Liz Shuler elected as AFL-CIO’s first woman president

“I believe in my bones the labor movement is the single greatest organized force for progress.This is a moment for us to lead societal transformations — to leverage our power to bring women and people of color from the margins to the center — at work, in our unions and in our economy, and to be the center of gravity for incubating new ideas that will unleash unprecedented union growth.”

The gist:

Shuler, 55, was previously the AFL-CIO’s secretary-treasurer, the federation’s second-in-command. Shuler rose through the ranks of the male-dominated International Brotherhood of Electric Workers (IBEW). She began in 1993 by organizing women clerical workers at Portland General Electric. “The reason those women came together is they saw the power of a union that the men already had at the company,” Schuler said.

The council elected "not just any woman - this woman, who is labor to the marrow of her bones, and has earned this through her intelligence and collaboration and grit."

—Kate Shindle, President of Actors Equity Association

The Stats:

The first woman to lead the biggest U.S. labor federation wants even more women as decision-makers in a labor movement that is becoming less male and less white. Known as a consensus builder, Shuler takes office as AFL-CIO unions debate whether the federation should redirect resources from lobbying and advocacy toward direct funding of organizing to stem the long-term decline in union membership.

"When you see women in key positions of leadership, it emboldens women to continue to aspire to more.”

—Liz Shuler