The AFL-CIO Executive Council celebrates the service of our brother and friend, Anthony “Marc” Perrone, retired international president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW).
During his 11 years as international president and more than five decades of union membership, Perrone engaged in the righteous battle against corporate greed and brought economic justice and security to working people.
Born in Texas and raised in Arkansas, Perrone started his union career at the age of 16 when he began working at a Weingarten’s grocery store and joined the Retail Clerks International Union, which would merge with the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America in 1979, and become the union he would later lead.
Prior to becoming international president, Perrone served UFCW through various roles, including as director of UFCW Region 1, director of Strategic Programs, Collective Bargaining and Organizing, and as international secretary-treasurer, where he kept the union on sound fiscal footing during the Great Recession.
Perrone was appointed international president in December 2014, becoming UFCW’s fourth president. He was formally elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2023. Under his leadership, Perrone guided the union through a number of strikes and a pandemic. He was a fierce advocate for protecting workers’ health and safety on Capitol Hill and for winning the best possible contracts for them. He was committed to growing a diverse and inclusive movement through organizing efforts, and was instrumental in shaping the federation’s strategy as chair of the Committee on Organizing and as a member of numerous committees, including the Executive Committee.
Marc Perrone dedicated his life holding corporations accountable and fighting for the rights and dignity of working people, and on behalf of the nearly 15 million members of the AFL-CIO, we wish him a long, happy and healthy retirement.