For Immediate Release
Tuesday, March 27, 2001
Democrats 2000 Honors AFSCME President
Washington, DC —Gerald W. McEntee, President of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO, joins Senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota and Heather Booth of the NAACP in being honored as one of Democrats 2000's modern day progressive champions. Mr. McEntee will receive the honor during the Democrats 2000 annual dinner on Wednesday, March 28 at the National Woman's Democratic Club, 1526 New Hampshire, Ave., NW.
"Gerald McEntee is one of the great progressive leaders of our time. We are honoring him because of his unbending commitment to democratic principles, economic justice and civil rights," said Kelly Young, Executive Director of Democrats 2000. "He not only stands up for the issues that really matter to working families--accessible health care, fair taxes, a secure retirement, and fair and living wages, but he has the passion and dedication to bring those issues to American's front doors and workplaces."
As Chairman of the AFL-CIO's 14-million-member "Labor 2000," effort, President McEntee is credited with spearheading a massive get-out-the-vote effort that targeted 12 key states. As leader of one of the largest unions in the AFL-CIO, McEntee devised the highly successful "Labor 2000" campaign, which thrust issues important to working families to the top of America's political agenda.
President McEntee was recently named one of America's 50 most powerful people in politics in the farewell issue of George Magazine, founded by the late John F. Kennedy Jr. Mr. McEntee was first elected president of the 1.3 million-member AFSCME in 1981 and was re-elected in June 2000 for a sixth consecutive four-year term.
Media interested in covering the Annual Dinner should contact Democrats 2000 at 202-626-5620.
