April 27, 2007

Contact: Tim Burga
614.565.2292 | tburga@ohaflcio.com

Joe Rugola Elected Ohio AFL-CIO President; Board Selects School Employees Union to Lead Labor Body

Columbus – The executive board of the Ohio AFL-CIO today selected Joe Rugola by acclamation to serve as the labor federation’s president. He replaces Bill Burga, a member of the United Steel Workers, who retired after 14 years in the post.

Rugola is the executive director of the Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE), which represents 38,000 non-teaching public school, library, Head Start and MRDD workers across Ohio. OAPSE is affiliated with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).

“I am honored and humbled by the support given me by Ohio’s labor leaders. I appreciate their vote of confidence and look forward to working with all of them on behalf of Ohio’s working families,” said Rugola.

He has been a vice president of the Ohio AFL-CIO since 1988, and in 2002 was named to chair the federation’s Task Force on Political Action. In that capacity, he created the “Take Back Ohio” program, designed to reshape the way labor influences electoral politics and to fully engage union members in Ohio’s grassroots political process. As a result, thousands of union members helped elect Governor Ted Strickland, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann, Ohio Treasurer Richard Cordray, Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, and a host of local and state senate and house candidates.

Rugola is an International Vice President of AFSCME, which represents 1.4 million public and non-profit workers nationwide. He is a member of AFSCME’s Organizing Committee and the 2008 Presidential Search Committee, as well as the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU).

Rugola is a 1972 graduate of the Ohio State University, earning a degree in political science.

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