Martinez was born in California into a large migrant farmworking family, one of 19 children.[1] She grew up working as a migrant farmworker before being hired at IBP's Wallula, Washington plant in the late 1980s. She worked there for about a decade.[1] Martinez became a young mother and left high school before completing her diploma, later earning her GED and an associate degree from Columbia Basin College.[citation needed]
1998: Reform candidacy and retaliation
In March 1998, Teamsters Local 556 changed its bylaws to allow members to elect shop stewards. Martinez won election as chief shop steward in April 1998 by a vote of 547 to 84.[2]
That summer, she was nominated as a candidate for IBT Western Region International Vice President on the Tom Leedham "Rank and File Power Slate."[3]
Shortly afterward, IBP rescinded the longstanding practice of assigning the chief steward to the plant's insurance clerk position, which carried higher pay, and forced Martinez back to production line work. The IBT Election Officer noted that IBP provided no documentation of alleged performance problems and that the timing was "proximate" to her candidacy and her role in filing a class action wage-and-hour lawsuit against IBP.[3]
1999 Wallula strike
On June 4, 1999, approximately 1,300 meatpacking workers at IBP's Wallula plant launched a wildcat strike, one of the largest in the U.S. in decades.[2] The workforce, largely immigrant—Mexican, Central American, Southeast Asian, and Bosnian—protested unsafe working conditions, low pay, and lack of union support.[1]
Martinez was a visible leader of the strike, telling a reporter, "Enough is enough is something you can understand in any language."[4] The strike lasted five weeks. Soon after, Teamsters President James P. Hoffa placed Local 556 under trusteeship, removing Martinez and other reform leaders from their positions.[2]
Later union role and legal victories
Despite the trusteeship, Martinez briefly served as principal officer of Local 556 and continued organizing campaigns. In 2001, she was a named plaintiff in IBP, Inc. v. Alvarez, a Supreme Court case concerning compensation for donning and doffing protective gear. She helped workers win the lawsuit against IBP under the Fair Labor Standards Act, securing a judgment of up to $7.3 million in back wages, though IBP resisted paying the award.[5]
As Local 556 leader, she built coalitions linking immigrant workers with students, consumer activists, and animal welfare groups. Tyson Foods attempted to bar her from the Wallula plant and supported a decertification effort against the union.[5]
Community advocacy
After leaving the meatpacking industry, Martinez became an advocate with Domestic Violence Services of Benton and Franklin Counties, where she works with women facing abuse and hostile living situations.[citation needed]
Legacy
Schlosser has described Martinez as "one of America's finest union leaders."[5] Labor historians cite her role in the Wallula strike and subsequent campaigns as emblematic of immigrant women's leadership in the late-20th century U.S. labor movement.[4][2]
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