petee talley, board vice chair

Pierrette “Petee” Talley is Secretary-Treasurer of the Ohio AFL-CIO and the first woman to hold one of the top two offices in the history of the Ohio AFL-CIO. She was first elected in 2002 and reelected in 2006, 2010 and 2014 to a fourth 4-year term. In her capacity as Secretary-Treasurer she is charged with carrying out the administrative functions of the federation. She also works to highlight the inclusion of women in the decision making of the priorities of the labor movement in Ohio and helps women union leaders and activists navigate in what historically has been male-dominated terrain.

She serves on several boards including the Universal Health Care Action Network Ohio, Progress Ohio, the A. Philip Randolph Institute National Board, Coalition of Black Trade Unionists International Executive Council, and the National Board of the Alliance for Retired Americans. Most recently she served on the Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission,

Her career in the labor movement began with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) in Toledo, Ohio and she has held several positions with the AFSCME including the International union’s political and legislative director in Michigan, before her appointment to the position of State Director in the Field Mobilization Department of the national AFL-CIO in Columbus, Ohio in 1999. 

She continues her work at the grassroots, organizing union and community non-partisan voter mobilization efforts across Ohio. She volunteers in the capacity of Convener of the Ohio Unity Coalition and Black Women’s Roundtable, a coalition of several labor, faith, civil and human rights organizations with a focus on civil engagement in African-American communities across the state.

Petee is married to Cornell her spouse of 28 years; they have a blended family of four children and 11 grandchildren. She worships at the Tabernacle Church in Toledo, OH.