Welcome (Back) Cristine Rice!
By AFT Washington Staff
We are absolutely delighted to welcome Cristine Rice back to AFT Washington! She will be taking on the role of Administrative Support Specialist, while Tammy Fouts has moved into the Finance Manager role vacated when Somma Rath resigned in February.
Cristine says she is excited to return to AFT Washington! In 2009 she was given the opportunity to bring her love of being an administrative assistant to the labor movement when she was offered a position with International Union of Operating Engineers Local 286, and has been in the labor movement since.
“I grew up in a union family with both my parents belonging to unions. It made sense to me that when a position with a labor union was offered to me in 2009 to take it. I was and still am proud to be part of the labor movement,” Cristine said. She came to AFT Washington initially in 2012, then left for an opportunity with WFSE Council 28 in 2020, and came back to AFT Washington April 1st.
She is looking forward to bringing this enthusiasm and her skills to AFT Washington, and helping move the organization forward.
Welcome back, Cristine!
Committees To Know
By Cortney Marabetta, Communications Specialist
Did you know that AFT Washington includes several member-driven committees, and you are invited to get involved? If you didn’t before, now you do!
The Human Rights Committee
The AFT Washington Human Rights Committee is founded on the principle that everyone who lives, works, and plays in our country wants to live with dignity and have an equal opportunity to succeed. The committee honors the shared humanity of all people and seeks to accomplish this goal by promoting principles of tolerance, fairness, and respect. Building meaningful relationships within and outside our organization enhances our collective effort to improve our communities.
We promote education as a way to develop equity and change for those being left behind. We also believe in the power of educators to make a difference in student success, and have adopted resolutions calling on AFT Washington to promote immigrant and refugee rights, LGBTQ rights, and racial equity, among others.
The Human Rights Committee meets monthly during the school year. If you are interested in getting involved, contact Ray Carrillo at rcarrillo@aftwa.org.
Member Mobilization Committee
The member mobilization committee was formed against the backdrop of the federal threats to workers’ rights, public education, immigrant safety, and democracy. The committee seeks to answer the question members have been asking: “What are we doing to fight back?”
Following last year’s May Day and first No Kings protests, AFT Washington members understood that we need to get out of our normal ways of thinking about organizing and asked for support from the state federation in making that happen. The committee has begun several initiatives, including training opportunities for civil disobedience, protest safety, and ICE rapid response, coordinated participation in nationwide protests like No Kings Day, and coordination with local and national response networks.
The committee meets on an as-needed basis. To get involved, please contact Kaitlin Gillespie at kgillespie@aftwa.org.
Legislative Affairs Committee
The Legislative Affairs Committee prepares and recommends the annual legislative agenda, and assists AFT Washington in accomplishing that agenda during the legislative session. Past agendas have included issues facing each constituency. Having every constituency represented on the committee is a powerful tool for ensuring that we are working on the legislative solutions that create real change and build job security.
Recent victories include re-provisoing the high demand and nurse educator salaries, successfully defending the Workforce Education Investment Account and keeping it for higher education. In addition, the Legislative Affairs committee supports our partners in the labor movement, social justice, and the broader progressive community. It functions as a strong vehicle for building the coalitions and having the conversations that make legislative solutions possible.
The committee meets monthly. To get involved, contact Richard Burton at rburton@aftwa.org.