Maribeth Calabro Elected President of the RIFTHP

Providence, RI - The Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals (RIFTHP) held their Biennial Convention on Saturday, October 26, 2024, at the Graduate Hotel in Providence. One hundred and thirty delegates representing sixteen locals were in attendance. 

The RIFTHP is the state’s largest labor union representing more than twelve thousand workers: educators, school support personnel, nurses and healthcare workers, other private and public sector employees, and retirees. We are proud of the work we do to improve the lives of Rhode Islanders.

After serving for forty-eight years as a teacher, local union leader, and the past fourteen years as the RIFTHP President, Frank Flynn announced his retirement effective as of November 30, 2024. Flynn also serves as an AFT National Vice President and on the Executive Committee of the R.I. AFL-CIO. 

The convention unanimously elected Providence Teachers Union President Maribeth Calabro as the new leader of the RIFTHP. Maribeth has been a Special Education Teacher at Nathaniel Greene Middle School in Providence for the past twenty-eight years.

In his remarks, Flynn praised the RIFTHP leaders for their steadfast support, dedication, and commitment to their profession and to the labor movement. “I am tremendously proud of the leaders and members of the RIFTHP for all they do every day to improve our state and the lives of the people they serve. I congratulate Maribeth Calabro as the new president. I am confident that with her strong leadership skills, her intelligence, and her commitment to service she will take this organization to new heights.”

In addressing the assembly, Calabro said “I am grateful to have been elected President of the largest union in Rhode Island and look forward to working with my colleagues, siblings, and leaders across our great state to elevate the voices of workers. I wish President Flynn all the best in his retirement and appreciate his steadfast commitment to the labor movement. Frank is an outstanding union leader and throughout his tenure he built a strong foundation from which I hope to build upon.”

Maribeth is the fifth president of the RIFTHP since teachers won collective bargaining rights in the late sixties.