A recent movie, “A Private War,” told the real life story of Marie Colvin, portrayed by Rosamund Pike in a powerful performance. Marie covered stories many did not want told, in dangerous locations, where few would dare to go.

She lost her eye and, eventually, her life at age 56.

Her bravery was legendary. She stayed behind enemy lines during the Iraq War in 1991; in 1999, she remained in East Timor to document refugees under attack by government– backed militias at a U.N. compound; in 2001 she was blinded in one eye by the blast of a Sri Lankan army rocket-propelled grenade, and fearlessly wore an eye patch as a symbol that she would not stop telling the story of civilians who she said: “Endure far more than I ever will” and cannot escape to the comforts of London, where she lived at the time. In 2012, Colvin was in Syria, where she was deliberately targeted and killed by artillery fire at the direction of a senior Syrian military officer, who sought to silence her reporting on civilian casualties in the besieged city of Homs as part of a media campaign to keep the world in the dark. Colvin and French photographer, Remi Ochlik, age 28, were killed instantly. Two other foreign journalists, including a New York Times photographer, were severely injured but escaped.

It was actually a line about Marie’s early years in one of the movie’s reviews that got us to wonder about a possible link to Teamsters Local 237. Our research paid off because we discovered that fresh out of college, she was hired to write our newsletter. To think that Marie Colvin once walked the halls of our building, rode in our elevators and ate donuts from the shop across the street, gave me pause. Marie Colvin worked here. She started her career here. Marie Colvin was a Teamster! And although none of us could ever wear her shoes, at least for a while, she walked among us and probably even shared a laugh or two with some of the people still among us.

Marie was murdered in Syria to silence her. She wrote about innocent women and children caught in the crossfire of civil war. She wanted the world to care as much as she did. And she lost her life trying to do this. She was reporting from a country that did not want the true story of suffering to come out. This was a country that called the media, “the enemy of the people.” Lately, we’ve been hearing a lot of that right here, in our own country. Many try to hide their hatred as a call for nationalism. Hate mongers have spewed this poison for ages, and in some unexpected places. A crowd of 20,000 rallied in Madison Square Garden in February of 1939 to denounce the press and labor unions as controlled by the Jews… and we all know where that went! Journalists, like Marie Colvin, tried to set the record straight. All too often, they paid with their lives. So, at our 2019 Women’s History celebration, we honor a courageous woman, one of our own, who tried to do the right thing for people she didn’t even know.

In Marie’s spirit, we also honor several women who were instrumental in helping others simply because it was the right thing to do. In March of 2010, I sued the City on behalf of our 5,000 School Safety Agents, 70% of whom were women, mostly African-Americans and Latinas. Many were single mothers. Their annual salary was about $7,000 less than their counterparts, with similar titles, working in other City agencies. Most of them were male. Some called this just a coincidence. I called it discrimination! School Safety Agents have a tough job to do. They help to protect other peoples’ children. All they wanted was to put bread on the table for their own children. So I called a meeting of School Safety Agents to tell them about my plan to sue the City. I told them that we needed some volunteers to sign the papers and be the official plaintiffs. Of the 25 women in the room, 22 left. But three remained: Patricia Williams, Bernice Christopher and the late Corinthians Andrews. And for four years, these three gave testimony after testimony. They refused any settlement that did not include retirees. They took days off from work. They took time away from being with their families. They came to our many rallies. At those rallies, despite support from several elected officials, we often felt alone. But the allies who were always there for us boiled down to two people: Hazel Dukes, President of the NYS NAACP and Sonia Ossorio, President of the NYC Chapter of NOW.

I remember the day of the judge’s final ruling, Pat, Bernice and Corinthians came into the courthouse and knelt in prayer. And thanks to them, Hazel and Sonia, a historic settlement was reached.

Clearly, Local 237 can boast of having many members whose actions are a testament to the best instincts of humanity. We are especially blessed to have among our members and friends women who care about others and want everyone else to care too. That’s who they are. That’s their legacy. And we take pride in knowing them.