Page 4 - Work Force March 2024

President Mary E. Sullivan in touch with
Wor k Force
Women lead the
way to advance
working people
Wor k Force ISSN 1522-1091
Official publication of
CSEA Local 1000, AFSCME, AFL-CIO 143 Washington Ave. Albany, NY 12210-2303
Mary E. Sullivan, President
CAROLINE S. BOARDMAN
Director of Communications and Publisher
MATHEW L. CANTORE
Deputy Director of Communications
JANICE GAVIN
Editor
JASON D. HOSIER
Graphic Production Specialist
KATE POHLMANN
Graphic Production Specialist
BOBBY COMPANI
Digital Content Coordinator
JOELLE LUCENTE
Communications Assistant
Communications Specialists:
Long Island Region:
WENDI BOWIE
(631) 462-0030
Metropolitan Region:
DAVID GALARZA
(212) 406-2156
Southern Region:
JESSICA LADLEE
(845) 831-1000
Capital Region:
THERESE ASSALIAN
(518) 782-4400
Central Region:
NICHOLAS NEWCOMB
(315) 728-3375
Western Region:
VACANT
Headquarters:
JILL ASENCIO
(518) 257-1276
The Publications Committee:
Karen Bright Tim Finnigan Michele Kiuber
Marnie Rounds Chris Vogel
The Work Force (USPS 0445-010)
is published monthly by
The CSEA Publication Office:
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4 The Work Force
March 2024
The
CTSEA Family,
hank you for reelecting me! It is
an honor and a privilege to serve another term as your Statewide President. Congratulations and thank you to all the candidates who will help lead our union forward.
I do not take my responsibilities as a leader lightly. We continue to face enemies like the Freedom Foundation that seek to destroy us, as well as employers who don’t always or often have our best interests in mind. I am up to the challenge!
It is fitting that I start my second term as your President in March, which is Women’s History Month. I would not
be your Statewide President today if it were not for the hard work, sacrifice
and tenacity of so many amazing and incredible women who blazed the trail.
I have always drawn inspiration from women who worked toward workers’ rights. A great example of this kind of determination is Clara Lemlich. She was an immigrant from Ukraine who worked at a shirtwaist factory in New York in the early 20th century. She became an active member of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union and organized several strikes to improve labor conditions, even at the expense of her own safety. Lemlich was once beaten badly while on a picket and hospitalized, but she continued the fight. In 1909, she led a strike of 20,000 workers that lasted months, but ultimately
resulted in winning higher wages and shorter workdays from several factories.
Lemlich is just one example of the fights that union women have led over history. Unions have made great strides in gaining fair wages, affordable health care and better working conditions.
More than a century after Lemlich’s fight, we continue to see women help lead the way to advance working people, yet women are still fighting for equality.
There is still a gender pay gap, with women generally making 84 cents to every dollar a man makes. The pay gap is even greater for most non-Caucasian women. We continue to face assaults on women’s rights, including health care, reproductive rights and parental leave. We need to use our voices to ensure that these rights are protected today and for generations to come.
Once again, thank you for placing
your trust in me to lead you. I could not be more honored and humbled to be elected to another term as your Statewide President. Let’s continue to accomplish great things as we move forward together!
In solidarity,
Mary E. Sullivan, President