Black History Month: Arlene Holt Baker
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. She became the first African American in the federation's history to serve as an officer
https://and-still-i-rise.org/the-women/arlene-holt-baker/
Elected in 2007, Arlene Holt Baker is the first African American to hold the post of executive vice president of the AFL-CIO, one of the three highest offices in the largest federation of unions, which represents 12.5 million workers in the United States. She rose to that position through the ranks of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), serving as an organizer, international union representative and area director in California, where she brought public sector workers into the labor movement. Baker, a tireless champion for America’s working families, served in a number of positions and capacities at AFSCME and the AFL-CIO throughout her career. She led the AFL-CIO’s Gulf Coast Recovery effort after Hurricane Katrina and has fought for the right to organize; immigrant rights; lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights; voting rights; and for the right of union members to participate fully in the democratic process. Baker’s story reflects on her rise to power and the role that black women can and should play in preserving and advancing the labor movement.
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