October 24, 2006
Union leader Henry Bayer to speak at SIUC
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Union leader Henry L. Bayer will visit Southern Illinois University Carbondale next month, as part of the fall lecture series sponsored by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute.
After meeting with students and faculty on campus during the day on Wednesday, Nov. 15, Bayer will speak in the SIUC Student Center Ballroom D at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
Bayer is executive director of Council 31, the Illinois affiliate of the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME). Council 31 is presently the bargaining representative for more than 75,000 state, university and local government employees throughout Illinois.
"Henry Bayer is a seasoned, savvy, straight-talking leader of an organization that significantly impacts public policy and government performance in Illinois," said institute Director Mike Lawrence. "I look forward to having him share his perspectives on the labor movement and major issues facing state government in Illinois with students, faculty, union members and others in the southern Illinois community."
Henry joined AFSCME in 1975 as an organizer. In 1976, he directed AFSCME's successful campaign to win representation rights for twelve thousand state para-professional and professional employees. Over the years he has served both the International Union and Council 31 in a variety of capacities.
As executive director, Bayer oversees the staff of the Council, which has more than 200 affiliated local unions throughout the State of Illinois. He is also the chief AFSCME negotiator with the State of Illinois on contracts covering 44,000 state employees. Since 1992, Henry has served as international vice president of the 1.3 million member AFSCME and, as such, sits on the union's highest policy-making Board.
Developing citizen-leaders with global perspectives is among the goals of Southern at 150: Building Excellence Through Commitment, the blueprint for the development of the University by the time it celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2019.
Henry L. Bayer
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