Department for Professional Employees, AFL–CIO
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| Full name | Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1977 |
| Head union | Paul E. Almeida |
| Affiliation | AFL-CIO |
| Office location | Washington, D.C. |
| Country | United States |
| Website | www.dpeaflcio.org |
The Department for Professional Employees, AFL–CIO (DPE) is a semi-autonomous "trade" department of the AFL-CIO, and serves as an advocate for professional workers within the federation, and before legislative bodies, the press and the public.
DPE has a three-fold mission: To promote the organization of professional workers into unions; to advocate for pro-worker legislation that affects professional workers; and to conduct research into professional work. Issues which DPE has been active on in the last several years include immigration, corporate ownership of news and entertainment media, mandatory overtime for health care professionals, freedom of expression in the arts and news media and higher education, and the definition of a professional under the National Labor Relations Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act. A number of DPE studies have gained widespread media attention, including research on unionization rates of white-collar workers, obstacles to organizing professional workers, and the factors which lead women to join unions. DPE offers a number of educational programs for AFL-CIO members throughout the year at which it publicizes its work.
The 1960s saw a significant increase in the number of professional workers joining labor unions in the United States. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy granted collective bargaining rights to federal workers. Unions such as the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, American Federation of Government Employees, American Postal Workers Union, National Association of Letter Carriers, American Federation of Teachers, Service Employees International Union, National Education Association and American Nurses Association added hundreds of thousands of new members in only a few years. The number of professionals also grew phenomenally: By 1977, there were 13.9 million professional workers in the U.S.
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