GAGE ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT
AFGE’s National President John Gage announced his retirement this week in a letter he to the union’s members. Gage has been president of the federal sector’s largest union for nine years and during that time the union added 85,000 additional members. Not only was that about a 40% increase in the union’s dues-paying membership, but it is as many members as the next largest federal sector union, NTEU, has in toto over its 70-year history. John also led AFGE to a victory over NTEU in the TSA organizing campaign which puts the union in an excellent position to add thousands of more members over the next couple of years.
As we have said several times, as far as the FEDSMILL brain trust is concerned, membership is the single most important measure of a union leader’s abilities.
Best of luck, John. We can’t wait to see who emerges from the pending AFGE convention as the next National President. The union has a history of dark horse candidates beating out front runners for that job at their national conventions.