T
risha Taketa, Hawaii Carpenters Union service representative, believes her field has endless opportunities to grow as long as she sticks to it — a mindset she uses to guide the local chapter of Sisters in the Brotherhood as its designated point-of-contact.
Coming from a line of carpenters, Taketa’s father advised her to avoid the industry. She ignored him and has since built a successful career both on and off the field.
Having only been recently appointed as Hawai‘i’s Sisters in the Brotherhood point-of-contact, Taketa is currently laying the foundation for how the organization will evolve. However, as more sisters from across the islands are expressing interest, Taketa is well on her way to establishing reliable resources and strong networks.
Question: Can you describe your current role?
Answer: I am now a service rep with Hawaii Carpenters Union. We service the members with whatever questions, if they need assistance, job seeking, dispatching, everything. The members come first.
Q: What interested you in pursuing carpentry?
A: I was a manager for a supermarket and I wanted to do something different. I’m second-generation carpenters union drywaller, and as a joke, I told my dad, “Oh, maybe I’ll be a drywaller,” and he’s like, “No.” … I thought, well, if it doesn’t work out, … I can always go back and see something else. It worked out great. I love it. … Working in the field with hands is amazing.
Q: How have you seen yourself grow professionally and personally over your career?
A: I can say I’ve always been fairly personable, but my patience … has grown absolutely. … I mean, I was an instructor, I learned how to work with other types of people. … So it’s kind of those aspects that … helped me a lot in what’s right now.
Q: What motivated you to join Sisters in the Brotherhood?
A: [Carpentry] was considered a very male-dominant trade, … but the Sisters in the Brotherhood program was designed to help with retention and also helping sisters to succeed in the male-dominant field. … In doing so, they thought, “Okay, so if we can get sisters together, they can also lean on each other.” It’s what … creates a platform where they could feel safe discussing certain issues, whether it’s life, work, maybe even dealing with difficult people.
Q: How has your perspective or approaches changed since joining Sisters in the Brotherhood?
A: Since joining Sisters in the Brotherhood, I would say my perspective hasn’t changed, I guess [it] deepened, because … I joined … with a hard-head mentality to begin with, and I decided I’m going to make [carpentry] work no matter what. And [my perspective] strengthened in that sense, because I was able to help others see differently and not give in.
Q: Can you describe Sisters in Brotherhood’s offerings?
A: We do have a Sisters in the Brotherhood conference. … This is going to be where we select a handful of sisters and we take them to the International Training Center in [Las] Vegas.
Within the Sisters In The Brotherhood program we [also] have many programs and resources available to help our sisters in the trade such as assistance programs (childcare, homeowners, energy, etc.), women’s mental health programs and info on nonprofit organizations that can help.
Q: Have there been any particular challenges with establishing the Hawai‘i branch?
A: No, not so much. … But I guess I would say the overall thing would be getting anything we can get. We can get them to join, if this is their passion, that we can help retain. So far, the women I’ve spoken to, sometimes they do feel discouragement, but they come around. And for the most part, they like to build.
Q: Do you have any future plans for the local chapter of Sisters in the Brotherhood?
A: For the local chapter, because I’m still fairly new in my role, I’m still trying to get everything together, and then we’ll see how things go from there. I would say we are already on a really good track, and I just want to keep moving in that straightforward direction.
Q: What is your go-to local snack?
A: Hurricane mixed popcorn.
