Donahue, Thomas R. (Thomas Reilly
Donahue)
[key], 1928–2023, American labor leader, b. New York City. A
long-time member of the Service Employees International Union, he rose from
a position as a local organizer to serve as its first vice president
(1969–73). From 1967 to 1969, he was Assistant Secretary for
Labor-Management Relations in the U.S. Dept. of Labor. Donahue was an
executive assistant (1973–79) to American Federation of Labor and Congress of
Industrial Organizations president George Meany and from 1979 to 1995 was
secretary-treasurer of the labor organization. He briefly succeeded Lane
Kirkland as
interim president of the AFL-CIO in 1995 but lost an election for the
position to John J. Sweeney.
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