The AFL-CIO Executive Council recognizes our brother and friend, AFSCME President Lee Saunders, who will retire in August 2026 after a lifetime of service to the labor movement.
During his 14 years as president and more than five decades of service to working people and the labor movement, Saunders expanded the power of public service workers across the country and remained a staunch advocate for America’s working people.
Saunders grew up in a union household in Cleveland. His journey in the labor movement began in 1975 while working at the Ohio Bureau of Employment Services, where he joined the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association. Three years later, he began his career with AFSCME as a labor economist and quickly rose through the ranks, negotiating major contracts, building powerful coalitions, mobilizing members and supporting affiliate campaigns, as assistant director of Research and Collective Bargaining Services, director of Community Action and deputy director of Organizing and Field Services.
As executive assistant to the president of AFSCME, Saunders led one of the most effective political and legislative operations in the history of the American labor movement.
In July 2010, Saunders was elected secretary-treasurer of the international union, and in June 2012 he was elected president, becoming the first African American to lead the 1.4 million-member union.
As president, Saunders steered the union through a number of crises with clarity and resolve: responding to the Supreme Court’s decision in Janus v. AFSCME Council 31, which undermined the rights of public sector workers, with campaigns that expanded internal and external organizing efforts and deepened member engagement; and confronting the COVID-19 pandemic, where his determined advocacy helped secure unprecedented relief for working families, preserving essential public services and saving jobs and communities across the country.
On the Executive Council, Saunders has been a valued member of a number of committees, including the Executive Committee. His service as chair of the Political Committee, where his political savvy and strategic acumen continue to shine, has been second to none.
Throughout his career, Saunders’ dedication to America’s public service workers and all working families has been exemplary. He has made his union stronger, more united and prepared for the fights ahead, and the AFL-CIO Executive Council wishes Lee Saunders a long, happy and healthy retirement.