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Gerron Levi

We first met Gerron in 2002, when Rep. Dick Gephardt was seeking Labor‘s support for his legalization bill. As one of the AFL-CIO‘s top lobbyists Gerron‘s job was to represent Labor‘s interests on the Hill, but the size and diversity of the AFL-CIO made that job extremely complicated. Over the course of the next year, Gerron participated in a lengthy process to develop a comprehensive reform bill, led by Sen. Kennedy‘s staffer, Esther Olavarria.

That fall the Immigrant Worker Freedom Rides brought a new level of attention to immigration reform, and to the Labor Movement‘s position on immigration. It was hard to say where Labor really stood on the issue, partly because “Labor” is such a giant entity, and partly because the internal workings of the labor movement are mysterious, to put it mildly. What was very clear was that Gerron was a political force to be reckoned with-- we saw a lot of talented people at work on this issue, but Gerron‘s performance in a very tough position truly stands out.

Gerron was born in Chicago and started her career on the Hill as a staffer for Rep. Gus Savage (D-IL) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). She worked as a lobbyist for the Laborers International Union before joining the AFL-CIO‘s lobbying staff. These days she is also a member of the Maryland House of Delegates, representing District 23A, Prince George‘s County. Gerron is also a featured blogger on How Democracy Works Now.