© Latinas in History 2008
Born,
in the copper-mining town of Miami, Arizona, on July 10, 1921, Schechter learned
responsibility early in life caring for her mother and siblings. At seventeen
years of age, she worked in the Los Angeles, California, garment industry, and
later at Lockheed Aircraft on the assembly line. A member of the International
Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, Schechter organized Mexican women. In 1948 she
successfully completed the Harvard University Trade Union Fellows Program. That
same year the union hired her as an organizer and business agent in the sportswear
division. In 1949, she ran for public office becoming the first Mexican American
member of the Los Angeles City Council and helped found the Community Service
Organization (CSO). As chair of the CSO Labor Relations Committee, Schechter supervised
educational, strike support, fund-raising, and lobbying activities, and later
added expertise on immigration to her impressive portfolio. Liaison with Congressman
Chet Holifield's congressional office, she also served as a delegate to the national
Democratic Party conventions during the Johnson administration. Schechter worked
with the Peace Corps and Project Head Start but equally important accomplishments
took place after her retirement. In 1995 she earned a baccalaureate degree in
history from California State University, Northridge, graduating magna cum laude.
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