Council 13 members salute ‘Those Who Serve’ at Non-State Conference
AFSCME is the public service union. We salute all of those who serve our nation – and our communities.
In that spirit, members of AFSCME Council 13 gathered on Veterans Day weekend for the Non-State Conference – a biennial event centered around union building for members working in county, city, municipal, school district, and private sector employers.
Sisters and brothers working in the Commonwealth were also welcomed, and a gathering of 119 union members, some of whom are military veterans themselves, honored “Those Who Serve” while strengthening their local unions’ defenses.
The conference began with a flag folding ceremony performed by members of VFW 509 Women Auxiliary. They explained the meaning of the 13 Flag Folds, as well as the POW/MIA Missing Man Table, which remained in place for the duration of the conference.
Conference attendees heard inspirational remarks from Claudette Williams, a retired US Army Sergeant Major and Director of the Women Veterans Museum in Mt. Pocono, PA, which received proceeds from the conference’s 50/50 raffle.
Council 13 Executive Director David Henderson spoke as well, reviewing the extensive accomplishments of non-state workers who secured strong collective bargaining agreements, raises, bonuses, and federal funding – all through the power of strength in numbers and local unions with 100% membership.
Throughout the conference, members participated in engaging training sessions and workshops on topics including Challenging Subcontracting, Community Services, Conducting Labor/Management Meetings, Contract Negotiations, Internal Organizing, and even NARCAN Training by the PA Department of Military and Veterans Affairs’ Northeast Counterdrug Training Center.
This conference would not have been possible without the hard work of the Council 13 Education Department, as well as members of the Non-State Committee: Frederick Shaffer (DC 83 Local 691), Faylynn Hall (DC 83 Local 3157), Jeff Frontera (DC 84 Local 297), David Dietrich (DC 84 Local 1551), Randy Procious (DC 85 Local 2206), Laurie Fisher (DC 85 Local 2902), Howard Thompson (DC 85 Local 2902), Alicia Craig (DC 85 Local 2902), Keith Segraves (DC 86 Local 2674), Jill Laubach (DC 86 Local 2933), John Thomas (DC 87 Local 1710), Sue Zepp (DC 88 Local 317), Dennis Henritzy (DC 88 Local 1265), Linda Vuono (DC 88 Local 1598), Joyce Vandersloot (DC 89 Local 1485), Bill Jones (DC 89 Local 1738), Yusef Mickens (DC 90 Local 982), and Megan Etzweiler (DC 90 Local 2800).
Thank you to everyone involved, and a special thank you to those who have ever served.
See below for more photos!
