Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Yvonne Wheeler

82. Yvonne Wheeler

Yvonne Wheeler is the first Black woman elected President of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO (LA Fed), the second largest central labor body in the United States, with more than 300 affiliated unions representing more than 800,000 members. Wheeler also serves on the Executive Council of the California Labor Federation, as First Vice President. That all gives her serious juice in the labor world, particularly given her reputation as easier to work with than Cal Labor Fed President Lorena Gonzalez (No. 15 on this list). Wheeler has in fact become the go-to conduit for union interests with the governor’s office at times when everyone needs a kinder, gentler approach to solving thorny problems. She’s softspoken, but in that steel magnolia way. Because you don’t get where she is without some backbone. And you don’t stay there dealing with Lorena Gonzalez without enough grit to sandpaper the walls. Wheeler is the daughter of a longtime union activist from Baton Rouge, Louisiana who worked during the Civil Rights Movement.

Updated Aug. 26, 2025