Donna Hammond
- Business Rep
Public Sector Business Representative Donna Hammond, aka Brenda Sue, is proud to have been one of the first women accepted into the IBEW/NECA apprenticeship program back in 1978. Her class included just five female apprentices. She has been an IBEW member since 1979 and has held her current role since 2012. She also previously served as Recording Secretary from 1993-96.
Donna says she joined the IBEW because her parents raised her to appreciate and understand the value of union membership based on the ideology of Dr. Martin Luther King, who asked “How can we fight for equal rights to sit at the lunch counter when we can’t afford the meal?”
Dr. King understood that the Labor Movement and the Civil Rights Movements were parallel and that we could afford the meal if we had protections in the workplace… with union membership.
Her favorite part of being an IBEW member is the Brotherhood and Sisterhood, and knowing that others truly care.
“With all of our differences, we are one family. My walk in the IBEW has had so many positives and true allies that it’s been a wonderful journey.”
Recently, Donna received the Robbie Sparks North Star Award from the National EWMC and a historical marker on Alberta Street.
Outside of work, Donna enjoys playing cards and attending Fireside Chats with her fellow members.
IBEW World Record Holder for: "The longest 'short call'"
In 1991, Donna took a 6-month short call to City of Portland’s Wastewater Sewage Treatment Facility and that short call lasted over 21 years!
