Sweeney, John Joseph (1934-2021), was an American labor leader. He served as president of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) from 1995 to 2009. The AFL-CIO is a federation of labor unions in the United States.
Sweeney was born on May 5, 1934, in the Bronx, in New York City. He graduated from Iona College in 1955 with a bachelor’s degree in economics. From 1957 to 1960, he was a researcher with the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union.
Beginning in 1960, Sweeney held a series of positions with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), an organization representing service workers in many occupations. He was a vice president of the SEIU from 1973 to 1980. From 1980 to 1995, he served as its president. During that time, Sweeney also was a vice president of the AFL-CIO. The SEIU was a member of the AFL-CIO until 2005.
Sweeney was elected president of the AFL-CIO in 1995. As president, he launched an effort to expand union membership. He also urged unions to negotiate more aggressively with employers. He was reelected in 1997, 2001, and 2005. In 2005, major unions, including the Teamsters Union and the SEIU, left the AFL-CIO because of disagreements over strategy. Sweeney retired as president in 2009. He then served as president emeritus of the AFL-CIO. In 2011, U.S. President Barack Obama awarded Sweeney the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his contributions to the American labor movement . Sweeney died on Feb. 1, 2021.
