Arlene Holt Baker

Last updated
Arlene Holt Baker
Arlene holtbaker.jpg
Arlene Holt Baker after speaking at the AFL-CIO Quadrennial Convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on September 16, 2009.
Born1951
Fort Worth, Texas
Occupation(s) Union organizer, Labor activist
Known forExecutive Vice President, AFL-CIO

Arlene Holt Baker (born 1951) is an American trade union activist and labor leader. A staff assistant with the AFL-CIO since 1995, she was appointed executive vice-president of the labor federation by the AFL-CIO Executive Council in 2007 and won re-election in 2009. [1] She became the first African American in the federation's history to serve as an officer. [2]

Contents

Early life and union career

Holt Baker was born in 1951 in Fort Worth, Texas. Her father, W.S. Leslie, was a laborer and her mother, Louise Leslie, was a domestic worker. She was one of seven children. [3]

Holt Baker became an organizer with American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) in the late 1980s. She began organizing public sector employees for the state of California, [4] and eventually was hired as an international union staff representative. She rose to become an "area director" in California, overseeing AFSCME's collective bargaining efforts for public employee locals and leading the union's political operations for statewide and federal races. [5]

AFL-CIO career

In 1995, John Sweeney was elected president of the AFL-CIO, unseating incumbent Thomas R. Donahue. Sweeney's running mate, Linda Chavez-Thompson, was elected the labor federation's executive vice-president. Chavez-Thompson, a local AFSCME leader from Texas, hired Holt Baker as her executive assistant. [6]

Holt Baker was given a number of assignments in addition to her duties as an executive assistant to Chavez-Thompson. In 1998, she led the AFL-CIO's successful effort to defeat California Proposition 226, which would have denied dues check-off to public employees belonging to unions and required all union members in the state to annually give their assent before any portion of their dues could be used for political purposes. [7]

Holt Baker's success in leading this campaign caused her to be named an executive assistant to AFL-CIO president John Sweeney in 1999. She held this position until her appointment as executive vice-president. [8] Among her duties as assistant to Sweeney was her role as AFL-CIO liaison to religious groups. [9] Holt Baker's primary duty as Sweeney's assistant, however, was as director of the AFL-CIO's Voice@Work campaign. A precursor effort to American Rights at Work and Working America, the Voice@Work project was designed to build community support for union organizing efforts. [10]

As a top aide to Sweeney, Holt Baker was repeatedly tapped to head up AFL-CIO political efforts. In 2000, she led a coalition of labor unions which registered voters and mobilized supporters in Pennsylvania, an important electoral battleground for unions. Labor's efforts in Pennsylvania were cited as critical to winning the state for the Democratic column. Holt Baker led the same coalition a second time in 2002, helping Ed Rendell win the gubernatorial election. [11]

Holt Baker's political work for the AFL-CIO continued in 2003. She was named president of the Working America Alliance, a 527 group established by a coalition of AFL-CIO member unions. [12] Later that year, she became president of Voices For Working Families (VFWF), another 527 group which eventually became the 14th largest fundraiser among all 527s that year. [13] Holt Baker's work for Voices for Working Families was so successful that the Republican Party filed a complaint against VFWF and 13 other 527 groups with the Federal Election Commission. The complaint, which was eventually dismissed, alleged that VFWF and the other 527s were illegally coordinating their electoral efforts with John Kerry's presidential campaign. [14]

Sweeney named Holt Baker manager of his (successful) 2005 campaign for re-election as president of the AFL-CIO. [15]

In 2005 and 2006, Holt Baker led the AFL-CIO's Hurricane Katrina recovery response in Louisiana and Mississippi. She coordinated disaster relief in the first few months after the natural disaster, and then oversaw AFL-CIO investment and building programs in the region. [16] [17]

AFL-CIO election

On September 11, 2007, Chavez-Thompson announced she would retire from her post as AFL-CIO executive vice-president on September 21, 2007. [18] AFL-CIO President John Sweeney immediately announced that he intended to have the federation executive council approve Holt Baker to fill the remainder of Chavez-Thompson's unexpired term. [17] [18] At its regularly scheduled meeting 10 days later, the AFL-CIO Executive Council unanimously voted to approve Arlene Holt Baker as AFL-CIO executive vice-president. Her term expired in 2009. [2] [17] [18]

At least one prominent labor commentator sharply criticized Holt Baker's elevation. Longtime union democracy activist Harry Kelber has argued that Chavez-Thompson should not have resigned immediately, but rather given the Executive Council several months' notice so that additional candidates could be recruited and/or their qualifications considered; that the timing of Chavez-Thompson's retirement gave only a few days' notice to the Executive Council before an election was held; and that the appointment of a staff member as an elected leader violates basic principles of union democracy. [19]

Holt Baker was re-elected to the position of executive vice president for a full four-year term at the AFL-CIO's regularly scheduled quadrennial convention in September 2009. [1] In 2013 she was succeeded by Ethiopian-born immigrant Tefere Gebre. [20]

Political work

Holt Baker has been active in Democratic politics most of her adult life. She was elected a delegate from California to the 1988 Democratic National Convention. She was pledged to Michael Dukakis. [21]

Holt Baker rose high within the hierarchy of the Democratic Party of California. She was eventually elected the state party's First Vice Chairwoman. She resigned the position in 1995 to take her job with the AFL-CIO. [22]

Notes

  1. 1 2 Mapes, "Oregon Labor Leader Moves Into No. 2 Spot at AFL-CIO," The Oregonian, September 17, 2009.
  2. 1 2 Holland, "AFL-CIO to Spend $200 Million on 2008," Associated Press, September 21, 2007.
  3. ↑ "Obituaries," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, June 5, 1997; Von Bergen, "AFL-CIO Names First African American to a Top Post," The Philadelphia Inquirer, September 22, 2007.
  4. ↑ Franklin, "History, Heritage at Heart," Chicago Tribune, September 23, 2007.
  5. ↑ Boyarsky, "A Test for Black Clout in Politics," Los Angeles Times, October 28, 1992.
  6. ↑ Kamen, "Storm Clouds in NATO's 'Quad'," The Washington Post, November 8, 1995.
  7. ↑ Galvin, "Labor Critical of Tycoon's Gift," Associated Press, May 20, 1998.
  8. ↑ Forman, "Unions Aim to Destroy Barriers," Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, February 19, 1999; Gerstein, "AFL-CIO President Vows to Reach Out to the Republicans," New York Sun, June 7, 2005.
  9. ↑ White, "Big Labor Gets Religion in Grassroots Organizing Campaign," Associated Press, October 8, 1999.
  10. ↑ Greenhouse, "AFL-CIO Focuses on Recruiting to Stem Loss of Union Influence," The New York Times, February 20, 1999; Brackey, "Unions in Quest to Fortify Ranks," Miami Herald, February 26, 1999; Hayes, "Door by Door: Progressives Hit the Streets in Massive Voter Outreach," In These Times, December 9, 2003.
  11. ↑ Infield, "Big Push to Get Out Union Vote," The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 2, 2000; Yardley and Verhovek, "GOP Governors in Key States Failed to Deliver for Bush," The New York Times, November 14, 2000; Burton, "Rendell Got Out Huge Vote," The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 22, 2002.
  12. ↑ Strope, "Union Forms Rival Political Organization," Associated Press, July 30, 2003.
  13. ↑ "Now That's Trade!", The Hotline, October 7, 2003; Torry, "Groups Cash in on 'Soft Money' to Push Agendas," Columbus Dispatch, January 18, 2004.
  14. ↑ Stone and Drinkard, "FEC Filing Targets Liberal Groups," USA Today, April 1, 2004.
  15. ↑ Edsall, "AFL-CIO President Is Poised for Fifth Term," The Washington Post, May 27, 2005.
  16. ↑ White, "AFL-CIO Hopes Cash Carries a Union Card," New Orleans Times-Picayune, June 25, 2006.
  17. 1 2 3 Greenhouse, "AFL-CIO Official to Step Down," The New York Times, September 12, 2007.
  18. 1 2 3 Martin, "AFL-CIO Leader to Leave Union to Come Home to S.A.," San Antonio News-Express, September 12, 2007.
  19. ↑ Kelber, "Sweeney Rushes to Fill AFL-CIO's No. 3 With an Unknown Personal Assistant," Labor Talk, September 17, 2007.
  20. ↑ "Tefere Gebre". 17 January 2022.
  21. ↑ "Record Number of Union Members to Be Delegates, Alternates at Democratic Convention," press release, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, July 14, 1988.
  22. ↑ Epstein, "State Demo Chief Quits for CNN Job," San Francisco Chronicle, February 23, 1996.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AFL-CIO</span> Federation of American trade unions

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 60 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million active and retired workers. The AFL-CIO engages in substantial political spending and activism, typically in support of progressive and pro-labor policies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Service Employees International Union</span> North American trade union

Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is a labor union representing almost 1.9 million workers in over 100 occupations in the United States and Canada. SEIU is focused on organizing workers in three sectors: healthcare, including hospital, home care and nursing home workers; public services ; and property services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Sweeney (labor leader)</span> American labor leader (1934–2021)

John Joseph Sweeney was an American labor leader who served as president of the AFL–CIO from 1995 to 2009.

Jerome Wurf was a U.S. labor leader and president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) from 1964 to 1981. Wurf was a friend of Martin Luther King Jr., and was arrested multiple times for his activism, notably during the Memphis sanitation strike. He was present for King's "I've Been to the Mountaintop" oratory at the strike, the day before King was assassinated, and attended King's funeral.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linda Chavez-Thompson</span> Mexican-American union leader

Linda Chavez-Thompson is a second-generation Mexican-American and union leader. She was elected the executive vice-president of the AFL-CIO in 1995 and served until September 21, 2007. She was also a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee from 1997 to 2012 and served as a member of the board of trustees of United Way of America. She was the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Texas in the 2010 election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strategic Organizing Center</span> American coalition of labor unions

The Strategic Organizing Center (SOC), formerly known as the Change to Win Federation (CtW), is a coalition of North American labor unions originally formed in 2005 as an alternative to the AFL–CIO. The coalition is associated with strong advocacy of the organizing model. The coalition currently consists of Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the United Farm Workers (UFW), and the Communications Workers of America (CWA), the latter of which is affiliated with both the SOC and the AFL–CIO.

A directly affiliated local union (DALU) or federal labor union is a US labor union that belongs to the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) but is not a national union and is not entitled to the same rights and privileges within the Federation as national affiliates.

Thomas Reilly Donahue Jr. was an American trade union leader who served as Secretary-Treasurer of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations from 1979 to 1995, interim president for several months in 1995, and was President Emeritus from 1996 until his death. He was considered one of the most influential leaders of the post-World War II American trade union movement.

The Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan Latino organization affiliated with the AFL-CIO and the Change to Win federation. It was founded in 1972 to provide Latino trade union members in the United States with a more effective voice within the AFL-CIO, to encourage Latino participation in the democratic process, and to encourage the organization of Latino workers into labor unions.

The AFL–CIO Organizing Institute is a unit within the Organizing and Field Services Department of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. Founded in 1989, the OI serves as the primary training body for most organizers in the AFL–CIO and its member unions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">María Elena Durazo</span> American politician

María Elena Durazo is an American politician serving in the California State Senate. A Democrat, from 2018 to 2022 she represented the 24th State Senatorial district and has been representing the 26th district since 2022 which encompasses Central Los Angeles, East Los Angeles, and Vernon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerald McEntee</span> American union official (1935–2022)

Gerald William McEntee 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 2012.

Richard Webster Cordtz was an American labor leader. From 1980 to 1995, he was the International Secretary-Treasurer of the Service Employees International Union under John Sweeney, and was president of the union himself from October 1995 to May 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees</span> American labor union of public 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, corrections officers, sanitation workers, police officers, firefighters, and childcare providers. Founded in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1932, AFSCME is part of the AFL–CIO, one of the two main labor federations in the United States. AFSCME has had four presidents since its founding.

George Hardy was a Canadian-American labour leader who was president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) from 1971 to 1980. At the time of his death, SEIU had grown to become the fifth-largest affiliate of the AFL-CIO. Hardy was a vice president of the AFL-CIO from 1972 to 1980, and a member of its executive council. He was a former member of the Democratic National Committee and the California Democratic State Central Committee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liz Shuler</span> American labor activist (born 1970)

Elizabeth H. Shuler is an American labor activist and, since August 5, 2021, President of the AFL–CIO. She is the first woman to be elected president of the federation. She was previously the first woman and the youngest person to hold the position of Secretary-Treasurer. She is the highest-ranking woman in the labor federation's history. From her election to the retirement of Arlene Holt Baker in 2013 was the first time that two of the three officer positions in the AFL–CIO were held by women; her election as president with Fred Redmond succeeding her as Secretary-Treasurer marked the first time two of the three positions were held by African Americans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Kay Henry</span> American labor leader (born 1958)

Mary Kay Henry is an American labor union activist who was International President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) from May 8, 2010 until her retirement on May 20, 2024. She was the first woman to lead the union. While serving with the union in California, she helped pioneer SEIU's use of card check agreements, non-traditional collective bargaining agreements, comprehensive campaigns, and system-wide health care organizing strategies. Henry was included on Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2020.

The United Public Workers of America (1946–1952) was an American labor union representing federal, state, county, and local government employees. The union challenged the constitutionality of the Hatch Act of 1939, which prohibited federal executive branch employees from engaging in politics. In United Public Workers of America v. Mitchell, 330 U.S. 75 (1947), the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the Hatch Act, finding that its infringement on the Constitutional rights was outweighed by the need to end political corruption. The union's leadership was Communist, and in a famous purge the union was ejected from its parent trade union federation, the Congress of Industrial Organizations, in 1950.

The 2009 election for the leadership of the AFL–CIO occurred following the announcement of incumbent president John Sweeney's retirement. The election took place during the 26th AFL–CIO National Convention in Pittsburgh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Saunders</span> American union leader

Lee A. Saunders is a leader of the labor movement in the United States. He was elected to succeed Gerald W. McEntee as President of the 1.6 million-member American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), one of the largest and most politically active unions in the AFL-CIO, on June 21, 2012, during the union's 40th International Convention in Los Angeles. Saunders served as Secretary-Treasurer of AFSCME from 2010 to 2012.

References

Non-profit organization positions
Preceded by Executive Vice President of AFL-CIO
September 21, 2007–September 10, 2013		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.