Gerald McEntee

Who is Gerald McEntee?

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Gerald W. "Jerry" McEntee is an American union activist. From 1981 to 2012, he was the International President of the 1.6 million-member American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, one of the largest and most politically active unions in the AFL-CIO. McEntee succeeded Jerry Wurf as AFSCME President in 1981, serving until 2012, when Lee Saunders was elected President during the union's 40th International Convention in Los Angeles.

McEntee is seen by some as the "power behind the throne" in John J. Sweeney's rise to power in the AFL-CIO, and his rivalry with Andy Stern of the SEIU is seen by some as one of the underlying themes in the break between that federation and the Change to Win Federation

McEntee began his career as a labor leader in Pennsylvania in 1958 by going to work as an organizer for his father who was an AFSCME official in Philadelphia. He was elected Executive Director at the founding convention of AFSCME Council 13 in Pennsylvania in 1973 and an International Vice President of AFSCME in 1974. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from La Salle University in Philadelphia, and is a graduate of the Harvard Trade Union Program.