Kooper Caraway
Kooper Caraway is an American activist and labor leader. He was the youngest elected AFL-CIO central labor council president in the United States at the age of 27.[1] He is currently the executive director of the Colorado Education Association.[2]
Life and career
Caraway was born in a small town in the US state of Alabama but he lived in various Southern states throughout his youth.[3] Many of his older family members were active union members.[1]
After high school, Caraway worked as a community organizer in Dallas, Texas where he fought against police brutality and joined the labor movement.[4] He relocated to South Dakota in 2017 and served as a labor representative and organizer for AFSCME Council 65. In January 2018, he was elected the president of the Sioux Falls AFL-CIO central labor council, becoming the youngest person ever to do so at 27 years old.[1] In 2020, he became the President of the South Dakota Federation of Labor and, at 29 years old, was the youngest ALF-CIO state president. Caraway left the organization in 2023.[5] Since 2024, he has worked as the executive director of the Colorado Education Association.
Caraway lives in Denver, Colorado with his partner and their two daughters.[2]
References
- ^ a b c "Kooper Caraway | South Dakota State Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO". sd.aflcio.org. Retrieved 2025-10-11.
- ^ a b "CEA Leadership". CEA. Retrieved 2025-10-11.
- ^ Day, Meagan. "In South Dakota, a Young Labor Leader Wants to Rebuild a Culture of Solidarity". jacobin.com. Retrieved 2025-10-11.
- ^ Zweig, Rebecca (2019-03-29). "'Organize or Die': Kooper Caraway Ushers in a New Labor Movement". ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved 2025-10-11.
- ^ "The Future of Labor Is Growing in South Dakota". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved 2025-10-11.