October 23 - A New Voice for Labor

Labor History in 2:00 · Oct 23, 2026 · 1m

On this day in Labor History the year was 1995.

That was the day that the AFL-CIO Convention convened in New York City.

At the convention John Sweeney was elected president of the federation.

It was the first contested election for president in AFL-CIO history.

He ran with a slate of labor leaders, including Richard Trumka, who called themselves the “New Voice” slate.

Sweeney was the President of the Service Employees International Union.

He was a New Yorker, born in the Bronx.

He started his career in labor working for the International Ladies’ Garment Workers, then moving to SEIU as a union…