24 Facts About Heidi Durham

Hildreth Durham was an American socialist feminist and labor activist with the Freedom Socialist Party and Radical Women.

In 1991, Heidi Durham was a candidate in the Seattle City Council elections on the Freedom Socialist Party ticket with Yolanda Alaniz.

Heidi Durham was born in 1953 in San Pedro, Los Angeles, California.

Heidi Durham's mother was paralyzed due to multiple sclerosis, which created a consciousness around injustices for Durham at a young age.

Heidi Durham's father was a minister who had been a conscientious objector during World War II and spoke out in favor of civil rights and against the Vietnam War.

Heidi Durham moved to the Pacific Northwest in 1971 to attend Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington.

In 1974, Heidi Durham was recruited and accepted into the all-women Electrical Trades Trainee training program, an affirmative action program designed by Clara Fraser at Seattle City Light to integrate women into male-dominated trades jobs.

Heidi Durham was the youngest trainee, having recently turned 21 when the program began.

Heidi Durham returned to City Light and was accepted as a lineworker apprentice following the court ruling.

Heidi Durham faced persistent harassment and unfair performance evaluations in which she was given worse ratings than her male colleagues that accused her of not possessing adequate strength for the job.

On July 1,1977, the day after she was given a particularly bad evaluation, Heidi Durham fell 28 feet from a pole and broke her back.

Heidi Durham was hospitalized for 13 weeks, during which learned that her union, IBEW local 77, had issued an accident report claiming the accident was her own fault because she refused to listen to the advice of her male coworkers to get out of the trade.

Heidi Durham believes that the decision to allow her to become a power station operator was motivated by the political pressure placed on City Light from Clara Fraser's lawsuit.

Heidi Durham became junior power station operator at City Light and eventually rose to the rank of senior operator.

In 1983, Heidi Durham worked with other women and pro-affirmative action men to establish the Employee Committee for Equal Rights at City Light to pressure the City of Seattle Human Rights Department to investigate instances of discrimination.

Heidi Durham helped to form and co-chair the Ad Hoc Committee for Fair Employment and Open Housing.

Heidi Durham has stated that over time, Local 77 became more friendly to her and other women electrical workers, and many rank-and-file members came to respect the members of Radical Women for being hardworking, committed, and principled.

In 1991 Heidi Durham was jointly awarded the Advocate of the Year award, along with Megan Cornish, by Washington Women in the Trades.

In 1991, Heidi Durham ran for City Council with Yolanda Alaniz, a Chicana feminist activist and member of Radical Women.

Heidi Durham ran her campaign while continuing to work full time at City Light.

Heidi Durham continued her involvement in political activism after her retirement.

Heidi Durham remained a critic of conservative labor leaders and business-unionist trends in the AFL- CIO.

Heidi Durham experienced long-term health effects from her injuries in 1977, causing her to walk with a crutch for the rest of her life.

Heidi Durham died in 2015 at age 62 from early onset Alzheimer's disease, believed to be connected her fall.