Hailed by Gannett as "the most influential woman in the U.S. labor movement” and named as one of Washingtonian's 100 Most Powerful Women in 2006, Anna Burger is both a top ranking officer at SEIU, the nation's largest and fastest growing union, and the first chair of America's newest labor federation, Change to Win.

Founded in September 2005 by SEIU and six other major unions representing six million workers, Change to Win is developing joint industry-based organizing campaigns aimed at ensuring that workers, not just CEOs, benefit from today's global economy.

The 1.8-million member SEIU is focused on uniting workers in three key sectors to improve their lives and the services they provide. It is the largest union of health care and property service workers and second-largest public employee union in North America. Since Burger's election as Secretary-Treasurer in 2001, half a million workers have united in SEIU.

A longtime strategist who oversees SEIU's national political operations, Burger directed the grassroots member action program that helped pro-worker candidates win both majorities in Congress in 2006, and the largest mobilization by any single organization in the history of U.S. politics in 2004. During this cycle, SEIU members built the largest labor PAC in the country by voluntarily raising more funds than any other union.

Her focus on organizing helped lead to a dramatic shift in “new” labor's priorities: SEIU now spends half of its resources to help more workers unite together to achieve the American Dream.

Breaking with tradition is nothing new for Burger; in the 1970'-80's she was out front on picket lines, anti-war protests and feminist rallies. She played a significant role in SEIU's recognition of choice as a key issue for women's health, and most recently, has been a passionate advocate for comprehensive immigration reform. Throughout her career, she has pushed labor to deepen its commitment to equality for all. Today, SEIU is the most diverse union in America, with a leadership that reflects its ranks: more than half of SEIU members are represented by local unions led by women or people of color.

Burger began her career in 1972 as a rank-and-file Pennsylvania state caseworker and union activist before her election as SEIU Local 668's first female president. She moved on to run the statewide political program and later became SEIU's national field director. She has been an active delegate to the Democratic National Convention since 1984 and has worked on the party's platform. She resides in Washington, D.C., with her husband, Earl F. Gohl, Jr. Their daughter, Erin Burger Gohl, studies at Smith College.

Blog Entries by Anna Burger

We Object: Republicans and Women's Health

1 Comments | Posted November 12, 2009 | 01:50 PM (EST)


For years, Republicans have attacked women's health care policy every chance they have gotten. They’ve voted against protecting domestic violence victims from being denied health insurance. They’ve voted to allow insurance companies to deny us coverage for life-saving mammograms. They’ve voted to deny our children basic health coverage. They’ve voted...

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Wall Street: the Real Roadblock to Economic Recovery

6 Comments | Posted November 2, 2009 | 01:50 PM (EST)


President Obama’s bold leadership and the swift action by congressional leaders last spring likely staved off a global economic depression. Because of that work, our economy is on the path to growth and hundreds of thousands of jobs have been saved.

But we are not out of the woods...

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It's Time for Congress to Investigate the Banks

33 Comments | Posted October 27, 2009 | 03:50 PM (EST)


 

Do we really think a few new laws will be enough to stop big banks and Wall Street from creating the next economic crash?
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Crash the Bankers' Party in Chicago

14 Comments | Posted October 22, 2009 | 04:24 PM (EST)


The financial section of the newspaper is starting to read like the script for a far-fetched crime movie. A group of villains hatch a plot to steal trillions of dollars from unsuspecting Americans. They drive the country into economic chaos, funnel money from families and small businesses into their own...

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Please, Senate Finance Democrats: Stop Hiding Behind Republicans

124 Comments | Posted September 28, 2009 | 11:17 PM (EST)


In just a few hours, the Senate Finance Committee has an opportunity to pick up where the House of Representatives and Senate HELP Committee began, and include in their bill a strong public health insurance option. Only one thing stands in their way: themselves.

Since the beginning of this debate,...

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US Chamber of Commerce at the Root of Financial Crisis

150 Comments | Posted September 9, 2009 | 07:29 AM (EST)


To find the "whodunnit" of our current economic crisis, look no further than the corporate boardroom.

Far from serving as checks-and-balances, today's corporate directors are under thumbs of the CEOs who selected them. With unquestioned power and ever increasing arrogance, CEOs can take unnecessary risks, hide...

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Change to Win: Mobilizing for a New American Dream

1 Comments | Posted September 3, 2009 | 12:48 PM (EST)


Our economy is transforming. Bailouts to big banks and shameless corporate greed have left us with a faltering economy, a weak job market and crumbling financial system that has made workers more vulnerable than ever. In order to put workers back on the path of prosperity, we need to build...

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The Economic Recovery Program Our Nation Needs

Posted December 12, 2008 | 09:28 AM (EST)


With news that unemployment claims have reached a 26-year high and Congress' continuing failure to reach a compromise to save millions of jobs and America's auto industry - the need for a strong economic recovery program couldn't be greater. We can no longer stand by and watch our...

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The Change That Is Needed: A Conversation with America's Workers

Posted January 30, 2008 | 01:10 PM (EST)


For a country deeply divided by party affiliation, job title, religion, and even ethnicity these days, President Bush's last State of the Union Address produced a fairly uniform response from pundits, politicians and the public: change is coming, and not a moment too soon. 

The message couldn't have been clearer...

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The New York Times Gets It Wrong on Edwards' Work On Poverty

Posted June 26, 2007 | 01:22 PM (EST)


Insinuation and hyperbole seem to be part and parcel of today's campaigning. But to suggest, as the New York Times recently did, that John Edwards' work on poverty is anything less than honorable is just plain wrong. Worse than that, it's insulting to the workers around the country he's...

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Paula Deen's Recipe for an Unhappy Family: Smithfield Pork

Posted April 19, 2007 | 05:06 PM (EST)


"Will Paula Deen be the next Kathie Lee Gifford?"

That's what the Washington Post's Reliable Source asked yesterday when the Food Network's Southern belle came to the Smithsonian to promote her new book, It Ain't All About the Cooking.

It's a great question to ask of Deen, famous for...

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Women Workers Are on the Frontlines of Change

Posted March 8, 2007 | 01:04 PM (EST)


We are undergoing a moment of immense economic transformation. The global economy and rapidly changing technology are profoundly shifting our industries and the way we live.

A century ago, America was amidst the industrial revolution, another moment of great economic expansion, but like today, many workers weren't seeing the benefits....

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