Louise Sundin

Louise Sundin is Executive Vice-President of the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, representing over 80,000 organized workers in the nine county west metro. Louise chairs the American Federation of Teachers Women’s Rights Committee and is a member of the AFT Human Rights Committee. She is known as a progressive labor leader and a powerful advocate for workers’ rights, women’s rights, and social justice. A career ninth grade English teacher, Sundin served 25 years as a national vice-president of the American Federation of Teachers with President Albert Shanker and 22 years as president of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers. She negotiated eleven model professional contracts with the Minneapolis Schools earning her national recognition as a spokesperson for education reform and teacher professionalism. Currently, Louise serves on the national boards of National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, NCATE, and the Homes Partnership as well as local teacher preparation programs. She is also a Co-Director of TURN, the Teacher Union Reform Network that works to transform unions into agents of change and a founding member of the Mooney Institute for Teacher Union Leadership. She created a union masters degree program in which over 500 teachers earned their Masters Degrees or Education Specialist degrees. Community service is an important part of Louise’s life. She was just appointed by the Governor to the Minnesota State College and University System Board and to the Minnesota Board of School Administrators. She is founder of Math Online, a unique and free homework helpline to assist students in doing their math homework via computer. Louise hosted “Education Matters: Your Children, Our Future”, an hour radio show every week for the past three years. She just completed 19 years on the Board of the Twin Cities United Way.