As Assistant to the President at the AFL-CIO since 1995, Gerald M. Shea’s work covers issues such as health care and retirement security as well as relations with allied organizations and government entities.  In that position, Shea manages the work of the AFL-CIO on all aspects of healthcare.  Through his work, he represents the experience and perspective of workers as health care consumers in various policy organizations and health events.
 
Shea is a member of the Board of the National Quality Forum (NQF), the Board of the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO), of the Hospital Quality Alliance, and the Quality Alliance Steering Committee.  He was a founding board member of the Foundation for Accountability (FACCT) and the RxHealthValue Project.  He is a past member of the Social Security Advisory Board, the Medicare Prospective Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) and its predecessor, the Prospective Payment Advisory Commission.
 
Before his appointment by President Sweeney, Shea held various positions at the AFL-CIO from August 1993 through October 1995; first serving as director of the policy office with responsibility for health care and pensions and then in several executive staff positions.  Prior to joining the AFL-CIO, Shea spent 21 years with the Service Employees International Union as an organizer and local union official in Massachusetts and as a member of SEIU’s senior staff.
 
Shea is a native of Massachusetts and a graduate of Boston College.