Elizabeth Shuler is the current secretary-treasurer/chief financial officer of the AFL-CIO, one of three top-level officers for the federation and the first-ever woman elected to the position. Coming from Portland, Oregon, Ms. Shuler has been at the forefront of such progressive labor initiatives as green jobs programs and the fight for workers’ rights for many years, starting as a political activist and an organizer at the local union level. Prior to her election as secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, Ms. Shuler worked her way up through the ranks of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), from Local Union 125 in Portland to the executive leadership at the international headquarters in Washington, D.C. Today, as chief financial officer of the federation, Ms. Shuler chairs the AFL-CIO Executive Council Committee on Finance, oversees the federation’s internal operations and leads the federation’s young worker and women’s initiatives and its repositioning efforts. Secretary-Treasurer Shuler also represents the AFL-CIO on various boards and committees, such as the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust and the Women’s Committee of the International Trade Union Confederation.
Food Tank recently had the opportunity to speak with Liz Shuler, Secretary-Treasurer for the AFL-CIO, who was one of the speakers at the 2015 Food Tank Summit.
