Anna Burger
Encyclopedia
Anna Burger, was the Secretary-Treasurer of Service Employees International Union
(SEIU), and Chair of the Change to Win Federation
.
In February, 2009, Burger was appointed as a member to the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board
to provide the president and his administration with advice and counsel in fixing America's economic downturn.
, and daughter of a disabled truck driver and a nurse, began her activist career in 1972 as a Welfare worker. It was there she became involved in her local union. Burger organized a walkout in efforts to create a safer working environment for the office. Burger became more active in her union, and quickly moved through the ranks of the local union. Burger became SEIU local 668's first full-time woman president before moving onto the SEIU International office in Washington, DC, to work as National Director of Field Operations, under former SEIU president John Sweeney
. Burger successfully ran Sweeney's campaign for president of the AFL-CIO
. She was elected Executive Vice President of SEIU, and Secretary-Treasurer in 2001, and announced her retirement on August 11th, 2010.
In her tenure at SEIU, Burger has worked with President Andy Stern
to create the largest and fastest growing union in North America. While union membership across the country has been continually dropping, SEIU is the only union that has continuously grown. As well, Burger and SEIU are working to create ties with unions in other parts of the world, especially Europe and Asia.
Burger and Stern called for a change in the AFL-CIO's strategies in June 2004. By the summer of 2005, 6 unions (including SEIU) withdrew their membership to the AFL-CIO, and created a new labor coalition, the Change to Win Federation. On September 27, 2005, Burger was elected Chair of the breakaway coalition. As the Chair of Change to Win, Burger became the first woman to lead an American labor coalition.
In December 2009, the conservative Americans for Tax Reform
organization formally requested a federal investigation of Burger, claiming that she is an unregistered lobbyist, in violation of the Lobbyist Disclosure Act. However, upon investigating the matter, the U.S. Senate Secretary
found the alleged charge of Burger as a federal lobbyist to be false, and closed her office's file on the matter.
Burger is married to Earl F. Gohl and they have one daughter, Erin. Anna Burger currently lives in Washington, DC with her family.
Service Employees International Union
Service Employees International Union is a labor union representing about 1.8 million workers in over 100 occupations in the United States , and Canada...
(SEIU), and Chair of the Change to Win Federation
Change to Win Federation
The Change to Win Federation is a coalition of American labor unions originally formed in 2005 as an alternative to the AFL-CIO. The coalition is associated with strong advocacy of the organizing model...
.
In February, 2009, Burger was appointed as a member to the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board
President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board
The President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, originally the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, is a panel of non-governmental experts from business, labor, academia and elsewhere that President of the United States Barack Obama created on February 6, 2009. The board reports...
to provide the president and his administration with advice and counsel in fixing America's economic downturn.
Biography
Burger, born in Levittown, PennsylvaniaLevittown, Pennsylvania
Levittown is a census-designated place and planned community in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States, within the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The population was 52,983 at the 2010 census. It is above sea level...
, and daughter of a disabled truck driver and a nurse, began her activist career in 1972 as a Welfare worker. It was there she became involved in her local union. Burger organized a walkout in efforts to create a safer working environment for the office. Burger became more active in her union, and quickly moved through the ranks of the local union. Burger became SEIU local 668's first full-time woman president before moving onto the SEIU International office in Washington, DC, to work as National Director of Field Operations, under former SEIU president John Sweeney
John Sweeney (labor leader)
John Joseph Sweeney was the president of the AFL-CIO from 1995 to 2009.-Early years:Born in The Bronx, New York, Sweeney is the son of Joseph and Agnes , both Irish immigrants. The family moved to Yonkers in 1944, where Sweeney attended St. Barnabas Elementary School and graduated from Cardinal...
. Burger successfully ran Sweeney's campaign for president of the AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
. She was elected Executive Vice President of SEIU, and Secretary-Treasurer in 2001, and announced her retirement on August 11th, 2010.
In her tenure at SEIU, Burger has worked with President Andy Stern
Andy Stern
Andrew L. "Andy" Stern , is the former president of the 2.2 million-member Service Employees International Union , the fastest-growing union in the Americas. SEIU is the second largest union in the United States and Canada after the National Education Association.Stern was elected in 1996 to...
to create the largest and fastest growing union in North America. While union membership across the country has been continually dropping, SEIU is the only union that has continuously grown. As well, Burger and SEIU are working to create ties with unions in other parts of the world, especially Europe and Asia.
Burger and Stern called for a change in the AFL-CIO's strategies in June 2004. By the summer of 2005, 6 unions (including SEIU) withdrew their membership to the AFL-CIO, and created a new labor coalition, the Change to Win Federation. On September 27, 2005, Burger was elected Chair of the breakaway coalition. As the Chair of Change to Win, Burger became the first woman to lead an American labor coalition.
In December 2009, the conservative Americans for Tax Reform
Americans for Tax Reform
Americans for Tax Reform is an advocacy group and taxpayer group whose stated goal is "a system in which taxes are simpler, flatter, more visible, and lower than they are today. The government's power to control one's life derives from its power to tax...
organization formally requested a federal investigation of Burger, claiming that she is an unregistered lobbyist, in violation of the Lobbyist Disclosure Act. However, upon investigating the matter, the U.S. Senate Secretary
Secretary of the United States Senate
The Secretary of the Senate is an elected officer of the United States Senate. The Secretary supervises an extensive array of offices and services to expedite the day-to-day operations of that body...
found the alleged charge of Burger as a federal lobbyist to be false, and closed her office's file on the matter.
Burger is married to Earl F. Gohl and they have one daughter, Erin. Anna Burger currently lives in Washington, DC with her family.