Debby Szeredy

Executive Vice President, American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO

Debby began her career as an activist in the Retail Clerks Union in California right after graduating high school in 1973. In 1976, she was fired for distributing union authorization cards at a school for children with physical and intellectual disabilities in Arizona. Debby’s postal career started in 1977, and by the age of 24, she became the Arizona State President. Debby made history as the first woman to serve as the Local President of Phoenix Metro, which comprised 2,600 members.

She became the Western Regional Coordinator for APWU/POWER and the first woman president of the Mid-Hudson Area Local in New York, representing a plant under consolidation along with 124 associate offices. Additionally, she was Vice President of the NY Hudson Valley Area Federation, AFL-CIO.

Since 2013, Debby has been the first woman elected to the Executive Vice President role. As a member of the negotiating team for the APWU’s collective bargaining agreement, she has actively opposed consolidations and closures. She has also worked on mobilizing programs for APWU locals and states to engage members and the community in the struggle to preserve the people's postal service.