Karen Deal leaving WSLC to join Washington State Democrats

SEATTLE (June 10, 2014) — Jeff Johnson, President of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, issued the following statement today:

Karen Deal has resigned as Political Director of the Washington State Labor Council effective later this month to accept the position of Executive Director with the Washington State Democratic Party. We will miss Karen’s exceptional political acumen — and her irreverent sense of humor.

Shortly after taking office in 2011, I hired Karen and asked her to help us build a political program that ran 24/7/365 and was as sophisticated as any in the country. Over three elections in the past three years she has done just that. For the first time, the WSLC has a fully integrated member communication and independent expenditure political program with polling capability, analytical capabilities, and a data bridge between our partners’ work and that of our affiliates.

I want to thank Karen for her work and wish her the best in her new role with the party. Karen has a great opportunity to sharpen the State Party’s strategic campaign planning and to help them hone their campaigns around a shared prosperity vision and value set. I look forward to continuing to work with her in this new role.

As Executive Director of the Washington State Democratic Party, Deal will be working Chairman Jaxon Ravens to engage partners, allies and the grassroots backbone of the party in its political program.

“While it’s difficult to leave the Washington State Labor Council, I couldn’t pass up this fantastic opportunity and challenge,” Deal said. “While our economy is moving forward, in order to build real economic security, we need to give working people a fair shot to get ahead. I look forward to continuing to work with our friends and allies in the labor movement to achieve our shared goals.”

Since joining the WSLC staff in April 2011, Deal has planned and directed the political efforts of the largest labor federation in Washington state, representing approximately 500 local unions and 400,000 rank-and-file members. Prior to joining WSLC, she served as Political Director for United Food and Commercial Workers Local 21, a WSLC affiliate, which represents approximately 43,000 members working in grocery store, retail, health care, and other industry jobs. Karen has also served as a Political Director for the M.L. King County Labor Council, AFL-CIO, and Washington Conservation Voters.