THE TEAM

Jason Rabinowitz

Jason Rabinowitz is the principal officer of Teamsters Local 2010 with decades of experience in protecting the rights of workers. Since coming to the Local in 2013, Jason has led the charge in building our Union into a powerhouse for workers’ rights in California, taking us from 29% membership to over 80% for the first time in Union history. Under his leadership, we have created an effective stewards program, conducted a powerful contract campaign culminating in strong contracts with guaranteed raises for our membership, and he has led the charge in organizing thousands of new members into the Teamsters.

Before coming to Local 2010, Jason served as a Teamsters lawyer for 16 years. His success in winning justice for workers in challenging cases made him one of the pre-eminent Union lawyers in California. For four years, Jason served as a Professor of Labor Law at UC Davis Law School. Jason became Executive Director of Teamsters Local 2010 in 2013 and was elected Secretary-Treasurer and Principal Officer in 2014. The members re-elected him to his position in 2016 and 2019.

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Catherine Cobb

Catherine Cobb is the President of Teamsters Local 2010 and has long stood for the fair and respectful treatment of our members in the workplace. Catherine has been on the front lines of countless actions and meetings fighting for our members and growing our Union into the powerhouse that it is today. At the bargaining table and the picket line, she has been key in winning strong contracts and building up our Union across the state. Coming from the membership, she knows firsthand the issues that our members face and the power in standing together in our Union.

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Tanya Akel

Tanya Akel is our Local 2010 Field Director with over 20 years of worksite organizing, negotiation, contract enforcement and policy interpretation experience.  She is a graduate of UCLA with a BA in Political Science and a MA in Urban Planning. In her spare time she’s an adjunct instructor for the LA Trade Tech Labor Studies program.

Melissa Munio

Melissa is a native Californian with over two decades of experience in the labor movement.  She represents our members in all matters related to labor relations, contract negotiations, and grievance handling. She started her work with Teamsters Local 2010 in late 2011 as election administrator for the current CX-Unit contract and has been working on multiple special projects.

Prior to joining the Teamsters, she worked as an operations manager for a solar trade association for three years and a Business Representative and Political Coordinator for Teamsters Local 911 for seven years.

Mary Higgins

Mary Higgins is the Vice President of Teamsters Local 2010. For over 40 years, Mary worked with the UC, becoming a member of the bargaining unit in 1976. Since then, she has held many leadership roles as the Union evolved. Mary is now retired from UC, but is still involved as Vice President, proudly stating that her activism has become her life.

Ali Tweini

Ali Tweini has been an active Union member since starting at UCLA in January 2011. In that time, he has been involved in every aspect of the Union; first becoming a steward and now our Political Coordinator. Ali was elected Recording-Secretary of Teamsters Local 2010 in 2013 and is motivated by his deep commitment to justice and equality for all workers.

Spencer Owen

Matthew Mason

Drew Scott

Drew has been a Facilities Control Specialist at CSU Fresno since 2008. He serves as Executive Board Trustee and Skilled Trades Director. He has been a Bargaining Team member for CSU Skilled Trades workers before and after affiliation with Teamsters 2010 in 2011, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2022/2023. He got involved with the Union due to the CSU’s discriminatory pay practices and unfair treatment of some employees.

Laura Newman

Deborah Elia

Eduardo Rosales

Michael Erazo

Michael Erazo is a UC Berkeley alum where he also served 10 years as a dispatcher and first became a Union member in 2007. Since then, Michael has held several leadership positions including ROC, steward, chief steward, trustee, and bargaining representative. Since 2018, Michael has been the Union Representative for UC Davis and UC ANR. Michael began his Union involvement with a simple goal: “I just wanted to get paid correctly and on time!”

Joseph Meyer

Joseph comes to us from our CX-Unit where he worked as a Records Clerk at UC Berkeley’s Campus Shared Services. He’s always been a strong advocate for workers’ rights and continues to challenge the status quo for a better livelihood for all workers.  Joseph played a key role in our statewide CX-Unit contract win and has been an essential factor in building member power throughout the University of California. You can find Joseph at UC Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley Lab and UC Office of the President, engaging members and empowering workers to protect their rights in the workplace and to enforce their Union contract.

Catie Arbona

Nicole Cornejo

Stephanie Aguilar

Stephanie is the UCLA Med Center Union Representative for our satellite locations with over 15 years of experience. Her journey as a Union activists began in 1995 when she was threatened with layoffs from the LA County Social Services; sparking an interest in becoming involved in her Union.  Soon her interest developed into a full-blown passion for representing members and never giving up on the fight for justice.

Karen Paredes-Tupper

Karen Paredes-Tupper is the new Union Representative for the Clerical bargaining unit at the UC San Diego campus and UC San Diego Health. She has worked with public sector unions for more than 10 years with experience in organizing, representation, contract enforcement, and negotiations. Karen is a proud native San Diegan and she is passionate about building a strong union by empowering workers, especially women and people of color.

Jose Fuentes

Jose Fuentes has over seven years serving our Local 2010 members.  He is a Union Representative representing our Skilled Trades members in Northern and Central California at both UC and CSU.  He comes to us from the rank-and-file, starting as an activist and quickly growing into the UC San Francisco Chief Steward.  Jose is passionate about representing California workers across the state and is honored to fight alongside our members for justice and respect.

Brian Maloney

Andy Taff

Dennis Sotomayor

Monica Romero

Carlos Diaz

Alex Vermie

Alex Vermie is the Research Analyst for Local 2010. Alex was inspired to become a part of the labor movement during college when he first witnessed university workers coming together to fight for a better campus for everyone in the community. He is proud to again be supporting the university workers whose work makes our state work. His expertise in strategic research and campaigning are invaluable in supporting our members in bargaining and contract campaigns.

Aimee Baror

Aimee has more than 25 years of experience in communications, marketing, and event planning. She has received numerous awards for her writing and design from the Public Relations Society of America, Central California Region and the International Labor Communications Association. From 2009 to 2017, Baror served as Communications Director for a Southern California nurses’ union. Prior to her Union work, she was assistant editor of a city magazine, promoted film making and tourism for California’s third-largest county, and wrote and edited articles for a California daily newspaper.

Aimee is most proud of her two children, and she volunteers for non-profit groups and sings in her free time.

Michael Sherritt

Michael is a Union Representative with 30 years of unionism under his belt. He served nine of those years as Recording-Secretary on the Executive Board of the Ironworkers Local 416 and spent seven years as an Organizer and Union Representative for SEIU prior to becoming a Teamster. Michael strongly believes in Union organizing and the labor movement as the best way to protect workers and the middle-class.  He is committed to building strong worksite leaders who are prepared for the neverending challenges that lie ahead.

Wendy Borboa

Wendy Borboa is a Lead Organizer for Local 2010 having worked as a Teamster Organizer on both the Local and International levels since 2007. She has been involved with our Local since our affiliation with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Wendy has been instrumental in empowering our members and making our Union the powerhouse it is today.

Laurence Young

As a library employee at UC Santa Barbara for 13 years, Larry Young was an active member of Local 2010 for his entire UC career. He became involved in the Teamsters through his passion for the labor movement. At the Local 2010 Membership Conference in 2014, he was nominated as Assistant Chapter Coordinator for UCSB and subsequently built on his activism by becoming a steward. Larry served as a Local 2010 Trustee from 2015 to 2019 and worked as the union representative for UCSB as a lost-timer for seven years before becoming full-time staff. Larry constantly emphasizes that a union is our democratic voice in the workplace and our opportunity to have a say in the terms and conditions of our work.

He is currently the Santa Barbara Chapter Chair of the Central Coast Labor Council of the AFL-CIO and has served on their executive board for nine years.

Larry is married and has a young son. He is an avid railfan and model railroad enthusiast, and he enjoys working on his genealogy and reading books in his leisure time.

Kimberly Aguirre

Kimberly Aguirre is an organizer for Teamsters Local 2010 and has been a Teamster since 2014. In 2009, she began as a UCLA Labor Studies student helping workers organize for better working conditions and respectful treatment. She meets with Local 2010 members and non-union UC staff across the state to recruit and empower individuals to join their co-workers in standing together for fair wages and benefits.

Oz Smith

Stephanie Watts

Stephanie Watts is a former UCLA employee who now works as an Organizer – Union Representative for Teamsters Local 2010. She became a Teamster in June 2016 upon hire at UCLA. After completing the Teamsters Steward Training in 2018, Stephanie quickly realized the importance of collective bargaining rights in the workplace and fearlessly committed to standing alongside her colleagues to demand fair treatment, fair wages, and respect. Stephanie was given the opportunity to work as a rank-and-file “lost-timer” with the Teamsters in 2020, and she took a leave of absence from UCLA to assist in organizing the unrepresented workers at UC and the Amazon drivers in Milwaukee and Minnesota. As a Union Representative, Stephanie strives to educate workers on their rights in our Union contracts and counsel employees to learn that standing together is power.

Lani Richardson

Lani Richardson joined the Local 2010 team as an Organizer this year. Lani worked at UC Davis Medical Center for more than 30 years, where she served as a Steward, the UCD Chapter Coordinator and as a Teamsters 2010 Bargaining Team member. She was one of the founding members of the Local 2010 Women’s Committee before she joined the Teamsters full-time, working as an IBT Organizer at UC campuses and other worksite campaigns nationwide. Now back with Local 2010, Lani is happy to continue the fight on a daily basis for the fairness and respect workers deserve!

Dale Crane

Dale has been a member of Local 2010 since 2017, first as an elevator mechanic at UCLA, then as a “lost-timer” for the IBT for three years as a organizer. Teamsters were successful in organizing all five of the campaigns that Dale worked on, bringing in more than 1,000 new Teamsters, with 300 of those being Skilled Trades workers at UC Davis. Before his Teamsters career, Dale was a member of the Local 18 Elevator Construction Union for 34 years, serving 20 years as a Shop Steward.

“I’m very proud of my current Teamsters Local and look forward to serving my brothers and sisters to the best of my ability,” Dale says.

John Viera

Prior to joining Teamsters 2010, John Viera represented a diverse group of healthcare workers throughout Southern California at Kaiser Permanente, Dignity, Providence, and several independent hospitals. He is proud to have helped raise the standards for workers in his community and excited to continue do so with Teamsters 2010.

Jennifer Casqueiro

Jennifer began her career with the Teamsters in 2000, starting as an intern in the Training and Development Department at the IBT. She moved to the Information Systems Department shortly thereafter.

In mid-2001, she accepted a position at Teamsters Local 853 as their Contracts Manager. Over the next 21 years she would assume more responsibilities at Local 853, including Executive Assistant work for many of the Local 853 officers and the political director of Joint Council No. 7.

Aimee Player

Aimee began working at UCLA in the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center security department in 2004 and soon transferred to the Resnick Record Management Department. Immediately after starting there, she saw issues that were unfair to workers—so she joined the Teamsters Union and became active in membership meetings, steward trainings and workplace Union actions to support our contract and remedy workload issues. Aimee has attended various Teamsters conferences to learn more about the internal workings of our Union and that knowledge has assisted her in getting other workers to join the Teamsters and to become more involved in Union activities and the real purpose of our Union.

Aimee said, “With my involvement in just a few pickets and rallies, I saw the results of teamwork—members working together for members.”

Aimee has been a Union activist since 2004, and is proud to be an Executive Board Trustee and to share her involvement with our membership.

Marissa Johnston

Devenee Turner

Devenee (DeeDee) Turner began working with public and private sector Unions in 2006. She is a graduate of Cal State University, San Bernardino, with a degree in Political Science. “I believe in equality and economic justice for everyone. My career has allowed me to meet and help members create a solid foundation for them to succeed and grow as we continue the fight for our working families and communities.”

Drew Rangel

Drew Rangel is a Union Representative representing CX Unit members at UCLA Health in Westwood.  He earned his Juris Doctorate from University of Oregon School of Law, where he focused his studies on labor and environmental law. While in law school, he served as a law clerk for Communities for a Better Environment, a California-based environmental justice organization, and then as a law clerk for SEIU 503, a union in Oregon representing workers in state and local government, non-profit agencies, and care facilities. He was also a Co-Director of the University of Oregon chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, which is the largest association of progressives in the legal field, dedicated to serving the people and social movements. He remains an NLG member.

Drew has also been involved with several progressive and pro-working class causes and campaigns. As a Teamsters 2010 Union Representative, he is excited about contributing both his legal and organizing skills to growing our member power.

Jamal Colter

Jamal Colter serves as the Member Organizer for UCSF members at Mission Bay, Laurel Heights, and Emeryville.

Herman Ricks

Jenny Hodge

Cora Kapenga

Emily Pacheco

Emily Pacheco serves at the Union Representative for UCSF members at Parnassus, the Women’s Health Center, St. Mary’s, St. Francis, and Fresno.

Emily started in the labor movement back in 2019 as a shop steward for her previous union. She became a business representative shortly after and participated in the largest health care strike in history in 2023 against Kaiser Permanente. Emily is proud to have negotiated contracts within the public, private and non-profit sectors. Her passion is member engagement and developing harmonious relationships with labor and management!

Emily has a Bachelor’s Degree of Arts in Healthcare Administration from Ashford University.

“The labor movement has afforded me a wealth of knowledge. I hope to gain even more at Teamsters 2010 and share that knowledge with our members!”