Gloria Middleton 
President

Gloria Middleton took the helm as President of CWA Local 1180 in January 2018, and is the first African American and first female to lead the 9,000 active member local. Previously, she served as the Union’s Secretary-Treasurer (2001-2018), and has been both the Local’s Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer. Under her leadership, the Local’s finances are the best they have ever been. She is the Trustee for the Local’s Benefits and Annuity funds, which have accrued assets of more than $120 million. 

In 2019, President Middleton resolved her first Mayoral contract with New York City that covered 8,200 members in titles represented by the PAA et al contract. She has been the chief negotiator for bargaining at NYCTA, and since 2001, she has been chief negotiator for the Local’s and Benefit Funds’ employees’ contract. 

Also in 2019, President Middleton successfully settled the longstanding EEO lawsuit against the City of New York for paying Administrative Managers less based on their race and gender. That $15 million settlement covered 1,800 active and retired Local 1180 members.

Gloria started her Union career as a Local 1180 Staff Representative in 1995, and also served as Chair of the Local’s Civil Rights & Equity Committee, and for 15 years was Chair of CWA’s National Civil Rights and Equity Committee. 

Gloria is Treasurer of the Municipal Labor Committee and is an Executive Board member of the NYC Central Labor Council. She was heavily involved in working to form what is now the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies and serves on the Labor Advisory Board. She is a Board Member of Eleanor’s Legacy, an organization dedicated to choosing female political candidates who support a woman’s right to choose. Gloria is currently finalizing negotiations for the PAA et al contract that covers the 8,200 mayoral agencies, NYCHA, and H+H.

As President of CWA Local 1180, Gloria is committed to leading a politically progressive union that organizes, mobilizes, and empowers members to improve their standard of living and that of all New Yorkers. Gloria continues to put Local 1180 on the map as one of, if not the most, progressive, outspoken unions as the voice of all working people.

Gloria has been honored by dozens of groups and organizations for her role in the labor movement, including the Black Institute, NAACP, the Bill Lynch Democratic Club, and the NYS Black and Puerto Rican Caucus. She is constantly recognized as one of the Labor Power 100. She is also honored as a Hero of Labor, one of the Power of Color: Black 100, and she has received Congressional recognition from Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee for her work with the CWA National Civil Rights and Equity Committee.