Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Yvonne Wheeler

81. Yvonne Wheeler

Wheeler last year became the first Black woman elected president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO (LA Fed), an organization with over 300 affiliated unions representing more than 800,000 members, making it the second largest central labor body in America. She was also elected to the executive council of the California Labor Federation, and this year to the position of First Vice President. So while her focus is on Los Angeles, she is most definitely a player in the Capitol as well. She is in many ways the complement to Cal Labor Fed president Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (No. 10 on this list), whose abrasive style doesn’t always endear her to others… such as the Newsom administration. The disdain is mutual, to the point where neither likes to talk with the other. Enter Wheeler, who has become someone the administration can directly communicate with on issues of broad interest to all labor, not just one or two groups. That level of respect and gravitas makes her well worthy of being on this list.

Updated Aug. 7, 2024