George, originally a steel mill worker, began his career in union activism in 1960, when he joined the United Steelworkers of America Local 1211 in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania.[1] In 1971, he was appointed to the International Staff of the USWA District 20.[1] In 1985, he was elected Secretary-Treasurer of the United Steelworkers Legislative Committee of Pennsylvania, where he was in charge of the legislative and education program.[1]
In 1990, he was elected President of the Pennsylvania AFL–CIO.[1] In that position, he is "unquestionably PA's top labor leader".[2] His election was a contentious one, with hundreds of construction workers who supported George's opponent, Vice Chair Robert McIntyre, leaving the convention hall in protest prior to the vote. At issue was a recently adopted rule allowing convention delegates to carry votes for their own local unions, plus votes for local unions not present; unions had previously been limited to one vote. National president Lane Kirkland sent McIntyre a letter supporting the decision.[3]
In 2003, he was named to the PoliticsPA "Power 50" list of politically influential individuals.[5] He was named to the PoliticsPA list of "Pennsylvania's Top Political Activists."[6] The Pennsylvania Report named him to the 2003 "The Pennsylvania Report Power 75" list of influential figures in Pennsylvania politics, calling him "the name most people still associate with organized labor."[7]
In 2009, the Pennsylvania Report named him to "The Pennsylvania Report 100" list of influential figures in Pennsylvania politics and noted that as a "veteran of Harrisburg political battles" Bill George was a "major force in the state Democratic Party and in the legislature."[8] In 2010, Politics Magazine named him one of the most influential Democrats in Pennsylvania.[9] He retired from the presidency in 2010.[10]
Media related to Bill George (labor activist) at Wikimedia Commons
