Focus on Women at Human Rights Conference

Hundreds attended the 2019 MLK AFL-CIO Civil of labor union leaders and activists and Human Rights Conference on Jan. 18–21 in Washington, D.C. The conference honors the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and recognizes contemporary leaders who continue the fght for social and economic justice and gender equality. It
featured workshops and keynote addresses as well as an interfaith service, an awards gala and a day of service.

SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris, who serves as a member of both the Civil & Human Rights and Women’s committees of the AFL-CIO Executive Council, was a panelist for a forum titled Women in Leadership: Building Upon the Year of the Woman on Jan. 18. The panel, comprised of notable women labor union leaders, discussed a range of topics, including women in leadership, inclusivity in the movement, and women’s policy issues regarding equal pay, paid family leave and sexual harassment.

This year’s event coincided with another important happening in the nation’s capital: the 2019 Women’s March on Washington on Jan. 19. Conference-goers not only attended the march with thousands of other activists and protesters, but also joined a #StopTheShutdown rally with furloughed federal employees.

Photo: From left, SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris, North Carolina APRI Associate Executive Director Denicia Montford Williams, Coalition of Labor Union Women President Elise Bryant, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler and UNITE HERE Local 24 President Nia Winston on Jan. 19.