For Immediate Release
Contact: Max Hall, 612-247-3725, [email protected]
AFSCME Council 5 Welcomes New Executive Director
South St. Paul, MN –January 2020 - Longtime AFSCME Council 5 Legislative Director and union leader Julie Bleyhl has been named Executive Director of AFSCME Council 5!
Julie has over 35 years of experience fighting in the halls of power at the Capitol and workplaces on behalf of working families, first at the Minnesota Farmer’s Union and then Council 5, becoming Legislative Director in 1994 and Interim Executive Director since September 25, 2019. Bleyhl has also served on the University of Minnesota Board Of Regents and the Minnesota State University Board. She has truly walked the walk on picket lines, at the negotiating table alongside members and continues to hold Legislators accountable to our shared values and legislative priorities.
Bleyhl has been instrumental in passing the largest and most significant pension sustainability law in a generation, protecting and strengthening the defined-benefit pensions of over 500,000 public employees and retirees. Additionally, Julie remains an integral figure to protect the Public Employee Labor Relations Act (PELRA) from persistent attacks, securing and expanding collective bargaining rights and protecting public services and programs from privatization which harms the proper delivery of services that millions of Minnesotans depend on.
“Our union is diverse, strong, and well-positioned to fight against corporate greed and to fight for the rights of working people to collectively bargain over their wages, hours, working conditions and benefits. In order to do this effectively, we as a union must remain on the cutting edge of technology, organizing tactics and strategies and truly represent all members of our union. We can achieve great things as a union family, but we can only do it if we do it together, with a common goal and a clear vision. I remain committed to leading our union that is driven by members,” Bleyhl says.
The 43,000 members of AFSCME Council 5 are poised to make significant advances in the fight for racial, economic and social justice so that all working families have a chance at making it into the middle-class. AFSCME Council 5 welcomes Julie Bleyhl to this role!
