Hundreds of AFGE leaders and activists are newly empowered to stamp out discrimination in federal and D.C. government workplaces thanks to the training they received at the 2026 S.T.A.N.D. Conference.
S.T.A.N.D. is short for Service Through Action and National Development, and the AFGE members who gathered in Atlanta for this year’s conference walked away with new tools, strategies, and knowledge needed to advance and solidify our members’ protections in the workplace. This premier training opportunity was a joint production of AFGE’s Women and Fair Practices Department, the National Human Rights Committee, and AFGE Y.O.U.N.G.
“We had a heavy focus on teaching our members how to fight against discrimination in the Equal Employment Opportunity arena,” AFGE National Vice President for Women and Fair Practices Kendrick Roberson said. “Fighting discrimination in the workplace is protected by its own set of laws, with its own set of official time, and we wanted to make sure our local leaders had the proper training to access this EEO official time and to protect our members.”
Attendees took advantage of popular training courses including basic and intermediate EEO, conflict resolution, workers’ compensation, collective bargaining, legal writing, and more. A separate track was offered for the Young Workers Summit, which focused on important aspects of union life in the labor movement and provided new unionists with tools to be successful union activists.
“We also engaged a new training format at the S.T.A.N.D. Conference that allowed our union leaders to access a wider breath of training that they could implement at their locals immediately. Further, if they so chose, the conference training format allowed attendees to access a deeper depth of training as well,” Roberson said.
While training was the main focus, Roberson also stressed the importance of having AFGE leaders from various agencies and regions gather together in one location.
“Local leaders were able to network, they were able to share experiences, and they were able to share blueprints to success for a whole host of problems. The conference reminded many members that we are not alone, and together we have a wealth of knowledge that we can leverage to protect our people,” he said.
“We are deeply embedded in the fight to protect our union, and the S.T.A.N.D. conference made us undeniably stronger. We have stronger stewards, organizers, coordinators, workers comp specialists, EEO champions, and leaders because of the master classes taught at S.T.A.N.D.”
Click here for photos from the event.
Officers Elected for WFP Constituency Groups
Elections were held during the S.T.A.N.D. conference for leadership roles in four of WFP’s constituency groups. Below are the results:
A.P.O.W.E.R. (Asian Pacific Organized Workers Empowering Representation)
Chair: Gilbert Galam
Co-Chair: Concetta Fialkowski
Secretary: Harpreet Bains
B.L.A.C.K. (Black Leaders Advancing Change and Knowledge)
Chair: Patrick Holmes
Co-Chair: Ashley Page
Secretary: Tihesha Climer
N.A.T.I.V.E. (Native Americans Together for Indigenous Voices Everywhere)
Chair: Woody Bekise
Co-Chair: Gregory Green
Secretary: Erika Webster
W.A.V.E. (Women Advocating for Voice and Equality)
Chair: LaRhonda Gamble
Co-Chair: Alanna Louhisdon
Secretary: Ebony Mac
Click here for more details on these and other WFP constituency groups.
For 94 years, AFGE’s mission has been to improve the lives of government workers and make sure they have the resources they need to serve the American people.
Read More
Hundreds of AFGE leaders and activists are newly empowered to stamp out discrimination in federal and D.C. government workplaces thanks to the training they received at the 2026 S.T.A.N.D. Conference.
Read More
Federal employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are hoping the agency’s newly confirmed leader will work to repair the relationship between workers and management.
Read More
