December 11, 2017

UFCW Minority Coalition Holds Educational Conference and Awards Gala

The UFCW Minority Coalition recently hosted another successful educational conference and awards gala in Washington, D.C.

The educational conference took place on Nov. 17, and featured a workshop on Right to Work, as well as a conversation about the current political climate and the future of the labor movement. Facilitators Tiffany Loftin, senior program specialist in community with the NEA, and Jamal Watkins, national outreach director of campaigns with the AFL-CIO, presented the Right to Work session. This session highlighted the roots of this policy, as well as the racial divisions among working people and the impact that Right to Work legislation has had on working communities for 70-plus years. This session also outlined ways to frame messaging when addressing the issue of Right to Work.

The conference also featured Bill Fletcher, Jr., an activist, syndicated columnist and regular media commentator on television, radio and the web, who led a conversation about the tumultuous state of our current political climate as it relates to the future of the labor movement. This engaging conversation brought to the forefront the difficulties working people face in the time of Trump and right-wing populism.

On the evening of Nov. 18, the UFCW Minority Coalition hosted its 19th Annual Awards Gala and Fundraiser. The gala honored individuals who champion diversity and equality among men and women in the labor movement, as well as special humanitarians who are committed to the fight against sickle cell disease.

Executive Vice President and Organizing Department Director Shaun Barclay received the Person of the Year Award. Other honorees included International Vice President and UFCW Local 99 President Jim McLaughlin, who received the Local Union of the Year Award; UFCW District Council of New York and New Jersey, which received the Roland B. Scott Sickle Cell Award; Tonya McCoy of UFCW Local 75, who received the Addie Wyatt Award; International Vice President and UFCW Region 5 Director Milton Jones, who received the Robert Vaughn Award; and International Vice President and UFCW Local 21 President Todd Crosby, who received the Wendell W. Young III Award.