Augusta Y. Thomas was re-elected to her third consecutive term as National Vice President for Women and Fair Practices (NVP) at American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) 40th National Convention in Orlando in August 2015. She was first elected to this role in August 2009 and was re-elected to another three-year term in 2012.
In this role, Thomas’ primary mission has been to expand the department’s training programme on Equal Employment Opportunity issues. Prior to attaining national office, Thomas served more than 42 years in positions of local and regional leadership.
Thomas began her career in the federal government in 1966 as a nursing assistant at the Veteran’s Administration Hospital in Louisville, KY, where she joined AFGE on her first day on the job.
As a leader in her local chapter, Thomas served in positions of treasurer, secretary, chief steward, executive vice-president, and president. Thomas was one of the union’s original district Fair Practices coordinators. Since then, she has been re-elected continually as the AFGE national Fair Practice affirmative action coordinator for Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky District 6.
As a young woman, Augusta Thomas participated in civil rights battles in her hometown of Louisville, KY. And in early 1960, already a wife and mother, she drove to Greensboro, North Carolina, with her sister to join the Woolworth’s Sit-in when she heard it had begun.
In recognition of her work on civil, human, and workplace lights, AFGE’s 6th District developed an award named in her honour, the “Augusta Thomas Humanitarian Award”, which is awarded every three years to an AFGE member.
Thomas has also been recognized by the Commonwealth of Kentucky for her efforts to promote racial equality and economic development, declaring April 4th as Augusta Thomas Day. Her motto is “Do for those who cannot do for themselves.”
A native of Kentucky, Thomas was born in a “shotgun” house, so named because you could fire a shotgun through the front door and the blast would go straight through the backdoor without hitting a wall. At the age of 13, Thomas moved to Atlanta, GA, where she was a classmate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., known then as “Little Martin.” After graduating from Central Colored High School in Louisville, Thomas attended Clark University in Atlanta and Homer G. Phillips School of Nursing in St. Louis.
Thomas has nine children, eleven grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren, and two great-great grandchildren.