipina tradeswomen.  It was on that return trip that we learned that AWWCI and other like minded organizations had successfully lobbied the government to pass Republic Act 11210, the 105-Day Expanded Maternity Leave Law.  This law not only significantly increased the timeframe of paid leave for women but also gave men or alternate caregivers seven days of paid leave.  This was amazing news and quite inspirational to me given America’s bastion of severely limited paid maternity and paternity leave!  We also learned more about local community organizing done by unions.  Those conversations sparked a desire to have a Tradeswomen Building Bridges delegation come in the future to learn organizing strategies and expand the circle of friendship.  

And so, a few years of dreaming and planning took place to bring that desire into reality in 2024.  This trip was both extremely intense and extremely rewarding!  I led Logistics with a team of three amazing women (Lori, Diana, and Myra) who helped make each day an overwhelming success for our delegates and Filipina sisters.  Over twenty women learned new carpentry and plumbing skills, eagerly devouring new knowledge and practical skills.  Daily each participant grew in self confidence beaming at the end of the week with their completed hands-on project.  What I noticed most is how bright a light shines when you empower your fellow sister and make a difference in telling her that she can!  This yearning to be better both personally and professionally is a common thread in all three of my trips.  Here’s to humbly improving 1% every day, rising above, and enjoying strong, supportive communities wherever we are in the world!