More than 250 UFCW women and men from across the U.S. and Canada gathered in Orlando, Fla., on Sept. 12 to 15 for the 13th Biennial Convention of the UFCW Women’s Network.
The convention theme was “Activism Makes Today’s Vision, Tomorrow’s Reality.”
“We need to plan for the future and activate UFCW women,” said UFCW Women’s Network Chairperson Rhonda Nelson.
At the convention, attendees heard from dynamic union leaders and activists like International President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA Sara Nelson, Canadian student activist Rayne Fisher-Quann, and Florida State Director for March for Our Lives Serena Rodrigues.
UFCW International Vice President and Directer of the Civil Rights and Community Action Department Robin Williams spoke about the great results the UFCW Women’s Network has achieved with break room conversations to engage voter turnout, bringing awareness to the gender gap pay, and lobbying for women and worker issues. She also talked about the importance of member registration, engagement and voter turnout in 2020.
UFCW Canada National President Paul Meinema spoke about the programs and initiatives of the Women and Gender Equity Committee and the importance of achieving gender equity in all facets of society.
Convention workshops and panel discussions focused on a wide range of issues affecting working women, including developing women leaders; bystander intervention training to help prevent harassment in the workplace; organizing tools to help women join unions; and ways to engage working women to run for public office.
The convention ended with attendees passing several resolutions aimed at advancing women’s rights and interests and inspiring more women to get involved in their union.
You can obtain more information about the UFCW Women’s Network here.