Throughout her lifetime, Lady Bustamante was equally a force to be reckoned with and a source of strength in the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU).

Lesser women might have been overshadowed by the towering figure of Alexander Bustamante, but the little country girl from western Jamaica, was never eclipsed by him. To the contrary, she matched him in courage and in dedication to the cause of righting the wrongs in Jamaican society, particularly those affecting the working class and the poor.

The Honourable Lady Bustamante, OJ, née Gladys Maud Longbridge, was born on March 8, 1915, in the rural Jamaica hill district of Ashton, Westmoreland, the daughter of a farmer and his housewife. She attended primary school in her native parish and, as was the custom of the time, came to the nation's capital city, Kingston, to further her education.

This she did at Tutorial College, then one of the premier private secondary schools in the island, specialising in commercial studies. There, she prepared herself for a secretarial career, becoming proficient in shorthand and typewriting.

Her entry into the world of work took her to Arlington House, then a popular restaurant and guest house on East Queen Street in Kingston. It was frequented by members of the Legislative Council, for whom it was a home away from home, especially for those who represented rural constituencies and who found Arlington House a convenient hostelry at which to stay while attending sittings of the legislature, which met in Kingston.