UTICA, N.Y. — The Central New York (CNY) Labor Council announced it recently elected its first female president in more than 150 years, Samantha DeRiso. She was elected following the retirement of outgoing president, Patrick Costello.
DeRiso is currently employed by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) and has been a member of the labor movement for over 30 years.
Some of DeRiso’s “victories” include organizing more than 600 people employed by the Mohawk Valley Health System (formerly St. Elizabeth Medical Center) to fight for higher wages and safer working conditions, participating in numerous strikes with her union members, and traveling the country to work with various labor unions in their grassroots-organizing campaigns, according to a CNY Labor Council news release.
The CNY Labor Council says it’s one of about 500 state and local labor councils affiliated with the AFL-CIO. Members of the CNY Labor Council represent 63 public-sector and private-sector unions throughout the Mohawk Valley. Together, these 63 unions represent 17,000 people.
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Photo credit: CNY Labor Council
