Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner will keynote the "Speak Up, Stand Up, Step Up!" NYSUT conference on women's priorities March 3–4 at NYSUT headquarters in Latham.
Miner, the first female mayor elected in one of the state's Big Five cities, has fostered a progressive agenda for Syracuse. She recently raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour for city employees and announced that the city will not enforce any federal crackdown on undocumented immigrants.
"I promise you that as long as I am mayor, the resources of this city, including the Syracuse Police Department, will not be used to help enforce federal anti-immigrant policies," Miner said in her recent State of the City address. "As long as I am mayor, Syracuse will be a sanctuary city for vulnerable families who had the misfortune of being born in a war-torn corner of our world."
Miner delivered an impassioned speech at the Jan. 21 Women's March in Seneca Falls, invoking the spirit of the first women's rights convention in 1848 in the town's Wesleyan Chapel. Women today, she said, need to be resourceful and "work hard for our values, because our values are meaningless if we don't stand up for them."
Miner was first elected to the Syracuse Common Council in 2002 and championed legislation that gave $1 million in initial funding to Say Yes to Education, a program that provides necessary support services for Syracuse students and promises free or reduced tuition to students who graduate from city high schools.
Organized by the NYSUT Women's Steering Committee, the "Speak Up, Stand Up, Step Up!" conference will address issues important to NYSUT members, including domestic violence, retirement security, communications, political engagement and more. The conference will also host a Wellness Fair featuring Bellevue Women's Center, Planned Parenthood and Unity House, to name a few.
Participation is open to all NYSUT members, but attendance is limited to 150 people. The deadline to register is Feb. 3; visit www.cvent.com/d/dvqv4p.