How One Woman Went From Lunch Lady To Leader Of The Country's Biggest Union
Lily Eskelsen Garcia’s story isn’t exactly a rags-to-riches tale in the traditional sense. There was never any fairy godmother waiting in the wings for her.
But that doesn’t mean that there was no magic in her rise.
In her more than 40 years in the education system, Garcia, 61, has gone from lunch lady to the highest-ranking Latina woman in labor — rising through the ranks of education to serve as the president of the National Education Association, the largest labor union in the United States.
Garcia's launch started in 1989, when she was named teacher of the year in Utah.
“I’m pretty outspoken," she told Refinery29, so when she was given a public platform and asked what she thought of policies surrounding education in her home state of Utah, the chance to speak her mind was a little too tempting.
“I never call people names, but you can let people know that you think the governor is not doing a very good job in some very nice ways,” she said, laughing.
Garcia used that platform and leveraged it into a run (and win) for president of her state teacher’s union at the age of 34, unusually young for such a high-level role. But she didn't rest on her laurels, instead following it up with runs for the national union, moving from the executive committee of the NEA, to secretary-treasurer, then vice president, and finally, to her current role as president since 2014.
But that doesn’t mean that there was no magic in her rise.
In her more than 40 years in the education system, Garcia, 61, has gone from lunch lady to the highest-ranking Latina woman in labor — rising through the ranks of education to serve as the president of the National Education Association, the largest labor union in the United States.
Garcia's launch started in 1989, when she was named teacher of the year in Utah.
“I’m pretty outspoken," she told Refinery29, so when she was given a public platform and asked what she thought of policies surrounding education in her home state of Utah, the chance to speak her mind was a little too tempting.
“I never call people names, but you can let people know that you think the governor is not doing a very good job in some very nice ways,” she said, laughing.
Garcia used that platform and leveraged it into a run (and win) for president of her state teacher’s union at the age of 34, unusually young for such a high-level role. But she didn't rest on her laurels, instead following it up with runs for the national union, moving from the executive committee of the NEA, to secretary-treasurer, then vice president, and finally, to her current role as president since 2014.
IF WOMEN ARE GOING TO WAIT TO BE ENCOURAGED TO RUN FOR NONTRADITIONAL ROLES, YOU’RE GOING TO BE WAITING A LONG TIME.
It’s a long road for someone who never even expected to go to college.
“It wasn’t in my family’s experience,” she said.
After high school, Garcia applied for a job at a local school because she liked working with children. She worked as a lunch lady, then a teacher’s aide. One day, a teacher she worked with took her aside and told her she should consider college.
“I was 20 before anybody said [that],” Garcia recalls. “[It] was very wonderful, this teacher NEA President DNC Speech Education Student Debt:
“It wasn’t in my family’s experience,” she said.
After high school, Garcia applied for a job at a local school because she liked working with children. She worked as a lunch lady, then a teacher’s aide. One day, a teacher she worked with took her aside and told her she should consider college.
“I was 20 before anybody said [that],” Garcia recalls. “[It] was very wonderful, this teacher NEA President DNC Speech Education Student Debt:
