AFGE’s National Secretary-Treasurer Eric Bunn Sr. has been honored with the National Action Network (NAN)’s Labor Leader Award.
NAN said that Bunn’s “inspiring journey is a testament to perseverance, faith, and service. His story, rooted in resilience and dedication, reminds us that the fight for justice in all forms is a continuation of Dr. King’s legacy.”
Bunn accepted the award at the ceremony, which took place on Jan. 15 at the 2025 National Action Network Martin Luther King Jr. D.C. Breakfast.
Thanking NAN for advancing the civil rights agenda and for being a committed partner of the labor movement, he recounted his own experience being the receiving end of injustice as an employee of a D.C. government agency. But his union stepped in, and they won the case. Bunn said his mother then encouraged him to get involved in the union.
Bunn rose to the position of local president of AFGE Local 2725, which represents more than 1,200 professional and wage grade employees in six government agencies within the District of Columbia — Department of Consumer & Regulatory Affairs, Department of the Environment, Department of Health, Department of Housing and Community Development, Housing Authority, and Office of the State Superintendent.
Following his work at the local union level, Bunn was elected national vice president of District 14, representing federal and D.C. government employees in the greater Washington metropolitan area as well as in Europe. He is the first local president from the District of Columbia to be elected as an AFGE national vice president and the first to be elected as national secretary-treasurer in 2020.
Bunn said his mother who encouraged him to get involved in the union would be proud that her son now holds the second highest position in AFGE today.
“This award is not just a recognition of one year of work. It represents 40 years of dedication of helping people,” he said.