Anibal (Sonny) was elected 1st Vice President in 2019. He has held this position for 3 years and was re-elected in 2022. Sonny began his long postal and Union carrier in 1981. In 1998 Sonny was elected as Shop Steward by a group of his fellow carriers. As a Steward, Sonny strived to become the leader his fellow carriers needed and pushed himself to learn everything he could to assist them. In 2005, Sonny graduated the 1st NALC Leadership Academy. He continued in the leadership path by being appointed to the route adjustment team, Customer Connect and becoming a Formal step A representative that same year. In 2006, Branch 36 carriers banded together and elected him as the Director of Compensation. Anibal never stopped working for the letter carriers of Branch 36. In 2022, Anibal was re-elected to the position of 1st Vice President a position he has held with pride and will continue to do so.

Women’s History Month

The concept of inequality is not new. Throughout history there has always been a group of us who have not been treated fairly. Discrimination comes in many forms. There are those who feel superior to others because of the money they have, the property they own, the color of their skin or the language that they speak; sadly, there is so much more that could be added to this list.
A truly educated person understands that we are all fundamentally equal. Each of us has our own individual hopes, dreams and goals that we want to achieve. To fulfill these in our lives can be difficult enough without the barriers placed before us by ignorance. Thankfully, there have been some who chose not to accept being treated differently, but instead preferred to try to make a change. It is in tribute to their accomplishments, and the positive impact they have made to our society as a whole, that I dedicate the remainder of this article to a few extremely influential women.
Women’s contributions to society have been celebrated in this country since the first International Women’s Day in 1911. The holiday had been mostly forgotten in the US until the late 1960’s when a woman calling herself Laura X organized a march in California. She thought it unfair for women to be recognized on only one day and called for a National Women’s History Month. Like so many other movements the idea took time to catch on.
In 1978, a school district in Sonoma, California participated in Women’s History Week. In 1979, a fifteen-day conference about women’s history was held at Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers, New York. Then in February 1980 President Jimmy Carter issued a presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8, 1980, as National Women’s History Week. He noted that too often women were unsung and that their contributions and leadership were as vital to America as that of the men whose names were so well known. President Carter also cited that Dr. Gerda Lerner, an Austrian-born American poet and historian had stated, “Women’s History is Women’s Right.” He urged libraries, and schools to focus their observances on leaders who struggled for equality such as: Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, Lucy Stone, Lucretia Mott, Harriet Tubman and Alice Paul.
It wasn’t until 1987 when Congress passed a resolution that designated the month of March as Women’s History Month. Between 1988 and 1994, Congress passed additional resolutions authorizing the President to proclaim March of each year as Women’s History Month. Every year since 1988, U.S. Presidents have done so by issuing proclamations to that effect. This provides a platform to celebrate the accomplishments of women such as:

• Malala Yousafzai - was shot in the head by the Pakistani Taliban while returning home from school. The assassination attempt was in retaliation to her demands that girls receive an equal education as boys. Malala survived and at the age of 17, she became the youngest individual to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
• Ida B. Wells - one of the founders of the NAACP. As an investigative journalist she was one of the first to report on lynching in the U.S. She was forced to flee Tennessee and relocated to Chicago. Ida continued to report on lynching to audiences in the U.S. and Europe.
• Clara Barton – risked her life bringing supplies and support to soldiers during the Civil War. She later founded the American Red Cross. Clara continued to serve as president of the organization until the age of 83. Her legacy of caring for the wounded continues to be reflected through the volunteers who work for the Red Cross today.
• Lilly Ledbetter – an activist for women’s pay equality sued Goodyear in 1998 due to being paid significantly less than her male colleagues. They ruled against her stating that the suit had to be brought within six months of the discrimination occurring. She made a case stating that she hadn’t discovered the discrepancy until several years later. Her story caught the attention of Ruth Bader Ginsberg who helped enact the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. The Act helped win claims of pay discrimination beyond the six- month period.

I am sure that we all can contribute to this list with many famous names; but more importantly, with the names of women we know that are not famous and yet just as important or more important to us; women who have made positive impacts in our lives. My mother and grandmothers are on the top of my list. For the great advice they gave me and for the unconditional love they showed, I will be forever grateful. I have also a deep respect for women who raise their children alone. From them I draw strength and courage. They show me what is possible with the right attitude.
So if you feel like I do, take the time to tell the women that give meaning to your lives that you appreciate them for who they are and what they do every single day.

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