Staff

The Local 770 Team
Dedicated to member service!

	Ricardo F. Icaza, President (213) 487-7070 Mr. Icaza has been a member of Local 770 since 1956, and has served in its staff several capacities, including Research Assistant, Organizer, Business Representative and Secretary-Treasurer. He has been President of Local 770 since 1981. In addition to his duties with Local 770, Mr. Icaza is the President of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, Treasurer of the Food and Drug Council, and a Vice President of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA). He also serves as one of the union trustees of the Southern California United Food and Commercial Workers Unions and Food Employers Joint Benefit and Pension Funds. Mr. Icaza is a founding member of the United Latinos of the UFCW. On September 26, 2001, President Icaza was appointed by Governor Gray Davis as a member of the Trustees of the California State University where he served for several years. He is also a Board member of the National Association for Hispanic Elderly. Mr. Icaza holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from UCLA and has pursued legal courses at USC School of Law.
	John Grant, Secretary-Treasurer (213) 487-7070 John Grant has been an active Local 770 union member since 1976. John worked as a meat packer for 9 years at the Vernon slaughterhouse, Farmer John. During that time, he served as a shop steward, picket captain, and bargaining committee member. In 1977, he was reinstated by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) after being illegally fired for strike-related activities. In 1985, John joined Local 770 as a Union Representative. He has since served as a trustee for the pension and medical benefit trusts, Director of the Packinghouse Division, and as Local 770's In-House Counsel. He has served on the Southern California Plant Closing Committee, Executive Board of the Los Angeles City Workforce Investment Board, a founding member on the Los Angeles Committee on Safety and Health, the Advisory Board of the LATTC Labor Center, the Executive Committee of Housing LA (successfully advocating for more low cost housing), and the Los Angeles Food Policy Committee. John Grant graduated Phi Beta Kappa from UC, Santa Barbara (1973, B.A. in Urban Studies), Loyola Law School, Los Angeles (J.D. 1976) and Los Angeles Trade Technical College Labor Center (1984, Degree in Labor Studies).
	Martel Fraser, Recorder (805) 437-7263 Martel Fraser is the Recorder and Trustee for UFCW 770. She began organizing at the age of 16 and has continued advocating for improved working conditions for low and middle income workers as a Union member for the last forty years. She is the President of the Tri-Counties Central Labor Council, an organization representing sixty-five unions and 83,000 members in Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo Counties. She has served on the Board of Directors for numerous community organizations, County Advisory Boards, and the Ventura Planning Commision. She currently serves on the Ventura County Workforce Investment Board, Working Blue Democratic Club, and the steering committee for Middle Class Defense Coalition. These organizations provide a voice, job training, and actions to both promote and reesolve issues for low and middle income workers.
	Kathy Finn, Director of Collective Bargaining, Research & Education (213) 201-7119 Ms. Finn has been with UFCW Local 770 since 1997. Ms. Finn began representing day laborers while still in law school and then, after graduating in 1990, worked for the union-side labor law firm that represents Local 770 as well as other UFCW Locals. Finn currently serves as a trustee on the Southern California UFCW Health & Welfare Fund and the Pension Fund. She also assists in negotiating many of Local 770's contracts and is passionate about ensuring that our members' health and pension benefits are protected. Kathy Finn received a bachelors degree from UC Santa Barbara in 1986 and a law degree from UCLA in 1990.
	Paul Edwards, Field Director (805) 437-7236 Taught at an early age to honor and recognize the sacrifices of those who came before him, Paul Edwards began attending union meetings and walking picket lines at the age of five in his hometown of Chicago. His grandfather was a Teamsters truck driver in the 40’s and his father, Ken Edwards was a leader of the Retail Clerks Union in the 50's. Paul served as a union representative for 15 years before becoming Local 770's Field Director overseeing all field activities for union representatives in the Food and Drug divisions. In 2001, Paul helped found and is currently the President of UFCW Local 770 Icaza Foundation, a nonprofit charitable foundation that raises money for leukemia and other worthy local charities. Paul also serves as a delegate to the L.A. County Federation of Labor as well as the Tri-County Central Labor Council. Paul graduated from Indiana University (BA in Political Science with a minor in Economics).
	Willie Rodriguez, Director (213) 201-7128 Mr. Hansen began his union activism in 1962 when he became an apprentice meat cutter in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Today, he is the International President of the UFCW, a 1.3 million-member labor organization. Hansen is a leader and one of the founding architects of the Change to Win Federation—uniting seven unions, representing six million workers, dedicated to restoring the American Dream in the 21st century—and serves as the chair of the federation’s Immigration Taskforce. In addition, Hansen is President of Union Network International—a global union, uniting 15 million workers in 120 countries.
	Rigo Valdez, Director of Organizing (213) 201-7120 Mr. Hansen began his union activism in 1962 when he became an apprentice meat cutter in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Today, he is the International President of the UFCW, a 1.3 million-member labor organization. Hansen is a leader and one of the founding architects of the Change to Win Federation—uniting seven unions, representing six million workers, dedicated to restoring the American Dream in the 21st century—and serves as the chair of the federation’s Immigration Taskforce. In addition, Hansen is President of Union Network International—a global union, uniting 15 million workers in 120 countries.