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President Lee Appointed DPE Chair

AFM International President Thomas F. Lee Appointed
Chairman of the General Board of AFL-CIO’s
Department for Professional Employees (DPE)

Thomas F. Lee, international president of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada, has been appointed to serve as chairman of the general board of the AFL-CIO’s Department for Professional Employees (DPE), effective July 1, 2008.  President Lee will fill the remaining term of departing chairman, Edward J. McElroy, who retired as president of the American Federation of Teachers at that union’s recent convention.  Lee will serve until the next election in the DPE, which will be July 2009.    He will also maintain his position as International President of the AFM.

“I’m extremely honored and pleased by this appointment,” said Lee. “The AFM deeply values our relationship with the DPE, and I’m looking forward to working with the other affiliated unions to achieve their objectives on behalf of professional and technical workers throughout the US.

“The work of the DPE is essential to expanding the reach of these unions, and plays a major role in ensuring the strength and diversity of the American labor movement.  I’m excited to be a part of it,” Lee continued.

The Department for Professional Employees (DPE) is a coalition of 24 national unions representing more than four million highly skilled, white-collar employees. DPE unions include professionals in more than 300 separate and distinct occupations in many sectors including: health care and education; science, engineering and technology; journalism, entertainment and the arts; public administration and law enforcement. The DPE is the largest association of professional, technical and administrative support workers in the U.S., and is one of seven constitutional "trades" departments that are part of the AFL-CIO structure.

Founded in 1896, the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM), AFL-CIO, is the largest organization in the world dedicated to representing the interests of professional musicians.  With more than 90,000 members, the AFM represents all types of professional musicians, including those who record music for sound recordings, film scores, radio, television and commercial announcements, as well as perform music of every genre in every sort of venue from small jazz clubs to symphony orchestra halls to major stadiums.  Whether negotiating fair agreements, protecting ownership of recorded music, securing benefits such as health care and pension, or lobbying legislators, the AFM is committed to raising industry standards and placing the professional musician in the foreground of the cultural landscape.  www.afm.org