Laborer’s Training Center Celebrates Local Tradeswomen

The Northern California Laborer’s Training Center, covering LiUNA Laborers Local 185, hosted a “Women In Construction” event this past June celebrating the accomplishments and strengths of local tradeswomen.  The event drew a strong turnout with employer and community partner vendors, hands-on activities for family members, inspiring speeches, and a raffle for apprentices.

The event featured a panel of accomplished trade leaders, introduced by Karla Hill, who serves as an Apprentice Field Coordinator with Northern California Laborers Training Center, after working 20 years with Teichert Construction. In her current role, she shares wisdom from her journey with apprentices, particularly about overcoming those who doubt them.

Karla reminded the audience, “Your presence here today means that you are part of something bigger. These speakers represent a wide range of experiences. Each one of them brings a powerful story, not only about building careers, but also about building confidence, breaking stereotypes, and paving the way for the next generation”.

Overcoming challenges on the Job Site

Several themes surfaced as panelists spoke, including the challenge of being the only woman on the job site. Shannon Hurles, CEO of the Builders Exchange of San Joaquin, had previously managed a construction company with her husband. ”Often times I was the only female in the room,” she said, ”And I didn't really shy away...I just kept striking. I never looked down. I just kept going. I wanted to learn more. I wanted the guidance. I wanted the knowledge.”

Being the only woman in a crew can be challenging, but some apprentices found support from their male co-workers.  Apprentice, Marlen Gomez, found her dream job in construction after following her passion of working with her hands. She shared the encouragement she experienced during the start of her apprenticeship: “The first few days, it was hard to do the work –like carrying two by fours or large tables. At one point I said ‘I can’t do it!’ but there was a guy on my crew who told me ‘You can, Marlen! Don’t give up. I’m going to give you a few tips to carry heavy things. You never have to say ‘you can’t’!’”

Mid-Life Career Transformations

Many women spoke about entering apprenticeship later in life.  At the age of 40, Shannon Hurles, entered the construction field as an apprentice after having a baby and owning an in-home daycare.  Kate Crawford, Director of Construction Safety at Stack, encouraged attendees to embrace career changes at any time in life: “I joined Local 396 up in Portland, Oregon when I was 35 or 36. Well, when you do that, the veil lifts and you see there's a whole different world of possibilities”.

Theresa Foglio-Ramirez began her career as a journeyperson laborer in 1996,

was appointed Liaison of Government Affairs by Mayor Gavin Newsom in 2009, and in 2012 made history as the first female business agent for the Northern California District Council of Laborers, where she continues to serve as a Public Sector Business Agent for LIUNA Local 261. She shared, "Women can lift, build, and lead with the same strength and purpose as any man, our drive doesn't come from proving others wrong, but from knowing our own worth. We never forget our "why"—it's the fire that keeps us pushing through the hard days and standing tall in a field we chose with pride.”

Recruiting Into the Future The final message emphasized the importance of women taking on leadership roles to influence industry decisions and improve recruiting efforts. For example, Shannon Hurles leads the BXSJ Women in Construction committee and spearheads an annual trades day at Delta College, where they highlight local CTE programs and encourage young adults to explore construction careers and apprenticeship programs.

California is actively supporting these efforts through the Equal Representation in Construction Apprenticeships (ERiCA) grant, which provides dedicated funding to increase equitable access to building and construction career pathways for women, non-binary individuals, and underrepresented populations. DAS has awarded $26,169,217 in the second round of ERiCA funding for 2025-27, building upon the successful $25 million first round. The grant supports recruitment, childcare assistance, and worksite culture improvements—addressing many of the barriers discussed at the Women in Construction event.

Kate Crawford echoed the importance of paying it forward by recruiting more women into trade apprenticeships and finished her speech with a call of action for the next WIC event:  “Thing that I would say is probably most important, is recruiting into this world that we live in because there's a whole bunch of people that are missing out on opportunity.  The call to action is for everyone who came here by themselves bring somebody with them next year... and bring your kids and bring them into the trades!


For more information on NorCal Laborer’s Training Center visit https://www.norcaltc.org/

August 2025