More than 50 people representing 20 different organizations including 16 unions were in attendance. There was plenty of important information shared; much networking occurred; new friendships were found; solidarity was enhanced; and everyone had a great time.

Speakers and Topics

Dr. Thomas J. Mackell, Jr., President, Association of Benefit Administrators; Director & Chairman of the Board, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond; Chairman, Employee Benefits Committee of the Federal Reserve System, spoke on the current and future state of public and private sector pensions as well as transitions occurring in the U.S. economy.

Bill Schimmel, Esq., Weissman & Mintz, LLC, Counsel for CWA, District 1, addressed the important and pressing issues involving free speech and privacy rights in the workplace.

Carol Lynn Esposito, JD, RN, Associate Director Economic & General Welfare Program, New York State Nurses Association, and Barbara Crane, RN, CCRN, American Nurses Association Board of Directors, who led the 111 day successful strike at St. Catherine of Sienna Medical Center in 2001-2002, utilized a PowerPoint presentation and discussion of the Kentucky River cases and the impact of the National Labor Relations Board’s decision to expand the definition of “Supervisor,” first among nurses but eventually affecting virtually every workplace with the potential of removing up to 8 million employees from being union bargaining units.

Liza Featherstone, author of “Selling Women Short: The Landmark Battle for Workers’ Rights at Wal-Mart”, shared her experiences and those of women working for Wal-Mart who have filed the largest class-action lawsuit in history involving 1.6 million former and current employees.

Ms. Featherstone also participated in a panel of trade union women that included Ms. Crane, Ms. Esposito and Cheryl Felice, president of the 8,000 member Suffolk County Association of Municipal Employees. Ms. Felice spoke about her experiences and responsibilities as president of the largest independent union in Suffolk County, a union in which two-thirds of its members are women.

The panel, moderated by Liz Pearsall, a former CSEA union rep and now Assistant to the Suffolk County Commissioner of Labor, addressed the issues of organizing and mobilizing women workers. Ms. Pearsall and the panel members made brief presentations, which were followed by an informative and spirited question and answer period.

Ernie Mattace, Political Action Director of Local 338, RWDSU-UFCW, set the tone of the Conference with his poignant opening remarks that detailed some of the problems facing workers today, including the current difficult negotiations his union is involved in.

Information Providers and Sponsors

Throughout the Conference, information booths from the U.S. Department of Labor, the Long Island Occupational and Environmental Health Clinic and a full-service law firm specializing in Compensation, Personal Injury and Disability (Fusco, Brandenstein and Rada) provided free information and consultations.

Other Conference sponsors included: People’s Alliance Federal Credit Union, which provided a copy of Liza Featherstone’s book, which she then autographed for each participant; Surburban Carpet and Upholstery Cleaners whose president , Angel Bravo, contributed all of the raffle prizes; and Ultra Vision Optical, Dr. Jason Bart, Optomtrist and Shirley Bart, Manager contributers of a gift certificate to their Levittown vision center. The prizes for the, “Its Not Trivia” quiz game, where everyone received a prize for answering a labor history related question, were provided by Fusco, Brandenstein and Rada.

A special thanks to the photographer for the event, Milan Rada, Esq.

“Support Labor Education and Labor Education Will Support You”

Conference Speakers

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