Member of the Week: Martha Frausto
Martha Frausto of CVS #9738 has been working for CVS and Sav-On as a Pharmacy Clerk for 23 years.
Frausto’s hobbies include gardening, riding motorcycles with her husband, military history, and Civil War reenactments.
Frausto is also currently working with the Making Change at Walmart Campaign helping workers there form a group or coalition so that they to can fight for better wages and benefits. “They ask me a lot what I get out of them signing up. I just tell them that as a human being I want them to be able to enjoy all of the things I have had the chance to. That I understand what it is like to be happy just to have a job, but I want to help them make it a job worth having. That’s what’s in it for me.”
When asked what inspired her to get more involved she said, “I wanted to insure our rights were honored, and I wanted to inspire younger workers, and make them aware of and appreciate the union presence in our store.”
Q: How would your life be different if you were not a union member?
A: “The quality of my life, and that of my daughters would be different. I raised them on my own, and without the benefits and pay we enjoy as members, things wouldn’t have been as nice.”
Q: What in your life are you most proud of?
A: “My family. When the union came to the door my daughters were still young. Someone left a card on the door and I explained to the girls what it might mean. April said, ‘So this means we’ll have a better life?’ and I told her that if we get a union that is what that means. ”
Q: If you could make a single change in the workplace, what would it be?
A: “More staffing. With all of the programs that we have to comply with we have to choose between sacrificing time with customers or getting everything done. It would be nice to be able to maintain the service we are known for and get everything we need done as well.”
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: “I love our customers, and the seniors that we see regularly.”
