Remembering John Sweeney

Remembering John Sweeney

Created: Friday, 12 February 2021 12:48

Remembering John Sweeney

It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of our friend John Sweeney, the lion of the labor movement and a founding Board Member of the Global Fairness Initiative. His lifetime of service and advocacy on behalf of workers is an inspiration and guiding star for our work at GFI and his loss is felt deeply by us and working people everywhere.

The son of union members, Sweeney made the labor movement and the fight for worker rights his life’s work. Beginning with the International Ladies Garment Workers Union in Manhattan and then the Service Employees International Union, Sweeny championed the cause of the most marginalized of low wage workers in New York. In 1980 Sweeney brought the fight for workers’ rights to Washington serving as President of SEIU and then as head of the AFL-CIO, the federation at the heart of the labor movement representing over 12 million workers from teachers to actors to transport workers. It was during his tenure as President of the AFL-CIO that he joined the Global Fairness Initiative as a Founding Board Member.

In receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011 Sweeney said that he saw the labor movement was “a way to social justice, striving to improve the lot of others.” This vision and his lifelong fight for equity, dignity and security in work inspired the founding of the Global Fairness Initiative and guides our work and mission to this day. Our values are rooted in his values and we are forever grateful for his for his leadership on our Board, and for his warm and wonderful friendship over these many year. In solidarity with workers everywhere, and on behalf of our whole GFI family, thank you John.