The 17h Annual WILD Conference, held at the Hilton East Brunswick, convened more than 160 union sisters from every sector of organized labor, demonstrating the centrality of women to our labor movement today and throughout history. From August 26-27, 2022, our union sisters joined in an impactful discussion and training to address challenges faced by trade unionists and all working women as we aim to change workplace culture to uphold values of solidarity, respect and fairness.
For pictures of the event, see below.
The atmosphere of unity and sisterhood was remarkable as both first-time and long-time WILD sisters joined together to listen, learn, and lead in the fight to strengthen our labor movement and nation. Our conference was honored to welcome back Bev Grant’s We Were There performance, in which our own WILD Sisters performed monologues and sang original songs about women who laid the historical groundwork for our sisterhood today.
Janet Gerhard, Director of Public and Community Relations for FHE Health was featured as a guest speaker on the topics of bullying, hostile work environments, stress and anxiety in the workplace. Janet serves as a resource for unions in the region, helping to educate their members on navigating workplace challenges.
The conference hosted workshops titled Cultural Change Training on Addressing Unwanted Behaviors in the Workplace. The Cultural Change Training, developed by national AFL-CIO staff, provides union women the resources they need to address situations in the workplace. The conference featured five simultaneous trainings, with participants from different unions, trades, and professions empowering each other with the skills needed to prevent and address unwanted behaviors in the workplace. The workshops were led by our own WILD sisters, and the New Jersey labor movement is fortunate to have women leaders so dedicated and committed to strengthening the next generation of union women.
New Jersey State AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Laurel Brennan stated that “WILD is an opportunity for us to come together as women in the labor movement to collectively address the challenges faced by all women in the workplace. WILD helps put women back in the central narrative as movers of history, essential to our movement’s role in improving the lives of all working families. Through WILD, our sisters can count on holistic leadership development training, interactive education, and mentorship, creating networks of solidarity strengthened by passing on our combined experiences.”
The New Jersey State AFL-CIO is the only state federation in the nation to host an annual women’s leadership conference. We thank our WILD sisters and sponsors for their many years of support, enabling our state to champion a diverse, strong and durable labor movement.
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