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 la ...

movement in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. He was elected to succeed Gerald W. McEntee as President of the 1.6 million-member

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is the largest trade union of public employees in the United States. It represents 1.3 million public sector employees and retirees, including health care workers, correcti ...

(AFSCME), one of the largest and most politically active unions in the AFL-CIO, on June 21, 2012, during the

union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

's 40th International Convention in

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. 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. 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 DC37) is New York City's largest public sector employee union, representing over 150,000 members and 50,000 retirees. DC37 was chartered in 1944 by AFSCME to represent public employees in New York City. It w ...

, 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

Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. Founded in 1828, it was predominantly built by Martin Van Buren, who assembled a wide cadre of politicians in every state behind war hero An ...

National Committee The National Committee ( el, Εθνικό Κομιτάτο) was a Greek political party founded by Epameinondas Deligiorgis. The party was founded in 1865, and was composed by young revolutionaries who helped to overthrow King Otto, ending his ...

, treasurer of the

Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights (The Leadership Conference), formerly called the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, is an umbrella group of American civil rights interest groups. Organizational history The Leadership Co ...

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-union workers' group in the United States, with a self-reported membership of 3.2 million individuals. Wo ...

. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Ohio University Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation and subseq ...

and a Master of Arts degree from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

. 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, but also in Australia, England, and Germany. It was founded as the College of St. Angela by Mother Irene Gill, OSU of the Ursuline O ...

in 2002. Saunders and his wife Lynne live in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

They have two sons, Lee Jr. and Ryan.

References

External links

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