Life has not always been easy for Jimmy Matta, but he has shown that hard work can make a difference. He grew up in Washington with his parents who were immigrants from Guatemala. Although he didn’t take the right path in high school, he ending up meeting some people who helped him turn his life around. He instead became a carpenter and realized he was very good at it, and at only the age of 20 he opened up his own business. Matta was able to listen to others and work hard to be able to bring himself from the bottom up.
Ever since he was young he has been fighting for the rights of struggling workers. At 16 he and all the workers believed they deserved 25 cents more for their hard work. Matta took the initiative and went to the company and convinced them to pay them more. He was proud of the result and that it was a collective effort, which he later found, is one of the foundations of a union. He then studied up on law and how the system worked and understanding that there was a political process. When asked about his greatest accomplishment he brought up a man Roberto Maestas who was the director of the program El Centro de la Raza in Seattle. He talked about the part of his past when he was involved in gangs and that this man gave him respect. He taught him that people from all different backgrounds need to come together so we can live in peace, because everyone is not much different from each other. His son was one who also helped turn his life around. A few days after he was born he realized he wanted to be there for him, and for his son to grow up and be proud of his father.
One of his mentors in his career was Eric Franklin who told him that everyone needs an opportunity, but that it is up to them if they want to succeed or not. He taught him that there is unionism, which is about the people, making sure they have benefits, the brotherhood concept. The other side is the mechanics of the union which is the non human aspect of setting the budget, making sure paperwork is in and that everyone is expanding their knowledge. He told him that you need to find the right balance between them, or else there is no way to grow.
The values he felt he was committed to most was to do unto others what you want done to you. He said he believes no one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes, and as long as there is loyalty you can fix anything. He said his father influenced him a lot. Matta said he ended up not being able to accomplish what he wanted when he immigrated to the US because things were different back then. So he taught him that you have to wake up early and work hard, because nothing comes for free. His father also had said that if he works hard now he will be able to play later, so Matta took this literally and worked as hard as he could. With that he has struggled with finding time for himself and his family, but has come a long way. He has a daughter and a son and three sisters and he enjoys watching his son play sports and watching UFC and boxing.