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For immediate release
August 31, 2009 |
Washington, D.C. – Georgetown University will present John J. Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, with the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, in recognition of his lifelong dedication to improving working conditions and fighting for basic human rights for workers on September 3, 2009.
John Sweeney is credited with making a profound impact on the lives of working men and women across the country from his early work as a labor organizer to his time spent as president of the SEIU in the 1980s and 90s, and as president of the AFL-CIO since 1995. His efforts, with these and the many other organizations he has served, have always championed the right of all people to be able to live and work with dignity.
"John Sweeney is very much a man for others and we are pleased to recognize him for this reason, as well as for his extraordinary contributions to the labor movement and for his unwavering commitment to social justice, causes which this community has always championed," said Georgetown University President John J. DeGioia, noting Georgetown’s commitment to engaging students in the struggle for social justice and care for the most vulnerable.
Born in the Bronx, Sweeney understood the importance of worker solidarity and its role in Catholic social teaching from an early age. Sweeney credits his beliefs to the values and ethics instilled in him by his parents, to his father’s participation in the local transit worker’s union in New York City, and to his Catholic education at Cardinal Hayes High School, Iona College, and Xavier Labor School. He graduated from Iona College in New Rochelle, N.Y. with a degree in economics.
During Sweeney's 15 years of leadership, the Service Employees International Union grew from 625,000 to 1.1 million members. In 2005 he was elected to his fourth term as president of the AFL-CIO, which has 56 affiliated unions and 11.5 million members, including 3 million members in Working America, its new community affiliate.
In May 2000, Sweeney was also elected president of the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC), an international organization with consultative status at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). TUAC’s affiliates represent some 70 million workers and include over 55 national trade union centers in the 29 countries in the OECD. TUAC coordinates worker and union input to the G8 economic summits.
Sweeney is the author of America Needs a Raise, Fighting for Economic Security and Social Justice (Houghton-Mifflin 1996). He is the co-author of Solutions for the New Work Force (Seven Locks Press 1989) and co-editor of the UNA-USA Economic Policy Council’s Family and Work: Bridging the Gap (Ballinger Publishing1987).
About Georgetown University
Georgetown University is the oldest and largest Catholic and Jesuit university in America, founded in 1789 by Archbishop John Carroll. Georgetown today is a major student-centered, international, research university offering respected undergraduate, graduate and professional programs in Washington, D.C., Doha, Qatar and around the world. For more information about Georgetown University, visit www.georgetown.edu.
