Investing in Clean Energy and Pennsylvania’s Working Families

As the first female president of Pennsylvania’s AFL-CIO, Angela Ferritto embodies courage, strength, and leadership. A passion for the labor movement and a desire to share that passion with others has guided her career, earning her numerous accolades along the way. In 2022, Angela was named the #1 most powerful labor leader in Pennsylvania.

A trailblazer in her field, Angela is committed to educating other women about service and leadership. She was an instructor at the Northeast Regional Union Women’s Summer School for 11 years where she facilitated workshops about internal and external organizing, bridging the generational gap, and leadership skills.

Angela’s work to educate women and young people about the labor movement has earned her national recognition. In 2023, she was recognized for leading the 700,000-member Pennsylvania AFL-CIO in its fight for job security and fair pay by Power of Diversity: Women 100. She also received the Clara Day award at the National Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) convention. The award recognizes state presidents who embody Day’s mission of paving the way for young women in the labor movement.

As part of her decades-long career in the labor movement, Angela served as chapter and statewide president of CLUW where she worked with all chapters to help advance the organization’s mission and increase membership participation. In 2018, Angela was selected to be part of the Women’s Global Leadership Program, a program run in conjunction with the UN Commission on the Status of Women designed to enhance understanding of the global economy and strengthen organizing and advocacy skills around pro-women policies.

Angela is the face of labor in Pennsylvania and has advanced the labor movement by successfully organizing hundreds of public and private sector workers. She is a member of AFSCME, where she served as president of her local union before joining Council 13 staff in 2010. As a trusted part of the AFSCME team, Angela was an organizer and staff representative in the grievance and arbitration department and then in the education and resources department.

Angela’s leadership and commitment to service have earned her positions on numerous state and local boards. She served on the transition leadership board for Governor Josh Shapiro and was appointed by Governor Tom Wolf to serve on the Unemployment Compensation Advisory Board. In addition, she is a member of the Pennsylvania Workforce Development Board, the Penn State Labor School Advisory Board, and the Board of Directors of the Appalachian Council.

Jim has been a proud, active member of Steamfitters Local 420 for 35 years. After graduating from Monsignor Bonner High School in Drexel Hill, he began his apprenticeship in 1990 and went on to work in both the commercial and industrial fields as a Fitter, Foreman and Steward. He actively participates in local elections, political rallies, labor walks and picket lines.

Jim has gained the trust of members, who elected him to serve on the Examining Board in 2004 and then the Executive Board in 2007. In 2010, he had the privilege of being elected to serve as President, where he was a Trustee to all Local 420 benefit funds. He also was a member of the Negotiating Committee and chairman of all Local 420 meetings. Through these experiences and from his attendance at the National Coordinating Committee for Multiemployer Plans Conferences (NCCMP) and the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Conferences (IFEBP), Jim gained valuable knowledge in fiduciary matters that to this day has helped him work with a qualified team to ensure sound, strategic investments that have shored up union funds and brought benefits directly to members and their families.

Jim was elected Business Agent in 2013 and then re-elected in 2016. He covered Center City Philadelphia and the Residential Division, in addition to the Metal Trades Division. Then-Business Manager Anthony Gallagher appointed Jim to the position of Assistant Business Manager in December 2018. He later became Business Manager on April 1, 2019, by virtue of Local 420’s bylaws, after Anthony went on to serve the United Association. The members elected Jim as Business Manager in June 2019 and June 2022.

Jim has proudly represented the Local Union in varied positions over the years to ensure the voices of 420 members are heard. He was elected and currently serves as the Financial Secretary-Treasurer of the Pennsylvania Pipe Trades, Trustee of the Pennsylvania State Building and Construction Trades Council, Executive Board committee member of the Philadelphia AFL-CIO, and President of the Mechanical Trades District Council of the Delaware Valley.

Service to Local 420 runs deep for Jim. He began as an AFL-CIO delegate, where he served for more than 10 years. He was elected to serve as Vice President of the Delaware County AFL-CIO in 2009. Jim also has been honored to have been elected by the membership to represent 420 as a delegate at the United Association General Conventions in 2006, 2011, 2016 and 2021.

Jim has been inside the White House in Washington, D.C., and the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg. Regardless of the administration, his leadership is recognized on both sides of the aisle.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro re-appointed him to the 13-member Philadelphia Port Authority Advisory Committee, where he represents the Philadelphia Building Trades. He also served on Shapiro’s transition team related to energy and environmental issues. Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity appointed him to the Delaware River Port Authority. Jim also previously served by appointment on the Zoning Board of Adjustments, where he represented both Steamfitters Local 420 and the Philadelphia Building Trades. He is chairman of Mid-Atlantic Clean Hydrogen Hub (MACH2), which recently receive $18.8 million to begin Phase 1 activities. Jim also serves on Gov. Shapiro’s LNG Task Force Commission as well as the Philadelphia Shipyard Development Corp.

Even with his responsibilities on behalf of members, family is still central to Jim’s life. He and his wife, Kim, have been married for 27 years and have four children: daughters Madison, 24, Devin, 22, and Paige, 21, and son, Jake, 19. The family lives in Havertown, Delaware County.

As a man of honesty and integrity, Jim believes that as an officer of Steamfitters Local 420, you must lead by example. He has a deep commitment to the principles and values of the Local Union --- traits that were instilled in him by his late grandfather, John Wilson Sr., a 53-year member. In this next election, Jim respectfully asks for members’ continued support to serve Steamfitters Local 420 as Business Manager.

State Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler was elected to the Pennsylvania House on Nov. 8, 2018, representing the 184th Legislative District in Philadelphia.

Prior to being elected state representative, Fiedler was a reporter at public radio station WHYY-FM for a decade, covering community affairs and politics. As a journalist, Fiedler spent her days asking tough questions of people in power, and held politicians and other leaders accountable. The best part of her job was helping regular folks in her community share their stories of struggle and success. Fiedler has talked with thousands of people all over Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, and is working hard to make sure that everyone’s voices are heard in Harrisburg.

As a mother of two sons, she is concerned for the future of education. Fiedler is an advocate for strong public schools, so that each child, regardless of race, gender, economic class or location, can attend a fully-funded school in their neighborhood. She is working to end high stakes testing that forces educators to teach to a test, and prioritizes respecting teachers with reasonable class sizes, fair compensation, union representation, and timely contracts.

Affordable health care also is a top priority. She supports healthcare as a human right, with the goal of supporting legislation on universal healthcare, Medicare and Medicaid expansion, and protecting a woman’s power to make her own choices about her health and her body.

She also cares deeply about the environment and clean renewable energy; an economy that supports the needs of regular people, not corporate and special interests; and a democracy and justice system that works fairly for all.

Fiedler is the daughter of two union public school teachers, and grew up in rural Pennsylvania. She is raising two young boys on a small block in South Philadelphia.

She studied International Relations at Bucknell University.

Katie Blume is a leading Harrisburg voice in the fight to combat climate change and promote environmental justice. The political and legislative director for Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania most recently advocated for a bipartisan measure promoting solar energy in Pennsylvania schools; she is now working to curb the state’s power plant emissions. Blume, who is currently president of the Millheim Borough Council, served on the Shapiro transition team and previously directed policy and organizing for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party.

Matt Ryan is Eastern States Regional Director at the Climate Jobs National Resource Center. In his role, he works closely with the union leaders of state climate jobs coalitions in Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, supporting their state campaigns and strategic priorities. Prior to CJNRC, Matt was Managing Director of the national Green New Deal Network and part of the effort to secure climate investments in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. Before that, Matt was Executive Director of ALIGN in New York City for eight years and led campaigns around post Hurricane Sandy rebuilding, transforming the commercial waste industry, and many other community-labor-climate issues. Matt began his organizing career in the Midwest with the Service Employees International Union’s Justice for Janitors campaign.