Sweeney took over the AFL-CIO in 1995, where his main legacy was restoring progressivism to the labor movement through reaching out to groups such as youth, the elderly, and minorities. Trumka said he aims to continue this focus on bringing more workers into the movement during his tenure at the AFL-CIO.
“I’m going to take credit for everything Rich Trumka does,” Sweeney says with a small laugh.
A MAN OF THE PEOPLE
While Sweeney jokes about taking credit for Trumka’s work, he is quick to give credit to others for making his union accomplishments possible.
IOP Director Bill Purcell says Sweeney is best described as “a mentor,” who is invested in the helping those around him.
“He’s always exhibited an interest in each of us here—our families, where we’re from, and where we’re going,” Purcell says. “Not just an interest, but an interest in helping if he can.”
And over the past few months, Purcell says, Sweeney has jumped into all aspects of life at Harvard. He is constantly meeting with students, attending events, and sitting in on classes.
“It seems like every time I look up, he’s headed off to another meeting with another group of students, usually to eat a large pizza dinner,” Purcell says. “He has simply been game for anything that our students want to do.”
IOP President P. Kenzie Bok ’11 said the advisory group of students and staff that selects the IOP fellows was in “complete agreement” over Sweeny’s selection.
“It was clear that he wasn’t just looking to be in residence at Harvard, but that he was looking to engage with young people,” Bok says.
Sweeney says that one of his favorite parts about his time at the IOP has been the connections he has made with students from across the University.
“I leave it up to them what I talk about, I’m not pushing my agenda,” Sweeney says. “It’s up to them what they want to get out of Sweeney,” he adds with a smile.
Harvard Kennedy School student Jesse W. Lava, a regularly participant in Sweeney’s study group, says Sweeney’s attendance at a recent event Lava organized for the Kennedy School’s Progressive Caucus exemplifies how committed he is to engaging with the Harvard community.
“Most big shots will pop into the room and leave,” Lava says. “He got there early, he stayed through the whole thing, and he talked to people afterwards. He’s not just phoning it in.”
According to Lava, Sweeney’s interactions with students have made it clear that, “he’s not just using it as a way to take a few months off.”
Sweeney has not “taken a few months off” in years, and came to the IOP only months after stepping down from the AFL-CIO. He says his wife Maureen, a retired school teacher who has shuttled back and forth from their D.C. area home and Cambridge many times this semester, sometimes says, “‘When are you going to retire?’ and I say, ‘the pension checks come.’”
—Staff writer Stephanie B. Garlock can be reached at sgarlock@college.harvard.edu.