Mark T. Gaffney
Director, Term: 2010-2011
About
Michigan State AFL-CIO President Mark T. Gaffney represents three-quarters of a million active and retired union members, in over 40 affiliated unions as President of the State Federation.
His first introduction to organized labor came in 1975 when he worked on car ferries crossing Lake Michigan between Ludington and Wisconsin. From 1977-1981 he worked on Great Lakes iron ore freighters and was member of two unions, the National Maritime Union and the United Steelworkers of America.
When he could, Gaffney took classes at Michigan State University. He received his B.A. in philosophy in 1982 with a minor in economics. In 1984, he received a master’s degree from MSU in labor and industrial relations.
Gaffney went to work in 1984 for Teamsters Local 486 in the Saginaw area, which covers 22 Michigan counties. As an organizer and business agent for Local 486, he negotiated over 100 collective bargaining agreements in both public and private sectors.
In 1989, Gaffney went to work for Teamsters Joint Council No. 43 in Detroit, the union’s statewide operation. He served as the Joint Council’s Legislative and Community Affairs Director. His responsibilities included legislative analysis and reporting, political action, community services and public relations.
In September 1999 at the Michigan State AFL-CIO Convention, Gaffney was elected President of the State Federation, the fifth to serve in the federation’s 42- year history and was reelected in 2003 and in 2007 for four year terms.
The issue of labor and management relations and cooperation is important to Gaffney. He is a member of the Industrial Relations Research Association (IRRA) and Michigan Association of Labor/Management Committees (MALMC).
The work that labor unions engage in to build strong Michigan communities is also a focus for Gaffney, a lifelong resident of Michigan. As such, He is a member of the board of directors for the United Way of Michigan, is a co-chair of the Economic Alliance of Michigan (a group of major Michigan employers and unions), he is a trustee of the Michigan Council on Economic Education and serves as a board member of Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Michigan.
Gaffney is also on the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank, Detroit Branch.
