Sixteen years ago, Rudy Gomez took a job at the Safeway wholesale bread plant and warehouse in Richmond, Calif. and began a union career that would lead him to become the principal officer of Local 125 (San Leandro, Calif.), representing the largest number of candy workers in the BCTGM.

On his first day at the bakery in 2004, Gomez was sent to work on the bun line and took a job as the Model K Operator. “It was the hardest job in the whole plant and no one wanted the position! People thought I was crazy. It didn’t take me long to figure out why,” recalls Gomez.

His job as the Model K Operator (Divider Operator) was to make up the dough pieces in the correct weight and size for the production of different buns (hamburger, hotdog, hoagie, etc.).

“It was a really old machine and there was a lot of physical work involved. My first month in the bakery I lost 20 pounds,” Gomez says. “My job was to set the machine to put out a certain amount of dough per minute for the given job. I would have to balance out each dough ball and weigh each individually. Nothing was automatic.”

He stayed as a Model K Operator for three years before working his way to be a mixer. “I really wanted to be a mixer because the mixers were easier to operate,” Gomez says.

In 2008 Gomez was elected as shop steward, a position he held for the remainder of his career in the bakery. “I saw a posting about the shop steward election on our bulletin board and just decided to go for it. I loved being a union shop steward. You were the representative for the union and you were protected. There were some miserable supervisors and workers needed all the help we could get from our union representation,” recalls Gomez.

He enjoyed his job as a mixer on the second shift and stayed in the position for two years. “Being a mixer was a simple routine comparably. The formulas were relatively the same. I really enjoyed my job,” Gomez adds.

In 2009, the bakery went down to one shift per line and eliminated the second shift and his job as a mixer. Gomez was transferred to the break relief position on the bun line for the first shift. “I was able to keep my job at the bakery because the break relief position required knowledge of the Model K Operator, Mixer, Oven Operator and Tell-Off (manually stacking pans on the rack), all jobs I had experience in doing,” he said.

Gomez went on to work as a Scaler on a brand-new bun variety line, then a Sponge Maker. However, the constant overtime and physical nature of the work began wearing on his body.

“In a seven-hour shift, I calculated that I was lifting 12,000 pounds collectively. I lifted 50-pound bags all day long and it began taking a toll on my elbows, back and joints. Meanwhile, the constant overtime meant I didn’t get days off. I just had enough,” he said.

A position opened in the sanitation department and Gomez jumped at the opportunity. “As long as I only had to work a seven-hour shift I was happy. So that is where I stayed and ended up becoming a foreman in sanitation,” said Gomez.

In 2018, Gomez was encouraged to run for a position at the local union and was elected as the Vice President/Recording Secretary/Business Agent. In 2019, he was elected as the Local 125 Financial Secretary-Treasurer.

Local 125 continues to represent workers at the Safeway wholesale bakery and warehouse as well as in-store Safeway bakeries. However, the majority of the local’s 1,500 members are candy workers at Ghirardelli, Jelly Belly, American Licorice, Sconza Candy Company, See’s Candies, Annabelle Candy and Gimbal Brothers.

The local maintains a strong philosophy of servicing its membership. “Before COVID-19, we were visiting every shop at least every other month, but had to reduce the number of visitations because of the pandemic,” notes Gomez.

Instead of dividing the union shops in half, Gomez and Business Agent David Cheong complete membership visits together. “It is better to have us together when we visit our shops. It shows support and unity and is especially important during grievance and mediation meetings. At least 90 percent are decided in our favor,” says Gomez.

Gomez proudly admits that the frequent visits to the local’s 10 shops means, “nearly every union member knows my name.”

“I love my job. There is always something that makes my work interesting and challenging. In a way, my job is just an elevated shop steward position. Just like my years as a shop steward, I am helping out union members all day, every day,” concludes Gomez.