Doris Crouse-Mays (born 1958) is an American labor leader. A native of Rural Retreat,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, Crouse-Mays began her career as a telephone operator; as a

shop steward A union representative, union steward, or shop steward is an employee of an organization or company who represents and defends the interests of their fellow employees as a labor union member and official. Rank-and-file members of the union hold ...

she soon because involved in the organized labor movement. She first joined the

Communications Workers of America The Communications Workers of America (CWA) is the largest communications and media labor union in the United States, representing about 700,000 members in both the private and public sectors (also in Canada and Puerto Rico). The union has 27 loc ...

, and later did organizational work for the

International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU), whose members were employed in the women's clothing industry, was once one of the largest labor unions in the United States, one of the first U.S. unions to have a primarily female membe ...

. Thanks to her abilities in the role, she became the state field director for the national

AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million ac ...

in 1997, in which position she attracted new members and expanded the group's political reach. In 2001 she served as the group's statewide coordinator for political programs; two years later she became its political director. She is a member of the Steering and Central Committee of the

Virginia Democratic Party The Democratic Party of Virginia (DPVA/VA Dems) is the Virginia affiliate of the Democratic Party based in Richmond, Virginia. Historically, the Democratic Party has dominated Virginia politics. Since the 1851 Virginia gubernatorial election, the ...

, and she was elected to the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...

in 2008; in 2013 she served on the transition committee for governor-elect

Terry McAuliffe Terence Richard McAuliffe (born February 9, 1957) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 72nd governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he was co-chairman of President Bill Clinton's 1996 ...

. She is a board member of Emerge Virginia, a group which looks for women to run for political office. Crouse-May was the first woman to hold executive office in Virginia's AFL–CIO, being elected its secretary-treasurer for a four-year term beginning in 2006. In August 2010 she became the first woman to be elected its president; in 2014 she was reelected to another four-year term in the position. Crouse-Mays was named one of the

Library of Virginia The Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, is the library agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It serves as the archival agency and the reference library for Virginia's seat of government. The Library moved into a new building in 1997 and i ...

Virginia Women in History Virginia Women in History was an annual program sponsored by the Library of Virginia that honored Virginia women, living and dead, for their contributions to their community, region, state, and nation. The program began in 2000 under the aegis of th ...

for 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crouse-Mays, Doris 1958 births Living people American trade union leaders AFL–CIO people People from Rural Retreat, Virginia Women trade union leaders