When Yogi Berra proclaimed, “The future ain’t what it used to be,” he obviously hadn’t met Maria Williams.

At 25, the labor activist is intelligent, spunky and strong. A contract administrator for Local 117 in Seattle, Williams’ resume is more impressive than most twice her age. Aside from overseeing 250 contracts, she is also an education coordinator and was most recently appointed to the Teamsters Human Rights Commission.

But Williams is more than a title on a business card. Hardworking and passionate, Williams is the future of the Teamsters Union—and the future is looking very bright.

“I have faith in young people to pick up the labor movement and mold it into something of their own,” Williams said. “This isn’t the kind of movement where you sit back and relax. People feel invested in it and young people are starting to see that their lives are dependant on the ability to work together and to unionize.”

Williams has seen first-hand the benefits of being in a union. During high school and college, she worked a number of nonunion jobs where she was underpaid and not well-respected. As Williams can attest, however, unionism is more than just working together for collective bargaining. The labor movement—and the Teamsters—are in her blood.

“I’ve been a Teamster my entire life. I’m a third-generation member,” she said.

What makes Williams’ membership with the Teamsters different from her father or her grandfather is the fact that she is the first woman in her family to hold a union card. And the power of unionized women, Williams said, is not something to be taken lightly.

“The role women have played in this organization is profound,” Williams said. “I’ve really felt that the sisterhood created among the Teamsters has been a priority of this organization. The Teamsters have made the woman’s perspective central to their core values.”

And Williams has every intention of carrying on the tradition of the strong, dependable Teamster woman. Like the women who came before her, Williams is a strong advocate of women’s rights and understands that while gains have been made, women haven’t yet broken the glass ceiling.

“Women have to fight just as hard to get into key power positions now as they had to decades ago,” she said. “We’re still facing a lot of the prejudices that women before us faced, but we’ve also gained some power. Unity among women is what gives us our strength and I see women using that empowering strength to continue fighting for our rights.”

Fighting for rights is what Williams does and she encourages other women—young and old, union and nonunion—to do the same. Together, she believes women can achieve equality.

“I think it takes a woman being very vocal. It takes a woman to stand up and say the fight for us isn’t over,” Williams said. “The moment we take a passive approach is when we resign our ability to continue fighting for fair wages and fair treatment.”

Though she is young, Williams isn’t afraid to stand up for herself or others. She encourages other women to reach for the stars and continue reaching throughout their entire lives.

“Women can do anything they set their minds to,” she said. “Don’t settle. Don’t settle for anything.”

Though the women who came before her have played an important role in her life, Williams thanks her father and her family for the opportunities she has been given. Gender was never an issue in her household and she hopes to see all women one day have the same experiences growing up as she did.

“Even though I’m a third-generation Teamster and I’m on the only woman in my family to be involved in the organization, there was never a sense from the men who came before me that I couldn’t do something just as well,” Williams said. “The people who came before me have told me that it’s my turn and my responsibility to make the future something worthwhile.”