When Angie Woods is not taking patients’ X-rays at Keck Hospital of USC, she’s on a roller derby rink as part of the Scream Queens, a team that competes in the Los Angeles Derby Dolls Roller Derby League.
“That’s where I learned to be aggressive and outspoken,” Woods said of the all-women’s league that blends roller skating with a punk rock attitude and the showmanship of professional wrestling.
That outspokenness serves her well as a union steward, where she’s either defending a coworker from a contract violation by a manager or “playing offense” representing them at a grievance meeting.
“I like that I can help people understand their rights,” Woods said.
That caring attitude is also what drove her into health care.
Woods said she didn’t want to be a nurse and deal with blood or needles (though she’s found out that’s unavoidable in a hospital), and a personality career quiz revealed she had an aptitude for radiology.
Now she works with all types of patients in all types of settings and helps her coworkers with all types of issues.
“I want to make it easier for them because life is hard as it is,” Woods said. “I’m thinking, ‘Let me help you make it a little smoother.’”
To help her coworkers defend their rights, Woods relies on the contract booklet, which she keeps in the Notes app on her phone at all times. She also keeps a physical copy in her locker.
“Having it in my phone also makes it easier to send the link to my coworkers,” she said.
And when she doesn’t know the answer to a question or is unsure, Woods knows she can call on her NUHW organizer.
“Knowing that I have the support of the union representative, it feels better to be approached by people for help,” said Woods, who has twice attended NUHW’s Frontlines Leadership Conference, the annual gathering of union stewards NUHW organizes every year.
“It’s definitely worth going,” Woods said. “Talking to other stewards from other hospitals, I learned they were experiencing the same things that we experience at our hospital.”
For someone who loves being part of a team, Woods wants to make sure that her teammates on the job are always put in the best position to win for their patients.
“It’s very important that we know our rights,” Woods said. “That’s the foundation for us to be a winning team.”
