November 26th, 2017 by WCBC Radio
This week, hundreds of union members and labor activists met in Baltimore for the 31st Biennial Convention of the Maryland State and District of Columbia AFL-CIO. Highlighting the event was the official election of the organization’s first-ever woman president, Donna S. Edwards.
“I am honored, humbled and privileged to be elected president of this great labor organization. As a union leader and activist, I’m proud to work every day to help working families and to fight back against the increasing assaults on workers’ freedom, wages, safety, and ability to negotiate with corporations. I’m dedicated to serving as a strong labor leader and a unified voice for all workers, and our communities throughout the region,” said President Donna S. Edwards.
Donna S. Edwards is a trailblazer and pioneer for working men and women. She is the first woman to be elected President of the Maryland State and D.C. AFL-CIO. She was the first woman elected as Secretary-Treasurer, serving for sixteen years. During her tenure as Secretary-Treasurer, Donna drove the Maryland State and District of Columbia AFL-CIO’s legislative agenda that ensured the passage of strong, pro-worker legislation. Previously, Edwards was the first woman President of AFSCME Council 92 and has been President of AFSCME 112, with 4,100 members working for Maryland DHS, since 1984.
The Maryland State and District of Columbia AFL-CIO has more than 500 affiliated local unions, representing 340,000 union members in public sector, education, trades and construction, health care, transportation, entertainment, manufacturing, retail, hospitality, public safety and other industries. Edwards says, “We work for the right of all people to be free from employment discrimination, to be treated fairly, to earn family sustaining wages with secured retirement and affordable health care, to be safe at work and be free to join a union.” Her focus includes strategically investing taxpayer dollars in building and repairing our infrastructure and schools, creating good family-supporting jobs with benefits and job protections while ensuring accountability in spending public tax dollars.
Edwards is the daughter of former William “Bill” and Ruth Edwards and maintains a residence in Cumberland. She received her Bachelor of Social Work from the University of West Virginia and her Masters of Social Work from the University of Maryland. She attended Harvard University Kennedy School, completing the labor relations program.
