John Sweeney has been re-elected as chief of the AFL-CIO, despite the loss of two key unions from the federation. Sweeney ran without opposition, though more departures from the labor federation are possible. The AFL-CIO chief began his union career as a research assistant with the International Ladies' Garment Workers. When he was first elected to head the AFL-CIO, he was serving his fourth, four-year term as president of the SEIU.
See "AFL - CIO Chief Re - Elected As 2 Unions Exit", Associated Press, The New York Times, July 27, 2005