AFSCME Council 31 director Bayer to retire
On June 26, Henry Bayer announced his retirement from AFSCME Council 31 and submitted his resignation as executive director to the union's executive board, effective July 31.
The board unanimously elected longtime deputy director Roberta Lynch to become the new executive director. Roberta is a tenacious champion for workers and a veteran union leader who has served AFSCME for more than three decades.
Henry retires to fulfill a longstanding commitment to his family after 39 years with AFSCME. To ensure a smooth transition, he will continue to work for the union through the calendar year, with a special focus on the fall election in which the gains our union has made are at stake--not just for public-service workers but all working people in general and every Illinois resident who depends on the essential public services AFSCME members provide.
In a message to AFSCME local union leaders, Bayer said:
In the decades that I have been part of AFSCME, I have seen many changes in our union and in the well-being of our members.
When I first joined the union, public employees in Illinois did not enjoy full bargaining rights. Some had no such rights at all. In the thirty years since we first won full bargaining rights, our union grew from an organization of less than 20,000 to one of more than 90,000 active and retired members today.
As we grew in size, we grew in strength, enhancing our ability to negotiate contracts which ensure a middle-class standard of living for public-service workers in Illinois and protect their rights at work.
As one of the thousands of AFSCME members and staff who had a hand in those victories which took place at the bargaining table, in organizing campaigns, on picket lines, and in the legislative arena, I am proud of all that we have achieved together.
He praised the Board's choice of Roberta Lynch to succeed him, saying:
Roberta has been a mainstay of this union for 30 years, the last 21 in her current capacity as deputy director where she has had a hand in every strategic decision, whether related to contract negotiations, organizing, or the legislative arena. She is a battle-tested union leader.
