| Anna Burger |
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| american labor leaders | |
| change to win federation | |
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Burger, a Pennsylvania native, and daughter of a disabled truck driver and a nurse, began her activist career in 1972 as a Welfare worker. It was there she became involved in her local union. Burger organized a walkout in efforts to create a safer working environment for the office. Burger became more active in her union, and quickly moved through the ranks of the local union. Burger became SEIU local 668's first full-time woman president before moving onto the SEIU International office in Washington, DC, to work as National Director of Field Operations, under former SEIU president John Sweeney . Burger successfully ran Sweeney's campaign for president of the AFL-CIO . She was elected Executive Vice President of SEIU , and Secretary-Treasurer in 2001. In her tenure at SEIU , Burger has worked with President Andrew Stern to create the largest and fastest growing union in North America. While union membership across the country has been continually dropping, SEIU is the only union that has continuously grown. Burger and SEIU are not stopping with North America, but are working to create ties with unions in other parts of the world, especially Europe and Asia. Over the past few years, Burger and Stern have worked to turn around the diminishing labor movement in America. They called for a change in the AFL-CIO 's strategies in June 2004. By the summer of 2005, 6 unions (including SEIU ) withdrew their membership to the AFL-CIO , and created a new labor coalition, the Change To Win Federation . On September 27, 2005, Burger was elected Chair of the breakaway coalition. As the Chair of Change to Win, Burger became the first woman to lead an American labor coalition, and is working to bring the American labor movement back to life. Despite her career, Burger found time to start a family with her husband Earl F. Gohl. They have one daughter, Erin Burger-Gohl, a student at the University of Arizona. Burger made a conscious decision to become both a mother and a successful career woman, never sacrificing one for the other. Anna Burger currently lives in Washington, DC with her family. |
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