USW Convention | April 7-10, 2025 Get registration information here
An open letter from attendee Kathy Laflash, President of USW Local Union 12004 in District 4.
Thank you very much for the opportunity to represent the United Steelworkers Women of Steel ladies at the recently held United State of Women in Washington DC. I was so humbled and privileged to be chosen.
I have been a proud member of USW for 35 years, serving for a total of 33 years. First as a steward and recording secretary, then vice president and for the last 20 years proudly serving as the president of my local at Eversource Energy/Gas (previously NSTAR Gas Company) in Massachusetts.
I had no idea what to expect when I arrived in DC. Anna Fendley was very meticulous in planning and communicating our time schedule. She was a very gracious host as well, explaining the events and what the role of the USW office and employees in DC are, including a tour of the office, introductions to staff, taking my picture outside of President Gerard’s office and bringing us to Lafayette Park so that we could get pictures of us in front on the White House. I so enjoyed getting to know my new sister Brigette Womer and hearing about all the opportunities she is having working for District 4 as a casual. What a huge asset she is for our union! I see some amazing opportunities for her in the future!
The conference was overall very informative, immersed with passion, humor, facts, dreams, ideals and representatives from labor, management, government, private industry and entertainment all together for a common cause, the issues that women address every day.
I loved the theme: Today will change tomorrow.
I am blessed to have spent my entire adult working life in a company where women fill non-traditional roles, and pay equity has been addressed and resolved at bargaining long ago (KUDOS to amazing USW Staff Reps). I was shocked to hear about the pay inequities around the country, in so many industries and both public and private sector. We still have a long way to go and I for one am interested in reaching out the women in my local to see what their role could be to assist our union sisters around the country.
I heard about violence against women and the shame and blame associated as a result of it. Vice President Joe Biden was awesome, his passion and desire to make a difference was heard loud and clear. Having recently become a mentor for a 17 year old neighbor who was sexually assaulted, I was made keenly aware of the fight and inroads that have been made and resources available to these victims. I was able to visit a table at the exhibition and get info and share it with my friend Karen. Sadly, I am sure there are women in my local who would benefit from this info as well.
I attended a plenary on Building inclusive movements and engaged citizens. There was quite a cross section of women, from several small grass roots organizations to women who have been involved in law changing protests and indignation for changes in our society. It was so engaging. Their goal was to empower women in government from the local level all the way up to make changes!
I heard “when you educate a women, you create a stronger nation” several times. What a concept to grasp. “One dream can transform a million realities” and the amazing stories from an adorable 11-year old entrepreneur who was the one to introduce our President of the United States of America. We heard from our President, whose message was “when women succeed, America succeeds!” and “keep on telling the story of our women changing America.” Many others shared this same message throughout the day and we heard about women who “joined their union and found their voice”. I can totally relate to all of them and looking back at my career, feel the impact of all of them. What an amazing legacy for ME to pass onto my members!
The second plenary I attended was “Away from slavery and towards human rights: ending trafficking of women and girls.” Another panel discussion that was quick because of time constraints, but nonetheless very informative and compelling. This issue doesn’t happen in other places to other people. It’s all around us. We need to be aware and educated and speak up for those who can’t. It’s an important part of the work we need to do to inform our members and make a difference in someone’s life. Women of Steel can make an impact, all lives matter!
My favorite panel discussion was Oprah and First Lady Michelle Obama and their conversation on trailblazing the path for the next generation of women. Michelle offered many words of wisdom, such as “If you don’t take control of your time, others will gobble it up!” and “know your value and like yourself”, “surround yourself with goodness and get rid of the haters!” and “the best revenge is success and hard work!” Great dialogue and great real life discussion on the impact the changes we put in place today have on the next generation.
It was a long and full day. I was impressed by all of it, it was a top notch conference and great to be involved with other amazing Women of Steel including Brigette, Jan Hall, Yvonne Wooten and Kelly Weaver (what truly dedicated women they all are)!!!
I thoroughly enjoyed our trip to the Department of Labor on Wednesday, seeing and experiencing the history in the building and hearing from Lilly Ledbetter and her struggle and what a difference her struggle has made for women. DOL Secretary Tom Perez was very engaging and quite funny. He shared about the direct link between the growth of the middle class and union membership and the awesome inroads that are being made all around the country. It was so cool to hear him do a “shout out” to the Women of Steel group in ??, I didn’t hear where he was because we all yelled so loud when we heard that. His message was “if you divide us, it will defeat us.” This is something I deal with every day in my local union leadership role. Such a somber reminder for all of us in organized labor. SOLIDARITY is so important, from the local level, to the district level to the international level! I had to catch a plane home so I missed the afternoon sessions but I was so glad to be able to attend all the sessions I did and gather all the information that was shared.
I feel like I drank from a firehose. I was thankful I took lots of notes and reviewed them to write this report for you. As I read through my notes and put into place my own action plan, I am happy to say while I was in DC I texted each and every woman in my local (only about 30, about 10% of our membership) and invited them to my house for munchies and drinks on my deck. I had a good cross section of ladies show up and we had a great discussion about our own Women of Steel committee and what a difference we can (and will) make for our members, our families and our communities. I’m planning more of them over the summer, as it was all very well received. Overall, a very successful conference and experience! THANK YOU.
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