“We’re all glad we went and we learned a lot,” said Geraldine Hughes, a member of AFSCME Local 3801, which represents clerical workers at University of Minnesota-Duluth. “We plan on sharing what we learned with our union sisters with the hopes that they too will some day be able to attend the retreat. We made new friends and have been inspired by their stories.”

The diverse group of participants included rank-and-file members as well as union officers and staff from many ethnic backgrounds and communities across the state. Women also participated from other organizations that focus on workplace issues, including the Minnesota Fair Trade Coalition and Working America.

The success of the retreat will spur more programming for union women, including the possibility of the leadership retreat becoming an annual or biennial event, the LES staff said. The retreat was coordinated by LES staffers Mary Bellman, Barb Kucera and Deborah Rosenstein.

Faciliators included Gladys McKenzie and Linda Jackson of AFSCME Council 5, Iris Altamirano of SEIU Local 26, Anne Cullen of OPEIU Local 12, Anne Nolan of WFC Resources, Vibhuti Mehra of the Labor Project for Working Families and Jennifer Jordan of the University of Chicago.