Executive Council Statement
Barbara Easterling
… of America at the union’s convention this June. Among the many “firsts” that Barbara achieved was becoming the first woman to serve as AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer in 1995. She was also the first woman to win election to the secretary-treasurer post within CWA. Barbara was steeped in trade union principles early on, growing up in Akron, Ohio, in a family of union coal miners and rubber workers. After going to work as a telephone operator at Ohio Bell Telephone Co., she immediately joined CWA Local 4302 serving as a steward, …