Lee A. Saunders is a leader of the

labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

movement in the

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. He was elected to succeed

Gerald W. McEntee Gerald William McEntee (January 11, 1935 – July 10, 2022) was an American trade union official. He served as president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), an affiliate of the AFL-CIO, from 1981 to 2 ...

as President of the 1.6 million-member

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

(AFSCME), one of the largest and most politically active unions in the

AFL-CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a national trade union center that is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 61 national and international unions, together r ...

, on June 21, 2012, during the union's 40th International Convention in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Saunders served as Secretary-Treasurer of AFSCME from 2010 to 2012.

Life and career

The son of a city bus driver, Saunders grew up in a union household in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

. He joined the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association (OCSEA) in 1974 when he began working for the Ohio Bureau of Employment Services. In 1978, he began his career with AFSCME as a labor economist, serving in the capacities of assistant director of Research and Collective Bargaining Services, Director of Community Action and deputy director of Organizing and Field Services. He served as administrator of a number of AFSCME councils across the country, including AFSCME

District Council 37 District Council 37 (also known as DC 37) is New York City's largest public sector employee union, representing over 150,000 members and 89,000 retirees. DC 37 was chartered in 1944 by AFSCME to represent public employees in New York City. It ...

, New York's largest public employee union, representing 125,000 members. Saunders serves as a vice president of the AFL-CIO Executive Council and was named chair of the labor federation's Political Committee on August 1, 2012. He is an at-large member of the

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, treasurer of the

Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is an American coalition of more than 240 national civil and human rights organizations and acts as an umbrella group for American civil and human rights. Founded as the Leadership Conference o ...

and president of

Working America Working America is the political organizing arm of the AFL–CIO. Its membership is made up of non- union individuals. It is the largest non-employer based affiliate union and workers' group in the United States, with a self-reported membership o ...

. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...

and a Master of Arts degree from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

. He was awarded an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters by the

College of New Rochelle The College of New Rochelle (CNR) was a private Catholic college with its main campus in New Rochelle, New York. It was founded as the College of St. Angela by Mother Irene Gill, OSU of the Ursuline Order as the first Catholic women's college in ...

in 2002. Saunders and his wife Lynne live in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

They have two sons, Lee Jr. and Ryan.

References

External links

Lee Saunders biography
* Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Activists from Cleveland Trade unionists from Ohio American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees people Ohio University alumni Ohio State University alumni Vice presidents of the AFL-CIO {{worker-activist-stub