Buffalo AFL-CIO Central Labor Council President Denise Abbott ‘Becomes The First Woman President’ Of The Western New York AFL-CIO Area Labor Federation
Abbott - Who Also Serves As CWA Local’s 1168 Health & Safety Officer, ‘Warmly Welcomed’ As New WNYALF Leader - “Unity, Collaboration, Education And Organizing” Among Her Goals As She Takes Leadership Of The Area Labor Fed
(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) – Denise Abbott, who has served as President of the Buffalo AFL-CIO Central Labor Council and is Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1168’s Health and Safety Officer, is the new President of the Western New York AFL-CIO Labor Federation (WNYALF) - the first Woman to ever hold that position.
Abbott has been President of the Buffalo Council since January 2020 and was the first Woman President of the Buffalo Labor Council since its official beginnings back in 1957.
The announcement was made by Abbott (Pictured Above & Below/WNYLaborToday.com Photo) herself during the Buffalo Labor Council’s annual picnic that was held on Friday (July 18th), where a mix of Labor Representatives from the Private and Public Sector, the Building Trades, Elected Officials and Friends of Labor gathered.
“I ‘feel’ the Western New York Labor Movement ‘is moving in a great direction and I am proud to be a part of it,’” the 55-year-old Abbott - who’s been a CWA Member for the past 21 years, has served as Health and Safety Director for CWA Local 1168 since 2013 and works as a Registered Nurse (RN) in the Emergency Room at North Tonawanda’s DeGraff Memorial Hospital, told WNYLaborToday.com.
Abbott knows what the Labor Movement faces with an Anti-Union Trump Administration in Washington, D.C. and the loss of so many good-paying, Union-represented manufacturing jobs that have been lost in recent years, including 1,200 at the Sumitomo Tire Plant’s sprawling facility in Tonawanda, just outside Buffalo, late last year.
“‘We have to continue to organize (Non-Union) Workers to build up our numbers and continue to protect’ Workers ‘on-the-job due to losses we’ve taken at the National Labor Relations Board and in the realm of safety and health of our Members, which is a huge priority.’ ‘There are a number of real issues facing us,’” she said.
Regarding being the WNYALF’s first Woman’ President, Abbott said: ‘I think it’s great.’ It is ‘kind of sad’ (that it’s taken this long for a Woman to serve as WNYALF President), ‘but it shows the diversity the Labor Federation has.’ The ‘opportunity was there - and I am pleased to be the first and I certainly am taking (the job and its responsibilities) seriously.’”
The WNYALF serves as an umbrella Labor Organization that oversees five Central Labor Councils: Buffalo; Cattaraugus/Allegany Dunkirk; Jamestown; and Niagara/Orleans.
Its Affiliated Public and Private Unions, as well as those within the Building Trades, combine to represent 145,000 Members across the eight-county Western New York Region.
The WNYALF’s mission is to improve the lives of and increase the power for Working Families, bring fairness and dignity to the workplace and secure social equity.
As WNYALF President, Abbott will relinquish her post as President of the Buffalo Central Labor Council and as Secretary of the Niagara-Orleans Labor Council.
The Buffalo Labor Council will elect a new President in September, she said.
In the interim, Vincent Cicatello - Region One Coordinator for the Public Employees Federation, who serves as Vice President of the Buffalo Labor Council, will oversee the Council.
Initial reaction from the Western New York Labor Movement and the New York AFL-CIO has been “nothing but positive,” said Abbott, who adds she’s “gotten so many texts and e-mails” of congratulations, including a number from Elected Officials.
Both CWA Region One Director Deb Hayes and CWA Local 1168 President Cori Gambini were “extremely supportive” of Abbott taking on the position.
“Deb ‘always says if we can make ourselves better, all ships will rise,’” Abbott said.
Abbott also paid homage to former WNYALF President Peter DeJesus, Jr. and Richard Lipsitz, telling WNYLaborToday.com the two have told her they “are here to help me” get acclimated to the job.
“Peter ‘had encouraged me’ (to seek the position),” she said.
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