Lee A. Saunders
Lee A. Saunders
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Lee A. Saunders is the Secretary-Treasurer of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO, which represents 1.6 million workers. He was elected at the union’s 39th International Convention in July 2010.

Prior to his election, Saunders served as Executive Assistant to AFSCME Pres. Gerald McEntee and has been responsible for managing what is acknowledged to be the most effective political and legislative operations in the history of the American labor movement. AFSCME’s clout in fundraising and member mobilization, and its lobbying expertise are unmatched in the ranks of the AFL-CIO and beyond.

Building on ideas generated by local unions, Saunders has championed AFSCME’s Next Wave initiative to encourage and develop the next generation of union leadership. He has also developed and supported programs that foster diversity and promote increased member participation within the union.

Saunders has served as administrator of a number of AFSCME councils and large local unions across the country. For nearly four years, he served as administrator of AFSCME District Council 37, New York City’s largest public employee union, representing 125,000 members. In that capacity, he was successful in restoring the fiscal health, integrity and good name of the council and its 56 affiliated local unions.

Saunders serves as a vice president of the AFL-CIO Executive Council, which guides the daily work of the labor federation. He is an at-large member of the Democratic National Committee and a member of the Executive Committee of the Congressional Black Caucus Institute’s 21st Century Committee. In addition, Saunders serves on the board of the Progressive States Network, which supports progressive state legislators with research, policy, communication and strategic resources.

Saunders grew up in a union household in Cleveland, Ohio. His father was a bus driver and a member of the Amalgamated Transit Union. After raising two sons, his mother returned to college and became a community college professor and a member of the American Association of University Professors.

He received a Master of Arts degree from Ohio State University in 1974, a year after earning his Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio State University. In 2002, the College of New Rochelle awarded him an honorary doctorate degree in Humane Letters.

Lee and his wife Lynne live in Washington, DC, and have two sons, Lee, Jr. and Ryan.

Blog Entries by Lee A. Saunders

Working Families Targeted in Michigan

9 Comments | Posted February 29, 2012 | g:i A

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is using the economic mess Wall Street created as a smokescreen to do what corporate-backed politicians like him have always wanted to do: dismantle public services and destroy workers' rights.

Snyder came into office claiming he was neither anti-union nor anti-worker. Yet, many of his actions...

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Killing Pensions to Benefit the 1 Percent

90 Comments | Posted January 12, 2012 | g:i A

Rupert Murdoch's Wall Street Journal, the Pravda of the 1 percent, is at it again, continuing its push to gut the retirement security of millions of middle class workers across the country while enriching the Wall Street moneymen who just three years ago took our economy over the cliff.

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America's Failed 401(k) Experiment

0 Comments | Posted September 27, 2010 | g:i A

While the unfunded pension liabilities in many public retirement funds have received an inordinate amount of attention, the larger retirement deficit of most Americans is not generating the level of concern that it deserves. Individuals who have been left on their own to save for retirement in 401(k) accounts face...

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New Jersey's Pension Fraud Hurts Investors, Taxpayers and Retirees

0 Comments | Posted August 25, 2010 | g:i A

Last week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission did something it has never done before. It charged the state of New Jersey with fraudulently misleading investors about the health of the state's pension plan. From 2001 to 2007, the SEC charged, the state gave out false information about the state's...

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