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.
Sullivan
“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.
Hochul
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.
Stewart-Cousins
“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 leave for county employees.
CSEA Standing Women’s Committee Chair Faye Wilkie-Fields urged conference attendees to share what they have learned with other members.
Wilkie-Fields
“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
CSEA Women’s Conference attendees show off sign creativity from the Visual Power workshop, at which they learned how to craft creative signs that give a powerful message. CSEA Rochester Area Retirees Local activist Bess Watts, far left, and Anne Tischer, second from left, led the session. (Photo by Wendi Bowie.)
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- Statewide Executive Vice President Richard Bebo
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- Statewide Treasurer Nicole Meeks
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- Statewide Secretary Stacey Baldwin-Deyo
