Hopkins started her career as a tobacco stemmer at the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. After the 1943 death of a coworker, Hopkins and others organized a
walkout. City workers in other professions joined in the strike, and eventually more than 10,000 people walked picket lines outside of the company's headquarters. Local 22 was racially integrated and led primarily by Black women. It was the only union in the history of Reynolds Tobacco. Describing how complaints increased after the union was formed, Hopkins explained that people had been too afraid to complain before the formation of the union, "I've got to work. I'm head of a household. I'm feeding children. Even though you ain't making but $9.35, that $9.35 meant survival. And once we got the union, they felt like, well, I've got some protection. I've got somebody that really cares." Hopkins was disparaged and received death threats for her actions. Local press and the Reynolds leadership engaged in
red-baiting and anti-union efforts, and Local 22 lost a decertification election in 1950. ==Later activism and legacy==