Ed Hawthorne

Ed Hawthorne was unanimously elected President of the Connecticut AFL-CIO in October 2021, making him the youngest president in the organization’s history. Prior to being elected to lead the Connecticut state federation, Ed worked as an administrative law judge for the Connecticut Department of Labor where he was a member of AFSCME Local 269 and is licensed to practice law in Connecticut and New York. He also previously served as President of the Western Connecticut Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO and was a member of the AFSCME Council 4 and Connecticut AFL-CIO Executive Boards.

Since taking office, he has been working tirelessly with affiliates to secure strong contracts and rally members on the picket line. In 2022 Ed and his dedicated team at the Connecticut AFL-CIO secured the passage of legislation to prohibit captive audience meetings, which spurred fifteen additional states to enact or consider their own anti-captive audience legislation. He also oversaw an incredibly successful political season in 2024, where one union member was elected to Congress, thirteen union members were elected to the state senate and thirty-two were elected to the state house.