De Losada, Dorothy Elizabeth, 1921-

In the early 1940s, Dorothy Elizabeth De Losada worked as an organizer for Local 6 of the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union (ILWU) in San Francisco. She held various official positions with Local 6, including shop steward at the Hiram Walker distillery, beginning in 1945, and chairman of the union's negotiating committee in 1948.

Biographical Information

Dorothy Elizabeth De Losada was born in San Francisco in 1921. She attended the University of California, Berkeley, in the late 1930s and early 1940s. While she was a college student, De Losada participated in the "Fair Bear" movement to secure equitable wages for student restaurant workers. In 1942, De Losada dropped out of college and went to work in the Richmond shipyards in support of the war effort. She began her career as a labor organizer in the early 1940s at the Army Medical Depot on Folsom Street in San Francisco, where she organized civil service workers for the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union (ILWU), Local 6. In 1945, De Losada moved to Tennessee to teach public speaking and grievance procedure at the Highlander Folk School. She returned to San Francisco in 1945, serving as shop steward for the ILWU, Local 6, at the Hiram Walker distillery. As shop steward, De Losada secured maternity leave benefits for women workers. In 1948 she acted as chairman of the union's negotiating committee; she was the first woman to fill that position in Local 6 history. In addition, she served on the union's publicity committee and board of trustees. Eventually, De Losada completed her bachelor's degree at the University of California, Berkeley, and went on to earn a master's degree in social work. She changed careers later in life, becoming a social worker for the San Francisco Unified School District.