Liz Shuler

Elizabeth H. Shuler (born 1970) 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 (as of 2009) 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. Early life and IBEW career Liz Shuler was born to Lance and Joyce Shuler in 1970. Her father was an electrical lineman for Portland General Electric (PGE), and her mother worked there as a secretary. Although her father was a union member, clerical workers at PGE were not unionized. Shuler was raised in the town of Gladstone, Oregon, and attended public school in the city. She received her bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Oregon in 1992. While in college, she worked summers at PGE and was active in the state Democratic Party. Shuler first became active in union work after college. Her first job was as a union organizer for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 125, working on a campaign to organize clerical workers at PGE. She became a lobbyist for the IBEW in 1997, representing the union before the Oregon Legislature. One of her chief accomplishments for the union was the defeat of a bill (promoted by the Enron Corp.) to deregulate Oregon's electricity market. She also taught in the union's Construction Organizing Membership Education and Training (COMET) and Membership Education and Mobilization for Organizing (MEMO) union organizing programs. Shuler also served on the State of Oregon Management-Labor Advisory Committee on Workers' Compensation, and was appointed an IBEW delegate to the Northwest Oregon Central Labor Council.