MaryBe McMillan to Retire: "It has truly been the honor of my life"

Dear Union Family,

I am writing to share news. After 20 years as an officer of the NC State AFL-CIO, I have decided to retire and will not seek re-election at our convention in September. It has truly been the honor of my life to serve our members and work with such a dedicated group of leaders in the fight for economic justice.

I am proud of all that we have accomplished together. Our executive board has stepped up and taken more ownership of the state federation. We increased the number of local unions and number of union members affiliated and engaged with our state federation and central labor councils. And through strategic budgeting and smart investments, we built a strong financial foundation for the state fed and now have a reserve fund to maintain operations during a crisis. 

We expanded support for union campaigns by hiring an organizing director and now a labor-community organizer.  Our movement is growing and finally, we are seeing the investment and organizing we long advocated for in the South.

The state fed increased our social media presence and created an award-winning podcast series and traveling exhibit based on our state’s labor history. We now offer more training, including Advanced Labor School. We made our conventions and events more interactive to allow leaders to get to know each other and build solidarity across unions. And we launched a paid internship program to introduce young adults to the labor movement.

With your help, we found creative ways to support affiliated unions during the pandemic, and when Hurricanes Florence and Helene hit our state, we worked with the national AFL-CIO to provide relief funds to affected members. 

During recent political cycles, we expanded our member-to-member program and increased the numbers of calls made, doors knocked, and conversations we had with members. And it paid off—last year we elected numerous labor-endorsed candidates to statewide office and broke the anti-worker supermajority in our legislature. 

This year, we are helping lead the federal fightback by supporting our federal unions, organizing protests, rallies, and town halls, and holding our elected officials accountable.

Our state federation has a national reputation as an organization that punches far beyond its weight. Thanks to you, our staff, and our executive board, the NC State AFL-CIO is well positioned to tackle the challenges and opportunities ahead of us.

I am profoundly grateful for your trust in me and for saying “count me in” to grow and strengthen this movement. Our state fed and the movement we built has always been about the “we” and not the “me.” I know that with our awesome staff and with local union leadership and engagement, the NC State AFL-CIO will continue to grow the labor movement, build political power, and make North Carolina a better place for working people.

In solidarity,

MaryBe
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MaryBe McMillan
President