Thanksgiving is one of the most celebrated holidays throughout the United States, and for good reason. It comes toward the latter portion of the year when it feels appropriate to wind down and enjoy the bounty of the harvest. We can at once be aware of the deeply uncomfortable and quite honestly troubling origins of the holiday, while being deeply grateful for the blessings we currently enjoy. Despite the various challenges we have faced, each of us has something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.
The state federation is thankful for our new headquarters. This facility has already been a welcome home to members and truly a house of labor. We are thankful to have hosted a steward training for MPEC, a statewide community college faculty training, a federation wide retiree gathering, and most importantly this building was home to the 2024 AFT Maryland Triennial Convention.
This facility was envisioned as a house of labor and we are extremely grateful that it has become one. We are also thankful for the Get Out the Vote efforts of labor during this election year. While the presidential election was a disappointment, we were thrilled to see Angela Alsobrooks win the open Maryland senate seat, defeating former Governor Larry Hogan. Locally, labor-endorsed candidates were undefeated in Baltimore City Council elections. The efforts of members of AFT Maryland to phone bank, canvas, and spread the word about labor elected candidates is something that all of us should be proud of. Finally, we are always grateful when our state federation grows. Our organizing efforts, with the support of the national federation, led to the creation of the University of Maryland Residents and Fellows Alliance (UMRFA) who won their union election by 628-19!
As with every year in the labor movement, there are wins and losses. We remain steadfast despite those losses and use the wins to inspire us to continue our efforts. This Thanksgiving, reflect on the personal wins you have had in your life, and then reflect on our collective wins. If we achieve anything in life and in the labor movement it will only be because of solidarity. As committed union members and labor activists, we are thankful to have labor siblings standing beside us, ready to commit to victory.
On behalf of AFT Maryland, Happy Thanksgiving.
Kenya Campbell, President