Arlene Holt Baker

Arlene Hot Baker recently made history as the Executive Council of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) unanimously voted to elect her the labor group’s executive vice president, making her the first African American ever to serve in one of the top three executive offices of the 10 million-member federation.

“We are really blessed to have someone with Arlene’s talents and experience representing the needs and aspirations of America’s working families at this crucial moment in history,” said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney in a statement. “Like [retiring Executive Vice President] Linda Chavez-Thompson, Arlene is a true organizer and leader. I can think of no one better to elevate the voices of working people and make sure they are heard and heeded on issues like health care, jobs and economic justice.”

In her new position, Holt Baker is working on a range of issues, devoting special attention to leadership on health care reform and workers’ freedom to form unions, and strengthening grassroots union movements in states and cities.

“I am truly honored and humbled by this opportunity to serve America’s working people and to follow in the footsteps of such a groundbreaking leader” as Chavez Thompson, Holt Baker said. “I will do everything in my power to live up to her example and to support working men and women as they struggle for the rights and freedoms they so richly deserve.”

One of seven children of a domestic worker and a laborer in Fort Worth, Texas, Holt Baker’s experience as a union and grassroots organizer spans more than 30 years and includes leadership roles in the AFL-CIO and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).