Hattie Canty, born in 1933 in rural Alabama, would go on to be a leading force in the labor movement, championing the causes of organized labor and the Civil Rights movement. Prior to her union activism, Canty moved from place to place in search of work that could sustain her, her 10 children, and her ailing husband. When she was ultimately widowed, she took a job as a room attendant at the Maxim Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
It was there that she joined her first labor union, the Las Vegas Hotel and Culinary Workers Union Local 226. She became deeply involved in the work of the Local, quickly taking on an organizing role and talking to her coworkers about the importance of joining the union and fighting for a fair contract. When recounting her time with the CWU, she spoke of why she personally fought so hard for the union, “I did it because at this time, I’m a single mother with all those babies and I needed that union salary.”
Canty’s fierce leadership as a rank-and-file member during negotiations led to her eventually being on the Executive Board and having a seat at the bargaining table. In 1990, she was elected the CWU’s first Black female rank-and-file president in history.