October 9, 2026 — The PEF Statewide Women’s Committee is proud to feature one of our very own committee members, Cynthia Walker, RN and highlight her experience attending the United Association for Labor Education (UALE) Northeast Summer School for Union Women. Her participation this summer represents another goal accomplished by our committee: providing a scholarship that creates opportunities for our members to learn, grow, develop their leadership skills, and bring that knowledge and experience back to strengthen our union.
Sometimes leadership begins with an invitation. For Cynthia, an RN at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, that invitation came many years ago when a fellow nurse encouraged her to attend her first PEF Convention.
“I didn’t know anything about Convention,” Walker recalled. But her colleague suggested that attending would give her the opportunity to know the union better. “She gave me the forms to sign…I got the members’ signatures, you know she guided me through the whole process.” Walker laughed as she recalled: “I went to Convention and a time was had. A time was had!”
She met members from across the state, experienced the camaraderie of the union and found people who were welcoming and inclusive. Most importantly, she began to see PEF as more than an organization to which she belonged. It was a place where she could participate, learn, and eventually lead.
Leadership development remains one of the priorities of the PEF Statewide Women’s Committee. We believe that when we provide women with opportunities to develop their skills, build confidence, make connections and discover their own leadership potential, that investment comes back to our union. That is why the committee was proud to provide Cynthia with a scholarship to attend the 49th UALE Northeast Summer School for women in unions and worker organizations, held this past July.
Cynthia was prepared to make the personal investment necessary to attend the Summer School on her own. She wasn’t asking what would be paid for or whether she would be reimbursed. She was simply interested in the experience and that caught our attention. The scholarship was about more than helping with the cost of attending a program. It was about saying to one of our members: We see your interest. We see your potential. And we want to invest in your growth.
For Cynthia, receiving that support “meant the world.”
“I had never been to a labor school before,” she said. “I didn’t have a clue what I was signing up for.”
She went anyway. And she came home changed. She trusted that the opportunity to learn would be worthwhile. Cynthia recalls her first impression was the energy of the women and the environment. This year’s Summer School was held at the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies in New York City, with the theme “Resist · Rebuild · Renew: Sowing Seeds of Solidarity.”
Cynthia was surrounded by a variety of women from occupations and unions she had never imagined meeting in the same classroom.
“These were powerful women,” Cynthia said. “I never saw anything like this in my life.”
She was particularly struck by the women working in fields traditionally dominated by men. There were bus operators and train conductors. Women working in theater, costumes, audiovisual production, filmmaking, television, advertising and marketing. There were women just beginning their union involvement and women who were experienced union activists. A variety of women of different ages, from different backgrounds, but all were workers and they all had stories.
“I couldn’t believe it. They were as strong, as strong could be.” For Cynthia, the Summer School quickly became about much more than attending classes, it became about sisterhood.
When asked if there was a workshop, conversation, or moment that left an impression on her, Cynthia shared an experience she had in a health and safety workshop. As a nurse and safe-staffing advocate, Cynthia is very familiar with workplace health and safety from the healthcare perspective; however, when she listened to the female transit workers talk about the lack of access to clean, safe and appropriate restroom facilities for the women operating the buses and trains, she was appalled.
“We never get on the train and think that the conductor has to go to the bathroom,” Cynthia observed. “We get on a train and think, when is our next destination?’
Cynthia discussed learning from another woman in the workshop who described her work with costumes for Broadway productions. Cynthia learned about older costumes, about chemicals used in connection with fire protection and cramped backstage spaces where workers and performers sometimes must change.
“You go to a Broadway show, you sit up, you enjoy,” Cynthia said. “But you never think of the hazards that are going on behind the scenes.”
Those conversations stayed with her because they expanded her understanding of occupational health and safety.
The Summer School created a space where women could talk openly about those experiences, learn from one another and, most importantly, exchange information. That sense of connection changed the experience from education alone into something larger. Women were telling their truths, hearing the truths of other women and realizing they did not have to tackle workplace problems in isolation.
“You don’t have to feel defeated,” Cynthia said. “You don’t have to feel like, ‘I’m the only one.’ You don’t have to feel, ‘Oh, I’m going to get in trouble,’ because there are avenues of support.” Connections were made, telephone numbers were shared and email addresses were exchanged. “It’s networking,” she explained. “It’s not that we just come to class and forget about each other.” Cynthia may not remember the names of every woman she met, but she remembers something that may be even more important: She knows how to find them.
The real measure of leadership education isn’t simply what happens while we are sitting in a classroom. It’s what happens after we leave. What do we bring back to our coworkers? Are we more willing to speak up? Do we ask different questions? Do we organize differently? Do we encourage another woman to get involved? Do we recognize possibilities in ourselves that perhaps we didn’t recognize before? When asked what she planned to bring back from Summer School, Cynthia immediately corrected the question. “I already brought it back.”
Since attending Summer School, Cynthia has moved forward with labor-management activity at SUNY Downstate, bringing her team together for a labor-management meeting after years of inconsistent meetings. She is also preparing to lead efforts to rebuild health and safety activities at her workplace, another area she says has not had an active committee in years. Cynthia directly connects some of that renewed energy to Summer School.
There was no hesitation when she was asked what she would tell another PEF member who sees an opportunity like Summer School but isn’t sure whether to apply.
“Please come,” she said. Then she reconsidered. “I would beg them — please come.” Why? “It was a life-changing experience for me,” Cynthia said. “And I know it would be for them.”
The PEF Statewide Women’s Committee hopes to offer another union sister the opportunity when the UALE Summer School celebrates its 50th anniversary at Penn State University in July 2027. The committee continues fundraising with the goal of helping another member experience the education, sisterhood and leadership development that Cynthia found so meaningful. But her story also carries another message: Invest in yourself. Sometimes we don’t know exactly where an opportunity will lead. Sometimes we don’t know anyone else in the room. Sometimes we don’t even know exactly what we signed up for. Go anyway!
At the end of our conversation, I asked Cynthia to finish one sentence:
“I went to Summer School because ________, and I came home with ________.”
Her answer captured nearly everything we had discussed. She went because a union sister recommended the experience. She trusted that recommendation, even though she had no idea what the experience would bring. What did she bring home?
“I left there with an experience that I will never, ever forget,” she said. “It was a life-changing experience.”
Perhaps that is the real story of Cynthia Walker and Summer School. She walked into Summer School not knowing exactly what to expect. She walked out wanting to do more.
We want Cynthia’s story to encourage other women throughout PEF to consider taking that next step. Maybe you have never considered yourself a “union leader.” Maybe you have never attended a labor school. Maybe you have never spoken at a union meeting, gone to a microphone at convention, attended a lobby day, facilitated a workshop or served on a committee. That doesn’t mean you can’t start. Sometimes leadership begins with curiosity. Sometimes it begins when someone recognizes potential in you. And sometimes it begins when you see an opportunity and simply decide you want to be there. Cynthia Walker made that decision. The PEF Statewide Women’s Committee was proud to help her get there. And now we want to know: Who’s next?