Maine AFL-CIO : Charles O'Leary Records

Collection

Identifier: SpC MS 0285

Staff Only

Dates

Creation: 1904-1993
Creation: 1978-1993 (bulk)

Creator

O'Leary, Charles, Jr. (Charles John) (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Kept at Fogler Library's offsite storage facility. One week's notice required for retrieval.

Box 1, Folder 4 contains social security numbers.

Conditions Governing Use

Rights assessment remains the responsibility of the researcher.

Biographical Note

Charles J. O'Leary was the longtime head of Maine's AFL-CIO, as well as a University of Maine System trustee. He was born in 1937 in Bangor, Maine and attended John Bapst High School. He started college at St. Michael’s College, then took a year off to work on an oil rig before completing his studies at the University of Maine, earning a master’s degree in history and government. He received a Fulbright grant to study at the American University in Beirut, Lebanon.

In 1968, O’Leary joined the labor movement, leading a statewide job-training program for the Maine AFL-CIO and in 1972, he became director of the University of Maine Bureau of Labor Education. In 1978, he was elected president of the Maine AFL-CIO, a position he held until his retirement in 1998. He joined the University of Maine System board of trustees in 2005.

O'Leary passed away in 2014 at the age of 76 (adapted from https://bangordailynews.com/2014/01/04/news/bangor/chick-oleary-longtime-head-of-maines-afl-cio-dies-at-76/; accessed 4/24/2019).