AFSCME Elects Chief Who Backs National Political Role

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees elected its No. 2 leader as president, signaling the biggest U.S. public-workers union will remain active in President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign.

Lee Saunders, 60, was seen by workers as a leader who would maintain predecessor Gerald McEntee’s push to spend on national political campaigns, while recruiting members among workers such as home- and child-care employees and in Southern states traditionally unfriendly to unions. McEntee is retiring after more than three decades in the top job.