Editor’s note: The Work Force recognizes and applauds the meaningful contributions members make in the labor community through profiles of constituency groups they work with.
In this edition, we are highlighting activists who are making a difference for working people through their work with the Coalition of Labor Union Women, an AFL-CIO constituency group that addresses issues concerning labor union women.
The Work Force’s Therese Assalian met with State Dormitory Authority Local President Liz Moran, who serves as CLUW’s New York State President and as member of CLUW’s National Executive Board.
New York state has four CLUW chapters and prior to becoming president, Moran served as President of the Capital Region’s Kate Mullaney Chapter where she now serves as the chapter’s Secretary/Treasurer.
Therese Assalian (TA): How did you get started in CLUW?
Liz Moran (LM): I was attending an AFSCME conference in Milwaukee in 2011 and stopped by a CLUW table to pick up some information. The following spring, I attended a CLUW National Leadership conference and that got me connected to my local chapter and was my first exposure to labor councils. Funny how attending a conference in Las Vegas got me connected to things happening in my own backyard.
There was something exciting about the power and energy at these conferences and I thought, ‘this is for me.’ After becoming active in our Kate Mullany chapter, I eventually ran for President, and in 2018 became president of New York State CLUW.
TA: What issues are on CLUW’s national agenda right now?
LM: Last spring, I was blessed to lobby at the U.S. Capitol along with CLUW sisters from across the nation. Nationally, top legislative issues are paycheck fairness, Family and Medical Insurance Leave, Medicare for All and reproductive rights. There is also a strong push to get more women in office.
CLUW embraces, celebrates and leverages the diversity of our represented unions. CLUW has no barriers among women and that inclusiveness dates back to our founding in Chicago in 1974 and is part of our charter. We are the first women’s labor community welcoming ALL women from ALL unions.
TA: What issues are you most passionate about?
LM: The power that women possess at the polls is invigorating. In 2018, 55 percent of eligible women voters turned out to vote, surpassing about 51 percent of male voters. Of the electorate that year, 53 percent of voters were women. Female voters have exceeded the number of male voters in every election since the early 1960s. I am passionate about playing a role in helping women recognize and fulfill their power to influence and make real change. If we harness our collective power, we really could change the world!
TA: What skills have you built through CLUW? And, how has that informed your role as a labor leader and local president?
LM: I had the distinct privilege of being mentored by Ida Torres and Lois Gray through the United Association of Labor Education (UALE) Women’s School, which is sponsored and supported by CLUW.
The school, along with the CLUW leadership conferences and workshops, have provided unmatched opportunities for learning and growth. When you meet with sisters from all over the country, there is a spirit that is quite motivational, aspirational and inspirational. It energizes. Not only have I learned about legislative issues, or newly enacted laws, but I learn how these laws have real-world impact as experienced by workers in varying jobs and industries.
Here at the Dormitory Authority, for example, I faced many hurdles when I became the first female and first Latin president of our local. Hurdles that men never faced. Because I work in a male-dominated industry, it has helped me have a better understanding of what our union sisters who work in the trades experience. Those relationships influence my work here and help me to move that needle.
As a leader, you become more aware of your role and, in many ways, the responsibility that comes with that and you see yourself connected to contributing to the larger conversations taking place in the labor community. For CSEA leaders, often our jobs and those of our members interlap with other unions. I’ve been able to weave increased knowledge and leadership acumen into my role as a CSEA Local President.
TA: Conversely, how has the training and experience you’ve gained through CSEA inform your role at CLUW?
LM: CSEA has a unique and fairly successful democratic administrative structure. This is not the case in all unions. As the New York State CLUW President, I have witnessed administrative struggles CLUW
Moran
leaders experience and I have been able to offer administrative solutions that closely resemble CSEA, including by-laws structure and election guidelines. I, along with Western NY CLUW Chapter President Denise Syzmura, have represented CSEA well, but we could sure use some help. Read more about Szymura and her work with CLUW
TA: Can you share more about the benefits of constituency groups and their larger role in union building and in the labor movement?
LM: CSEA and CLUW benefit from each other at the convergence of women’s issues and worker issues. We share best practices, discuss strategies and struggles and that in turn fuels engagement and increases power. Leadership is a learning process and I felt I had a safe place to make mistakes.
The relationship between unions and constituency groups is symbiotic — issues are mirrored. There is an inter-dependent relationship between the unions and the coalitions. We benefit from each other and so does the labor community as a whole.
The labor movement isn’t about CSEA or PEF or any one union, we are about labor and that means different things to different people. Coalitions help us keep our finger on the pulse
