Chicago, IL

On behalf of the men and women of the unions of the AFL-CIO, the Executive Council salutes former Vice President Lenore Miller as she retires from her union and from this council for her lifetime of compassionate service to the well-being of working people everywhere.

Lenore Miller has devoted some 40 years of service to her union in posts including local union secretary-treasurer, national vice president, executive assistant to the president, international secretary-treasurer and international president. She was elected to the Executive Council in 1987 when she became the first woman union president to become a vice president of the federation.

In the international free trade union movement, she has been an officer of the International Union of Food and Allied Workers Associations (IUF) and the International Federation of Commercial, Clerical, Professional and Technical Employees (FIET), and she has spoken out with courage for the cause of democracy and human rights around the world.

Representing the labor movement with distinction, she served as the vice chair of the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, and she continues to be president of the Jewish Labor Committee.

As chair of the AFL-CIO’s Civil Rights Committee and of the Safety and Occupational Health Committee, Lenore Miller has been an eloquent and outspoken advocate for the cause of dignity and justice for working men and women and their families. Her dedication to organizing, with special concern for guaranteeing that workers in lower-paying jobs can exercise their right to a union, has made a profound and lasting difference in the lives of the workers she has served with intelligence and compassion.

The Executive Council of the AFL-CIO extends its gratitude and appreciation to Lenore Miller for her lifetime of distinguished service to the labor movement and her deeply held dedication to the best interests of all working families.