Carr
ALBANY — Irene Carr was never one to sit back and let change happen.
Throughout her four-decade union career that included 17 years as Statewide Secretary, Carr often took the lead in advancing issues that are traditionally of concern to women, including affordable child care, pay equity and increasing training opportunities.
Often called a “trailblazer” for her work, Carr’s accomplishments not only advanced the lives and careers of working women, but helped expand leadership opportunities for women in our union.
“Irene Carr was a true champion for women’s rights, but she also believed and advocated on behalf of working families,” said CSEA President Mary E. Sullivan. “She worked diligently to secure access to affordable child care for state workers because she viewed it as not only something that benefited working mothers but also something that was essential to the well-being of the entire family.
She was also an advocate for and worked to create support for formation of the Black Caucus, now the Minorities Caucus as well as CSEA’s Standing Women’s Committee.
She was a mentor, a respected leader and a She-ro for our union.”
A strong voice
Former CSEA Statewide Secretary Irene Carr speaks with a local television station about child care issues at a groundbreaking ceremony for a Wappingers Falls daycare center, circa 1996.
Carr worked at Hartwick College and the Veterans Service Agency early in her career, and began working at the State University of New York at Oneonta in the late 1950s.
She became a CSEA activist and eventually became our union’s local president at SUNY Oneonta and later served as Central Region Secretary. She became our union’s Statewide Secretary in 1976, serving until 1993.
During Carr’s era, leadership opportunities for women in our union were limited and elected secretaries were often expected to take meeting notes, as opposed to participating in decision making.
Carr was determined to play an active role in our union and urged other women in leadership roles to have strong voices. She also served as a mentor to many of CSEA’s women activists who came later.
As a CSEA officer, Carr led the way in keeping members’ spirits and motivation strong at union conferences and other events by leading choruses of “Solidarity Forever.”
Trailblazer
A single mother when she began her career, Carr also realized that “work and family issues,” as she referred to issues traditionally of concern to women, needed to be a priority in our union.
After attending the National Women’s Conference in 1977, Carr began her work to advance issues that concern working women.
She led the way in forming our union’s first Women’s Committee and served as the committee’s first chair. She also chaired AFSCME’s Women’s Advisory Committee for many years.
Carr played a key role in boosting training and job advancement opportunities, pay equity adjustments for women and minorities, improved workstation technology and worksite child care centers for state employees.
Irene Carr, standing, second from left, visits one of the state worksite daycare centers that she was key to establishing, circa late 1980s.
Her work in advancing affordable child care was particularly important to Carr, who helped establish 54 worksite child care facilities at state agencies. She was considered a leading national advocate for affordable worksite child care.
As she retired, Carr told “The Public Sector,” as CSEA’s official publication was then called, that one of her goals was to take training and personal development courses that she had encouraged other members to take, but couldn’t find time to take herself. She passed away in 2004, shortly before the CSEA Women’s Conference that year, which she had been planning to attend.
Continuing legacy
Thirty years after she retired as Statewide Secretary, Carr’s legacy continues to inspire our union members.
CSEA recognizes Carr’s accomplishments through our union’s Irene Carr Leadership Award, which honors a member who is continuing her mission of defending and furthering the rights of women and families.
CSEA is seeking nominations for the award, which will be presented at our union’s Women’s Conference in April. The deadline for nominations is Feb. 13, 2023.
Learn more about Carr and download the nomination form at cseany.org.
