{"id":8103,"date":"2025-11-13T10:16:37","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T15:16:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/?p=8103"},"modified":"2025-11-20T09:32:41","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T14:32:41","slug":"my-first-somos-25-years-in-the-making","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-43-no-11\/my-first-somos-25-years-in-the-making\/","title":{"rendered":"My first SOMOS, 25 years in the making\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"My<\/p>\n

\"My
Joe Cocci, front right, attends the annual Labor Breakfast with the PEF delegation on the final morning of SOMOS, Nov. 8, 2025.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

November 21, 2025 —<\/em> As I start my 25th year at PEF, spanning eight administrations and four presidents, I was invited by President Wayne Spence to attend the SOMOS conference for the first time. It was eye-opening in the best way.<\/span><\/p>\n

The days started early and were long.<\/span> \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

From the moment I arrived, it was clear SOMOS isn\u2019t just another conference. The halls were alive with energy \u2014 elected officials, labor leaders, and community advocates participating in presentations, panel discussions, and face-to-face conversations, all focused on making a difference. For PEF, having a seat at the table matters \u2014 and we don\u2019t get that seat without showing up.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the standout moments for me was a workshop called\u202f<\/span>\u201cEmpowering People in an AI World: Education, Equity, and the Future of Work.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u202fPresident Spence participated in a panel discussion with State Senators Julia Salazar and Kristen Gonzalez and Assemblymember Alex Bores about how artificial intelligence is reshaping jobs and education \u2014 and how labor must have a voice in that transformation.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Day of Service that has become a tradition of SOMOS wasn\u2019t a photo op; it was about giving back to a community that\u2019s too often denied opportunity and hope. This year, the PEF team visited Escuela Elemental Dr. Julio J. Henna, a local elementary school in San Juan. We rolled up our sleeves alongside other union members to clean, paint, and help revitalize the school grounds. Together, we planted flowers and trees and built new swings.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The entire experience reminded me why showing up as a union matters \u2014 having a seat at the table starts with being in the room. I\u2019m grateful to President Spence for giving me the opportunity to attend SOMOS and represent PEF at such a meaningful event.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

November 21, 2025 — As I start my 25th year at PEF, spanning eight administrations and four presidents, I was invited by President Wayne Spence to attend the SOMOS conference…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"division":[],"allowed_regions":[],"allowed_divisions":[],"class_list":["post-8103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","issue-volume-43-no-11"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMy first SOMOS, 25 years in the making\u00a0 - PEF Communicator<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-43-no-11\/my-first-somos-25-years-in-the-making\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"My first SOMOS, 25 years in the making\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"November 21, 2025 — As I start my 25th year at PEF, spanning eight administrations and four presidents, I was invited by President Wayne Spence to attend the SOMOS conference...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-43-no-11\/my-first-somos-25-years-in-the-making\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PEF Communicator\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-13T15:16:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-20T14:32:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Cocci-Header.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"ccanham\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"ccanham\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-43-no-11\\\/my-first-somos-25-years-in-the-making\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-43-no-11\\\/my-first-somos-25-years-in-the-making\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"ccanham\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0677b03b1fcdadfe00f4e905b97b90e4\"},\"headline\":\"My first SOMOS, 25 years in the making\u00a0\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-13T15:16:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-20T14:32:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-43-no-11\\\/my-first-somos-25-years-in-the-making\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":327,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-43-no-11\\\/my-first-somos-25-years-in-the-making\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Cocci-Header.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-43-no-11\\\/my-first-somos-25-years-in-the-making\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-43-no-11\\\/my-first-somos-25-years-in-the-making\\\/\",\"name\":\"My first SOMOS, 25 years in the making\u00a0 - 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