Washington, DC
On behalf of the men and women of the unions of the AFL-CIO, the Executive Council extends its heartfelt thanks and appreciation to our friend and brother Ron Carey as he retires from this council
Ron Carey began his career in the labor movement in 1956 after becoming a driver for United Parcel Service where he joined the Teamsters and became active in Local 804. Within two years, at only 22, he became a shop steward in his local, one of the largest in the union. In 1967, he became its outspoken and highly respected president, and he was elected national president of the Teamsters in 1991. He was elected to the AFL-CIO Executive Council in 1992.
Throughout his service as a local union president and as the national president of his union, Carey fought tirelessly and bravely for a better life for the working families he served-- bargaining for good wages, job safety and fair working conditions, and for decent pensions, better health care and child care. Along with a commitment to serving his members, Carey stressed the importance of energetic organizing and of encouraging members to exercise a strong and rightful voice in all the issues that affected their families whether it is in the workplace, in the community, or in legislative and political activism.
The AFL-CIO commends and thanks Ron Carey for his lifetime of diligent and devoted service to the members of the Teamsters and to the goals of this federation on behalf of working families everywhere.