Julie Kushner (born c. 1952) is an American politician and retired trade unionist. She worked for

United Auto Workers The United Auto Workers (UAW), fully named International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) and sou ...

, and was elected to the

Connecticut State Senate The Connecticut State Senate is the upper house of the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The state senate comprises 36 members, each representing a district with around 99,280 inhabitants. Sena ...

in 2018.

Early life and family

Julie Kushner's parents were Sheldon and Marcia Kushner. The Kushners lived in Iowa during the 1950s, when Julie Kushner was born. She had a sister, Cathy, and brothers, Michael and Benjamin. Kushner was raised in a Jewish family in

Hamburg, Iowa Hamburg is a city in Fremont County, Iowa, Fremont County, Iowa, United States, that is the most southwestern city in Iowa, hugging the borders of Missouri to the south and Nebraska to the west. It is situated between the Nishnabotna River, Nish ...

, where her father was a grocer. In the 1960s, her family returned to her father's hometown,

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...

. Following primary school in the Hamburg Community School District, Kushner attended Lincoln's Irving Junior High School, and graduated from

Lincoln Southeast High School Lincoln Southeast High School is a public high school located in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Lincoln Public Schools district. Lincoln Southeast High School has the highest accreditation from the Nebraska Department ...

. She attended five colleges, graduating from the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. Kushner moved to New York City with her first husband in 1977. Before the relationship ended, the couple had two children. Kushner later remarried to Larry Morgan, with whom she had another child. Kushner and her family moved to

Danbury, Connecticut Danbury ( ) is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2020 was 86,518. It is the third-largest city in Western Connecticut, and the seventh-largest ...

, in 1993.

United Auto Workers

Kushner was a secretary for three years, after graduating from the University of Wisconsin. She subsequently joined the

(UAW), a labor union. During her tenure as vice president of UAW's district 65, Kushner advocated for clerical and technical workers at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. The effort for the UAW to represent Columbia's clerical workers took five years, including a contentious representation election held in May 1983. Certification for UAW's district 65 to represent Columbia's clerical and technical employees was granted in February 1985. During a two-day strike in mid-November 1991 organized by Columbia's clerical workers, Kushner stated, "Our people are fed up with the refusal of Columbia to acknowledge that our members are underpaid and unfairly treated. So we're raising the stakes both for Columbia and its allies." In 2000, as a subregional director for UAW, Kushner worked to form a union of postgraduate researchers at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. By 2002, efforts to establish a union for adjunct instructors at NYU were underway. The UAW won a representation vote held in July of that year. During Kushner's tenure as a subregional director, the UAW represented adjunct faculty at

New School University The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

, as well. Following NYU president

John Sexton John Edward Sexton (born September 29, 1942) is an American legal scholar. He is the Benjamin F. Butler Professor of Law at New York University where he teaches at the law school and NYU's undergraduate colleges. Sexton served as the fifteenth ...

's 2005 decision to pull recognition of the graduate student union at the school, Kushner participated in an August 2006 protest against the decision, which was reversed in 2013. Prior to her June 2018 retirement from the UAW, Kushner aided the UAW's efforts to organize a graduate student union at Columbia University.

Political career

Prior to campaigning for political office, Kushner was co-chair of the

Connecticut Working Families Party The Connecticut Working Families Party is a political party in the U.S. state of Connecticut with approximately 300 members. It is an affiliate of the national Working Families Party. The party's support has been strongest in Hartford and Bridgepo ...

for eight years. During her 2018 campaign for the

's 24th district seat, Kushner was endorsed by the Connecticut branch of the

League of Conservation Voters The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is an American environmental advocacy group. LCV says that it "builds political power for people and the planet." Through its affiliated super PAC, it is a major supporter of the Democratic Party. The org ...

, labor unions, and ''

The News-Times ''The News-Times'' is a daily newspaper based in Danbury, Connecticut, United States. It is owned and operated by the Hearst Corporation. The paper covers Danbury, a city in Fairfield County in southwestern Connecticut, as well as, portion ...

''.Alternative URL
Republished by th
Associated Press
/ref> Her campaign was backed by the Connecticut Working Families Party and the Democratic Party. Kushner defeated incumbent Michael A. McLachlan in the general election. Republished by the
Houston Chronicle
' Following her upset victory, Kushner was sworn in on 9 January 2019. Kushner announced that she would run for reelection in January 2020, and defeated Susan Chapman in the general election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kushner, Julie 1950s births Living people 21st-century American women politicians Women state legislators in Connecticut Democratic Party Connecticut state senators American women trade unionists Jewish state legislators in Connecticut Politicians from Lincoln, Nebraska United Auto Workers people People from Fremont County, Iowa University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Politicians from New York City Politicians from Danbury, Connecticut Working Families Party politicians Trade unionists from New York (state) Trade unionists from Connecticut Trade unionists from Iowa Trade unionists from Nebraska Jewish American activists Jewish American women in politics 21st-century American Jews Jewish American trade unionists 21st-century members of the Connecticut General Assembly Jewish women activists