Love, Fighting and a Lifetime of Organizing: Eileen Purcell’s Legacy

One thing is certain about Eileen Purcell: she means a great deal to a great many people at IBEW 1245.

That was unmistakable at the July 2026 Advisory Council meeting, where members, Executive Board members and staff took turns sharing stories about the retiring Senior Advisor to the Business Manager. There were stories of Eileen the mentor and organizer, Eileen the fighter, and Eileen the friend.

Sandi Busse, who represents PG&E’s Sacramento Division on the Advisory Council, recalled how Eileen opened her home to her when she needed a place to stay while her husband was in the hospital. Betty Trujillo, who represents Southern Area Clerical, spoke about how much she had learned from Eileen over the years. And SMUD member Steve Ross said, “I’ve never met anyone who has turned passion into action like Eileen.”

The praise makes Eileen uncomfortable. She waves it off as simply being “relational.”

And she is. She is a gifted and natural organizer and coalition-builder, with an authenticity that can’t be manufactured. But relationships alone don’t create change. You also need some fire in your belly. You need the fight.

Advisory Council member and Organizing Steward Arnaldo Lizarraga captured the two beautifully when he spoke about Eileen that day.“Love and fighting,” he said. “Love is all around us and emanating from Eileen, but so is the fight. She fights for what is fair.”

Long before she came to IBEW 1245, justice was already the throughline of her life. After earning her bachelor’s degree from Stanford and a master’s in social work from San Jose State, she spent eight years as a community organizer with Catholic Social Services in San Francisco.

Then, as Salvadorans fled unspeakable violence and persecution in the early 1980s, she helped organize emergency aid and services. She went on to help build what would become the public Sanctuary Movement. Eileen served on the SHARE Foundation’s board from 1983 to 1992 and as its executive director from 1986 to 1991, standing in solidarity with the people of El Salvador through some of the most violent years of the civil war.

By 1999, Eileen had brought her organizing experience into the labor movement, spending a decade with SEIU. Then, in 2009, IBEW 1245 Business Manager Tom Dalzell brought long-time organizing partners Fred Ross Jr. and Eileen to 1245 to help with a major campaign at NV Energy.

NV Energy had unilaterally slashed health care benefits for retirees. Eileen and Fred got to work and helped members rise up. Members and retirees walked informational picket lines. They built alliances with other unions throughout the country, religious leaders and political supporters, and their “Shame on NV Energy” social media campaign drew more than 50,000 followers.

The fight lasted three years. In the end, 1245 negotiated a settlement that made retirees whole.

Dalzell, current Business Manager Bob Dean and others in 1245 leadership would continue to invest in and build upon that approach, putting members at the heart of the union’s fights.

Dean said Eileen’s influence can be seen throughout IBEW 1245 today, particularly in the culture of member leadership she spent years helping to build.

“Eileen changed the way we think about organizing at this union,” Dean said. “She understands that fundamentally our greatest strength is our members, and that when you give people the tools, the confidence and the opportunity to lead, they will do extraordinary things. I am so grateful for everything Eileen has given to this union, but even more grateful for her friendship and counsel. We are all better off because of Eileen.”

The NV Energy fight showed what could happen when members stepped up as organizers. But building the program wasn’t going to be simple. In those early years, some within the union questioned the value of the kind of member-driven program Eileen and Fred were trying to build.

And then there was the singing.

Eileen was known to pull out a guitar and lead members in union songs, drawing on a tradition with deep roots in the labor and civil rights movements, where music had long been used to build courage, solidarity and collective spirit.

People look back on it fondly now, with a smile and an appreciation for the love and purpose Eileen poured into the work. But at the time, not everyone at 1245 quite knew what to make of it.

But Eileen kept at it. And the fights kept coming.

In 2010, PG&E’s 2,400-member Clerical Bargaining Unit entered negotiations. The union recruited and trained 120 members as “On Site Volunteers,” an early precursor to today’s Organizing Stewards. They talked with coworkers, kept members engaged and built support at the bargaining table, including gathering 2,300 signatures on a member petition.

In 2011, IBEW 1245 turned to an unconventional organizing tool for line clearance tree trimmers: a soccer tournament that brought members and their families together across employers. The tournament grew and grew, building relationships and new leaders around the motto “Friendship, Unity and Solidarity.”

During 2012 Master Contract negotiations with five major tree companies, a 42-member bilingual Vote Yes Committee mobilized coworkers, helping drive record participation and an overwhelming ratification vote.

By 2013, IBEW 1245’s Executive Board formally recognized the growing movement by creating a new position: Organizing Steward. The first class included 28 members.

A few years later came another major threat: Janus v. AFSCME. The U.S. Supreme Court case threatened fair-share fees for public-sector unions, but IBEW 1245 didn’t wait for the ruling.

Led by Eileen, 1245 launched an ambitious campaign to reach more than 2,500 public-sector members. Member volunteers held one-on-one conversations with coworkers about the value of the union and asked them to recommit as voluntary dues-paying members.

The results were extraordinary. IBEW 1245 emerged from Janus with its membership and strength intact.

Others took notice. The IBEW Ninth District and eventually the International Office adopted pieces of 1245’s model to help other locals replicate its success.

Over the last year, as immigrant workers and families faced growing uncertainty, Eileen led efforts to educate IBEW 1245 staff and members about immigrant rights in the workplace and provide them with tools to protect themselves and their coworkers.

Today, more than 120 members typically serve as Organizing Stewards each year, leading trainings, mobilizing members, working contract and political campaigns, welcoming new members and serving in leadership positions throughout the union.

The Organizing Steward program is only part of Eileen’s legacy. The rest can be seen in the many people who came through it and the countless others whose lives she touched along the way.

René Cruz Martinez is one of them. He first became involved after attending a Young Workers training at the union hall, where members learned about workers’ rights and practiced organizing skills like marching on the boss.

René eventually joined the IBEW 1245 staff, where he worked closely with Eileen. Now, as Senior Assistant Business Manager, René leads the program he and Eileen spent years building together, carrying that work forward with a new generation of Organizing Stewards. “I always ask myself, ‘What would Eileen do? What would Eileen say?’” he said.

Above all, René said he wants to preserve Eileen’s emphasis on genuine relationships. “We can get so caught up in our jobs and the work, but I think the reason why our program has been so successful is because we have genuinely grown a family.”

Business Representative Kim Camatti first met Eileen when she was a Shop Steward at SMUD and worked on the “I’m In” campaign. Kim had never organized before. Eileen became her mentor, helping her identify respected leaders at SMUD, bring them into training and build a member organizing committee.

“I can’t tell you enough how grateful I am for her mentorship and guidance,” Kim said.

But Kim also came to know Eileen the fighter. “If there was something we had to take a stand on, I would want Eileen right next to me on the front line,” she said. “Her petite stature is deceptive because she’s stronger than just about anyone I know.”

“Eileen has poured so much light and life into our staff and our members,” said Senior Assistant Business Manager Anthony Brown. “We will struggle to replicate the energy, compassion and fight she exemplifies. But she has shown us the way, and we will do our best to live up to her example. We are so much better for the years she has shared with us.”

“She connects with people in a way that’s real. She cares about you, she listens to you,” said Assistant Business Manager Bryan Carroll.

“Eileen’s impact on our local and on the labor movement as a whole is immeasurable,” said Assistant Business Manager Gerald Williams. “So many of us would not be who we are or where we are today without her. She will be greatly missed, but her retirement is incredibly well deserved. I couldn’t be happier for her.”

“A Venn diagram of all the things I’m most proud of in our local and all the things Eileen had a direct hand in building would just be a circle,” said Organizer Rick Thompson. “I’m so grateful for the role she played in cultivating my career as an organizer, and I’m in awe of the legacy she leaves behind. It has been a blessing to work with her.”

“It’s been a pleasure getting to know Eileen and working alongside her,” said Senior Business Representative Dominic McCurtain. “Her dedication and the example she set have left a lasting mark on Local 1245 and the countless members she’s helped over the years.” And with a nod to Eileen’s famous affinity for union songs, he added: “I’m still disappointed we never got around to organizing our singing group. I guess the world was spared.”

“From the very first day I met Eileen, she’s been an amazing person with an incredibly big heart,” said Senior Business Representative Francisco “Cisco” Ferreyra. “She always has a smile on her face, and she’s always been there to help me, no matter how many times I’ve called. I truly appreciate her and feel blessed to have had the opportunity to know her.”

“Eileen’s mentorship, encouragement, insight and friendship have made me a better person,” said Organizer Charlotte Stevens. “She has enriched my life and the lives of so many people beyond what words can capture.

“Eileen was my mentor, my advocate, my cheerleader and my sister,” said Organizer Melissa Echeverria. “She believed in me and brought me into the Organizing Steward program, and the opportunities I’ve had because of her changed the trajectory of my career and my life. I will always be grateful that she saw something in me before I saw it in myself.”

“When I think of Eileen, I think of the definition of solidarity,” said Business Representative Fred Aboud. “She is one of the most genuine and selfless people I have ever met. I can’t thank her enough for everything she has given to all of us.”

As Eileen prepares to retire after 17 years with IBEW 1245, she described those years by saying, “The last 17 years have been such a gift.”

“It has been a privilege to claim IBEW 1245 as my home, to work alongside each and every one of you, and to call you my sisters and brothers,” Eileen said. “I have learned so much from you, from our members.”

“We’ve demonstrated the power of solidarity and of what we can achieve when we stand together,” she said.

And underneath all of the organizing, campaigns and fights is the one thing Eileen has always placed at the center: people.

“The community, the camaraderie, the relationships are fuel for the long haul,” she said.