Sisters and Brothers:
I want to let you know how grateful I am to have been elected by you to serve as our president for the next four years. I am so honored you have trusted me with the leadership of our great union, and I want you to know that it’s something I take very seriously. I will continue to do my best to lead our union forward and fight for all our members.
As someone active in our union for more than 35 years, I know how important it is to have leaders at the top who have both a vision for the future and the best interests of all our members at heart. I believe that you made the right choice by electing a leadership team that will help us face the challenges we have ahead of us and make the progress we need to make. We will not simply stand still. We can and must surge forward.
Equally challenging is having a union that is more inclusive than exclusive. This is something I’ve spoken about a lot and truly believe in. Our union is a cross-section of America, and we have many differences that could end up separating us. We are a union of different genders, ages, socioeconomic backgrounds, political beliefs, ethnicities, workplaces and more. Instead of allowing these differences to divide us, which is what management would prefer, we must celebrate our diversity and embrace everything we have in common. I truly believe we share more in common than what divides us. We only survive and succeed when we unite and come together. If we exclude people from participating in our union, we fail at our core mission of “united we stand.”
So, I will work hard over the next few years to build us a better union: stronger, more inclusive and with a more involved membership. I will do so by enhancing our communications, our education and our opportunities for involvement. I hope you will join with me in these efforts.
I look forward to working with you all as willing partners and participants. Together, we will make our union stronger into the future.
In solidarity,
Mary E. Sullivan, President
