Mourning the Death of Lenore Miller
Past President of the Jewish Labor Committee
and of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union
Wednesday, June 4, 2025 – New York, NY: We note with sadness the death of our friend and colleague, former president and mentor, Lenore Miller, who passed away on Monday, June 2nd, after a period of declining health. On behalf of the officers and staff, we send our deepest condolences to her daughter, Jessica, and her extended family of relatives, colleagues within the labor movement, and friends.
Lenore Miller was a leader in our organization, as JLC President from 1990 through 1998. She continued her service as a Vice President and an active Executive Committee member.
JLC President Stuart Appelbaum said that “Lenore Miller was an eloquent and outspoken advocate for the cause of dignity and justice for working people everywhere. Lenore proved how much you can accomplish when you speak out forcefully for what you believe.
“On a personal level, she was a caring and loving human being; I will be eternally grateful that she was part of my life. She was my North Star, as she was for so many other people who had the privilege of knowing her. May her memory be a blessing - as her life was for so many who came in contact with her.”
Born in Union City, New Jersey, Lenore was a student at Rutgers University, Purdue University, and The New School for Social Research.
In the mid-1950s, she began working as a secretary at the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), and was soon promoted to become assistant to the union’s President. In the 1970s, she was elected as a vice president of the union, then in 1980, as its Secretary-Treasurer. In 1986, she was elected President of the union, the first woman to serve in the post. The following year, she became a vice president of the AFL-CIO and the first woman union president to service on the Federation's Executive Council.
In 1990, Miller was elected President of the Jewish Labor Committee – the first woman to head the organization. As a leader of the JLC, she spoke up in support of workers in the U.S. and abroad, immigrants and refugees, including Haitian refugees seeking asylum in the U.S. She chaired the AFL-CIO’s Civil Rights Committee. She was a strong supporter of Jewish Labor Committee’s Holocaust and Jewish Resistance Teachers Program, and was ever mindful of our long history and our commitments, as the bridge between the labor movement and the Jewish community.
As the leader of the RWDSU, Miller was a saavy, feisty, no nonsense, dedicated advocate for the union’s membership, and, indeed, for all working people, whether or not they belonged to a union. She campaigned for improved day-care provision, and for family leave to be more widely available to workers, and was an advocate for better health and safety conditions in the workplace. She spoke out in support of all workers’ right to unionize. As a member of the executive boards of international federations of labor unions, she campaigned for democracy and human rights around the world.
She will be deeply missed, and long remembered.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in Lenore’s memory to the Jewish Labor Committee, as well as to the American Labor Museum/Botto House National Landmark.