Gail Tyree

More than four decades in the labor movement — organizing, negotiating, training, and mentoring across Memphis and the South. A living bridge between the generation of 1968 and the organizers of tomorrow.

Led the most historic local in America — the union of the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Strikers. Fought for city employees through the pandemic, demanding the raises essential workers had earned: “To not compensate them for their sacrifices is unacceptable.”

From AFSCME halls to the 2021 Kellogg's strike line with BCTGM 252G — standing beside Rev. Cleo Smith, one of the original 1968 strikers, and AFSCME International President Lee Saunders.

Now organizing with the Communications Workers of America — bringing 40 years of Southern organizing wisdom to new industries, from tech workers to booksellers.

Stood with Memphis booksellers at Novel as they won their union election with a supermajority — proof that the next chapter of Southern labor is already being written.

Gail has served on numerous boards across the movement and the Memphis community — including the Workers Interfaith Network and the Memphis AFL-CIO Labor Council — and served as Labor Liaison to the United Way of the Mid-South on behalf of the Memphis CLC, connecting union families to community resources. She has received many awards for leadership, service, and excellence, and through it all she mentors the next generation of organizers as a big sister to the whole movement.