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.
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: