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The Minnesota AFL-CIO General Board, meeting Tuesday in St. Paul, unanimously elected Julie Blaha to serve as the state labor federation’s secretary-treasurer.
Blaha, president of Anoka-Hennepin Education Minnesota from 2010 to 2014 and currently a mathematics and science teacher at Jackson Middle School in Champlin, succeeds Steve Hunter in the state labor movement’s No. 2 position.
“Growing up in a union household, I learned firsthand how important the labor movement is to sustaining families and improving the lives of all working people,” said Blaha. “I took my father’s belief in fairness and hard work with me both into teaching and leading my local union. I’m excited to bring those values and experience to the Minnesota AFL-CIO.”
With Blaha’s election, she becomes the first classroom teacher and Education Minnesota member to serve as a Minnesota AFL-CIO executive officer and the first woman elected to the office of secretary-treasurer.
“I’ve known Julie for a number of years and Minnesota’s union members will be well served by the leadership and experience she brings to the state federation,” said Minnesota AFL-CIO President Bill McCarthy. “I’m looking forward to working side by side with Julie to grow Minnesota’s labor movement, strengthen our relationships with community allies, and advocate for policies that benefit all working Minnesotans.”
The Minnesota AFL-CIO is the state labor federation made up of more than 1,000 affiliate unions, representing more than 300,000 working people throughout Minnesota.