Pat Stryker

Pat Stryker
Political action and legislation director, Local 237, International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Pat Stryker

When Pat Stryker became a lobbyist for Teamsters Local 237 in 1990, she planned to stay for about three years. Twenty-two years later, she’s still there, running the political and legislative operations of the 24,000- member union.

“I’ve almost become part of the furniture here,” Stryker joked. “But I really like our members, and I like fighting for them.”

Stryker’s duties at Local 237 keep her deeply involved in New York City’s main pension system, NYCERS, on whose board she has served as a trustee since 1997. She and Local 237 president Greg Floyd have helped lead the opposition to a plan to consolidate the city’s five pension systems into a single entity.

She has also long been involved in women’s issues. Stryker founded the Local 237 Women’s Committee, serves on the board of the Eleanor Roosevelt Legacy Committee and served as national vice president of the Coalition of Labor Union Women. Stryker says working in public sector labor has provided a great opportunity to advance women’s rights. “It’s still a man’s world, and there’s still a glass ceiling,” she said. “I talk to others who say sexism is endemic and systematic, but when I speak with people in the Teamsters, there’s very few examples of that.”

How did you get your start?
I started out as a teacher in East Harlem, and the UFT got a good contact for us. I had no clue what they were doing, but it was so good I figured I would have to start paying dues. Then something happened where a guy had a grievance hearing, and I helped him win and did so well that everyone heard about it in school and elected me their district representative. I was pretty fearless, and I later became a lobbyist for the UFT.

On balance, has being a woman helped or hurt?
Being a woman makes it harder to get things done. In government, it’s a boy’s club, and you’re in a world of men comfortable with one another. They talk sports with each other. And no one walks into your office just to have a chat. It’s made me have to fight harder.

What is the worst advice anyone ever gave you?
The worst advice is that you shouldn’t try. That’s a terrible thing to say to someone.