Rocio Campos, a single mother of two, shares her inspiring story of becoming an ironworker in Los Angeles. After a series of jobs, she discovered a passion for welding and navigated the challenges of a male-dominated field to achieve her goal.
Rocio Campos, an ironworker with Ironworkers Local 433 in Los Angeles, in her welding jacket and hood before working a night shift on Jan. 22, 2025. Campos took a welding class to see if she’d like it, completed her apprenticeship last fall and works full-time with the union. Photo by Alisha Jucevic for CalMatters
In addition to her weekday class, Rocio was allowed to practice welding there on Saturdays. An instructor for the Ironworkers Local 433 union noticed her work and eventually signed her on as an apprentice. It took four more years of classwork, homework, full-time work and certification tests every few months before Campos became a tradesperson.
The graduation was in September. There were 79 people, all of them guys and I was the only girl. There were other girls that started. They just dropped out through the process. Email addressYou have to really know how to manage your money . And also, they don’t want to put in the work to get your certifications … It’s like, you go to work, you have to do some homework, and you’ve still got to go to the shop and get your certifications. It’s a lot of work.
Rocio Campos, an ironworker with Ironworkers Local 433 in Los Angeles, holds her apprenticeship certificate at her home in Palmdale on Jan. 22, 2025. Photo by Alisha Jucevic for CalMatters“We don’t think you’re gonna make it,” pretty much. I’m small. I’m 5-feet-nothing. So they’re like, “Yeah, that’s not gonna work.”
Rocio Campos, an ironworker with Ironworkers Local 433 in Los Angeles, at her home in Palmdale before leaving for a night shift on Jan. 22, 2025. Photo by Alisha Jucevic for CalMattersIt happened once where I didn’t feel safe with the person that I was working with just because they did things not in the right way. I was actually putting up windmills. It was definitely not safe. But I was lucky enough to have a friend working there was one of the higher-ups.
IRONWORKERS WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION APPRENTICESHIP TRADE UNIONS CALIFORNIA
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