Page 9 - Work Force June 2025

Collective Power, Collective Progress: Collective Power, Collective Progress:
CSEA Women’s Conference inspires, empowers CSEA Women’s Conference inspires, empowers
TARRYTOWN — At our union’s
recent Statewide Women’s
Conference, participants
shared their common
experiences and built
their confidence in
taking their seat at
the table within
our union.
The biennial
conference,
which drew
more than 600
attendees, was
organized by our
union’s Standing
Women’s Committee.
“It is so important
for union women to feel
empowered and valued, both
in and out of our workplaces,” said
CSEA President Mary E. Sullivan.
“We must stand together to make
positive advances that help all
working people.”
Sullivan, who
also serves as the
committee’s officer
liaison, noted
that not only
was this the
best attended
Statewide
Women’s
Conference in
recent memory,
the conference
also featured an
impressive number
of first-time attendees,
including a record number
of men. Male attendees had the
opportunity to hear the perspectives
of CSEA women and learn how they
might support them in the workplace
and in our union.
Featured speakers included Gov.
Kathy Hochul and Senate Majority
Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, both
of whom shared their own stories
of taking on leadership roles while
balancing family life.
“I’m going to keep fighting in this
fight, and we’re going to get ahead
of this because we are New Yorkers,”
said Hochul. “We are New York
strong, and we are women and the
women of labor. There is nobody
tougher.”
Stewart-Cousins reflected on her
own experiences while touting CSEA
women as history makers.
“So often we take
for granted what’s
going on; how we
Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks to
Women’s Conference attendees.
got here, where
we came from,
the shoulders we
stand on and the
paths that we’ve
traveled,” said
Stewart-Cousins.
Stewart-
Cousins
“We get involved in
our work, in our daily lives, and we
forget that this didn’t come easy.”
Keeping with the conference
theme of “Collective Power,
Collective Progress,” the weekend
featured programs exploring how
harnessing our collective power as
union activists can yield progress in
our workplaces, communities and
beyond.
Additional conference sessions
included topics such as child care
issues, building and sustaining
women’s committees, financial
empowerment, women in labor
history and the challenges of
creating work-life balance.
The Irene Carr Leadership
Statewide Executive Vice
President Richard Bebo
Statewide Treasurer
Statewide Secretary
Nicole Meeks
Stacey Baldwin-
Deyo
Award was presented to Monroe
County Unit President Holly Roth
to recognize her accomplishments
leave for county employees. (See
more on page 12.)
CSEA Standing Women’s
Committee Chair Faye Wilkie-Fields
urged conference attendees to share
what they have learned with other
members.
“We are not
going to keep silent
with what we have
learned,” said
Wilkie-Fields. “We
have given you the
tools to go back to
your union; your
unit, wherever you are from and
teach.
You got to take the message home.
You got to share it. And we all have
work to do.”
Sullivan noted that it is more
important than ever to stay strong
as union activists, in light of
challenges facing labor.
“Now more than ever, we must
stand united, using our collective
power to protect what we’ve fought
so hard to achieve,” said Sullivan.
as a union leader, which includes
securing four weeks of paid family — Jessica Ladlee
June 2025 9
The Work Force
“
Now more than ever, we
must stand united, using
our collective power to
protect what we’ve fought
so hard to achieve.
”
— CSEA President Mary E. Sullivan