Holt-Baker Elected New AFL-CIO Exec VP

The AFL-CIO Executive Board Friday elected long-time union and grassroots organizer Arlene Holt-Baker as the new Executive Vice President of the AFL-CIO. Holt-Baker is the first African-American to hold one of the top three positions in the AFL-CIO. Holt-Baker fills the unexpired term of Linda Chavez-Thompson, who announced her retirement early last week. “I am truly honored and humbled by this opportunity to serve America’s working people and to follow in the footsteps of [Linda Chavez-Thompson],” Holt-Baker said. “I will do everything in my power to live up to her example and to support working men and women as they struggle for the rights and freedoms they so richly deserve.” Holt-Baker’s experience as a union and grassroots organizer spans more than 30 years. She has held leadership roles in a variety of labor campaigns and organizations, including AFSCME, the AFL-CIO, and the Voice at Work, Voices for Working Families, and AFL-CIO Gulf Coast Recovery campaigns. “Like Linda Chavez-Thompson, Arlene is a true organizer and leader,” said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. “I can think of no one better to elevate the voices of working people and make sure they are heard and heeded on issues like health care, jobs and economic justice.”