Member Spotlight: Glayce Miranda-Sena

Because I was undocumented for a long “ time, I ended up working for someone that used my status against me and didn’t pay me.“ -Glayce Miranda-Sena Glayce Miranda-Sena remembers the days when she worked back-to-back, 12-to-14-hour shifts, at a pizza shop and then at a convenience store. The hours were compensated for with low to no pay and no benefits.

“I was working extra hours, with no overtime,” Glayce said of her career before going into the construction field. “Because I was undocumented for a long time, I ended up working for someone that used my status against me and didn’t pay me,” recalled Glayce, who was born in Brazil and came to the U.S. in 2005, fleeing violence in her native country. “As soon as I got my (legalization) papers, I said “‘I’m done with this, I’m going to join the union.’”

Glayce, 39, who lives in Woburn, was awarded the John A. Penney Memorial Scholarship late last year in support of her ongoing electrical trade studies at the Joint Apprenticeship & Training Center of Boston.

She began her apprenticeship in the fall of 2020, working four days per week for the J&M Brown Company, and expects to graduate from the electrical apprenticeship program in 2025 as a licensed journeyperson.

“It’s hard when you don’t have healthcare. Before IBEW Local 103, I couldn’t get sick. I couldn’t call in sick. I had to work,” Glayce said. She’s especially relieved that her spouse, whom she married in 2018, is now covered by her health insurance. “She has everything that I have,” Glayce said. “I know that if something happens to me, god forbid, she’ll be all set. That’s real peace of mind.”