Chicago, IL
The Executive Council of the AFL-CIO salutes Vice President Edward Hanley on his retirement from a lifetime of dynamic and innovative leadership as president of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees and as a distinguished member of this council.
After becoming business manager of HERE Local 278 in Chicago, his skills as an organizer and negotiator on behalf of his members led to his election to key leadership posts in the union’s local and regional structure, and he later became a vice president of the Illinois
AFL-CIO with a strong commitment to the role of state federations in advancing the concerns of working families. He was first elected as general president of the national union in 1973.
Now the senior member of the Executive Council, he was elected as a vice president of the AFL-CIO for the first time in 1975.
Whether it has been in bringing decent wages, health insurance and good pensions to members in the hospitality and food service industries, winning dignity and pay equity for HERE’s university clerical and technical workers division, or standing behind courageous members fighting for their rights as they did in the Frontier Hotel strike, Edward Hanley’s career in service to workers has been distinguished by his steadfast belief in organizing and by his zealous commitment to improving working conditions and opportunities for his union’s members.
As an officer of his union and of the AFL-CIO, he has been firmly committed to the role of HERE and of the federation as a voice for working people everywhere. Whenever any union has been on the frontlines of a struggle for a fair contract or for the right to organize, Ed Hanley has been the first to step up and pledge the support of HERE to the fight.
He has championed the role of a strong, united labor movement in political and legislative action, in the struggle for social justice and civil and human rights, in strengthening the communities where workers live and raise their children and in guaranteeing the right to organize to every worker who wants to join a union.
On behalf of the men and women of the unions of the AFL-CIO, the Executive Council expresses its gratitude and appreciation to Edward Hanley for his tireless dedication to the well-being of the members of his union, to the labor movement and to the best interests of all working families.