We congratulate our brother and friend, D. Taylor, on his recent retirement as international president of UNITE HERE and from his position on the Executive Council of the AFL-CIO.
Taylor’s career in the labor movement began in 1979 when he joined the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union, the predecessor of the union he would eventually lead, working as a waiter in Washington, D.C., while attending Georgetown University. Two years later he was hired by the union to work in Nevada, where he quickly earned a reputation as an innovative organizer for better standards in the hospitality industry.
During the 1980s and ’90s, Taylor helped rebuild the Culinary Workers Union into the force it is today, leading negotiations with some of Las Vegas’ largest casinos and playing leadership roles on major strikes, and in 2002, he was elected to lead the local.
In 2004, Taylor was appointed as the gaming division director of the international union, leading casino workers to victory across the United States. He was elected vice president in 2009 before being elected general president in October 2012.
During his tenure, UNITE HERE added nearly 150,000 members from all areas of the country, building the union into an organizing and political powerhouse whose members mobilized to win record contracts and turn out voters in critical elections. Taylor was a leading voice on the future of work and, under his guidance, the union made huge strides in protecting hospitality workers from the negative impacts of automation and artificial intelligence.
D. Taylor’s legacy is as an unapologetic champion for the members of UNITE HERE and America’s working people, and the AFL-CIO Executive Council congratulates him on his retirement and wishes him years of health and happiness.