January 9, 2025 — Greetings and salutations from the chair of the Statewide Women’s Committee! I would first like to wish all my union siblings a healthy, happy, and prosperous new year filled with love, light, and laughter. Since the last report of the committees’ events and activities, the Statewide Women’s Committee continues to work on building and growing the membership and developing activities and events of interest for members to participate in.
I am happy to report that we held a very successful meet and greet during the 46th annual PEF Convention in Syracuse last September. The theme for our event was “We Deserve Good Things.” The location of the event, the Parkview Hotel, was off site from the main activities of the Convention, but the size and warmth of the space made for a relaxed setting that allowed the attendees, current members and new members, to engage easily and informally with each other. We had a great mix of members, from way up in PEF Region 3 and 4 all the way down to Regions 8 through 12.
As members arrived, they were given a survey and a raffle ticket. The raffle tickets were for a chance to win a new Statewide Women’s Committee t-shirt, which existing committee members proudly wore, and a spa basket that was donated by President Wayne Spence.
The survey gathered information from the attendees about the types of events they’d be interested in and the frequency at which such events and meetings should be held. If you would like to complete a survey, you can reach out to me at Michele.Rosello@pef.org and include “survey” in the subject line.
As the newly appointed chair of the Statewide Women’s Committee, I acknowledged and thanked Region 11 Coordinator Bernadette O’Connor, who had first appointed me to the position of chair of the Regions 10 & 11 Women’s Committee. I also thanked Scarlett Ahmed, the former chairperson of the committee, for recommending me to the President to succeed her.
I am happy to announce that next month I will be traveling to meet more members who are interested in joining and participating in the Statewide Women’s Committee at the upcoming Regions 1-5 Leadership Conference, which will be held in Ithaca, Feb. 21-23. I look forward to learning about the interests of these members and how the committee can support and be a resource to them.
I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the aftermath of feelings some members may have experienced following the U.S. presidential election. I ask that we give each other grace and make space for ourselves and others who may still be experiencing unpredictable waves of anger, confusion, and hopelessness.
In an effort to demonstrate our collective strength and demand and defend our freedoms, I invite anyone interested to join the People’s March for Women’s Rights on Jan. 18, 2025. There are several marches being held in different parts of the country on that date, from Washington, D.C., to New York City and several areas throughout New York. If you are interested in attending the New York City march, please contact me at Michele.Rosello@pef.org and put in the subject line “Women’s March.” You can also visit www.peoplesmarch.com for details or to see if there is a march or action near you.
The tentative planning guide for the Statewide Woman’s Committee continues to be developed. I have involved myself in a variety of constituency groups in order to network and collaborate with other union women’s groups. As a reminder, March is Women’s Herstory Month and if there is a particular activity or event that you would like to participate in or host, please let me know by contacting me at Michele.Rosello@pef.org with the subject line “Women’s Herstory.”