Labor on Every Front: Honoring Teamster Moms

By Jonathan Hezel

When people think of Mother’s Day, they often picture flowers, cards, and sentimental messages. But in a Teamsters family, especially mine, Mother’s Day has always meant something deeper. It’s recognition of the work that never stops.

My mom started working for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission in 2000 and became a proud member of Teamsters Local 77.

That decision was about more than finding a job. It was about stability, protection, and solidarity that made it possible for her to raise a family on her own.

As a single mother, that stability shaped every part of our lives. It meant a reliable paycheck, strong health benefits, and peace of mind that came from knowing we would be OK when life became difficult.

With the Teamsters, there was an ability to keep the household running without constantly fearing financial collapse.

It meant she could work early shifts, handle long hours, and still make it back for school events, doctor’s appointments, and everything in between.

She became a mom in 2002 and raised two children who eventually became first-generation college graduates. That didn’t happen by chance. It was built through years of sacrifice and the protections that came with being in a union.

Long before she joined the Teamsters, my grandfather introduced her to the meaning of union work.

As a child, she would ride through the Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls with him, and he would point out the workers and tell her they had strong union jobs with good benefits.

That lesson stayed with her and eventually shaped her own path into the Teamsters.

When my mom talked about the union, she often described it as being part of a larger family. No matter what happened, her Teamster brothers and sisters had her back.

Together, they fought for fair wages, sick leave, overtime protections, vacation time, health care, and retirement security.

In a household where every paycheck mattered, those protections made all the difference.

For 20 years, she worked as a toll collector, a job many people pass through without a thought.

But that work helped keep Pennsylvania moving and supported essential infrastructure across the state.

Later, she transitioned into maintenance work as an EO1 operator, taking on even more physically demanding responsibilities and earning her commercial driver’s license along the way.

That kind of work was not easy. It takes long hours, physical endurance, and constant responsibility.

And like many Teamster moms, she carried that workload while also carrying the weight of raising children.

That is the reality of Teamster motherhood: labor on every front.

Showing up every day on the job while showing up at home in every way that matters.

Neither role pauses for the other.

In 2022, my mom retired from the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, but she still proudly says she will always be a Teamster.

My grandfather was right — it was a strong union job with life-changing benefits, and her years of hard work carried into retirement through a well-earned pension.

As her son, I carry enormous pride in where I come from.

I am proud to have been raised in a union household, proud to be a son of a Teamster mother, and proud of the sacrifices she made so our family could have opportunities she never had growing up.

That pride is what inspired me to continue the Teamsters legacy in my own career.

Today, I work in the Strategic Initiatives Department of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in Washington, D.C.

In my role, I help support campaigns and amplify the voices of rank-and-file Teamsters across the country.

And when I perform that work, I think about people like my mom — the hardworking Teamster mothers whose stories deserve to be recognized and heard.

To me, Mother’s Day is more than celebration. It is about honoring women like my mom who keep this country moving while raising families at the same time.

Women who balance exhausting workdays with motherhood, sacrifice with strength, and responsibility with resilience.

I will always be proud to be the son of a Teamster mom. And now, through my own work, I’m honored to help give a voice to more Teamsters like her.