Gerald McEntee

Gerald William McEntee (January 11, 1935 – July 10, 2022) was an American trade union official. He served as president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), an affiliate of the AFL-CIO, from 1981 to 2012.

Early life McEntee was born in Philadelphia on January 11, 1935. His father, William, worked as a city sanitation worker and helped organize fellow municipal workers during the 1930s; his mother, Mary Josephine (Creed), was a housewife. He studied economics at La Salle University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1956. Several months later, he began working as a staff member of its Philadelphia local council.

McEntee was a member of the Democratic National Committee and was a "super delegate" in the Pennsylvania 2008 Democratic National Convention delegation. His gross salary of $1,020,751 in 2012, his last year on the job, coupled with his use of $325,000 in union money to charter private jets in 2010 and 2011, became an issue in the campaign to succeed him. After over three decades as AFSCME president, his plans to retire were announced in November 2011, and he was succeeded by Lee Saunders in 2012.

Personal life McEntee's first marriage was to Janet Wills. They had four children, one of whom predeceased him in 2017, and eventually divorced. He later married Barbara Rochford in 1989, and remained married to her until his death.

McEntee died on July 10, 2022, at his home in Naples, Florida. He was 87, and had a stroke prior to his death.