Former AFL-CIO President John Sweeney dies at age 86
FILE - In this Sept. 15, 2009, file photo, outgoing AFL-CIO President John Sweeney speaks at the AFL-CIO convention at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh. Sweeney, who spent 14 years steering the AFL-CIO through a time of declining union membership and rising internal dissent, died on Feb. 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)WASHINGTON – John Sweeney, who spent 14 years steering the AFL-CIO through a time of declining union membership and rising internal dissent, has died. But he soon took a pay cut to become a researcher at the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. But, for the most part, satisfying working people was a mission that I had.”Sweeney is survived by his wife, Maureen Sweeney; his son, John Sweeney Jr.; his daughter, Patricia Sweeney; a granddaughter, Kennedy Moore; and two sisters, Cathy Hammill and Peggy King.