Page 9 - Work Force June 2025

Collective Power, Collective Progress: 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.
“ Now more than ever, we must stand united, using our collective power to
protect what we’ve”
so hard to achieve.
— CSEA President Mary E. Sullivan
“So often we take
for granted what’s
going on; how we
got here, where
we came from,
the shoulders we
stand on and the
paths that we’ve
traveled,” said
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 Award was presented to Monroe County Unit President Holly Roth to recognize her accomplishments as a union leader, which includes securing four weeks of paid family
Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks to Women’s Conference attendees.
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.
Statewide Executive Vice President Richard Bebo
Statewide Treasurer Nicole Meeks
Statewide Secretary Stacey Baldwin- Deyo
June 2025
The Work Force 9
fought
Stewart- Cousins
“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.
— Jessica Ladlee
Wilkie-Fields