Barbara Bailey

Barbara Bailey is the President and Co-Founder of the New York City Labor Chorus and has devoted over 40 years to a civil service career in both federal and city governments. A trailblazer throughout her various careers, she has effected major changes in both clerical and supervisory positions, fighting constantly to transform the status quo toward equal rights.

Bailey was elected shop steward and member-at-large of Communications Workers of America, Local 1180. She served as a staff representative and headed the Community Service Committee that earned the group President Clinton’s Thousand Points of Light recognition. Upon her retirement, Barbara was asked by her local’s president to serve as Director of Local 1180’s newly created Retiree Division. The Division’s mission is to improve the overall health and well-being of over 4,000 retirees by providing activities and programs that continued to stimulate their intellect and provide health information to enhance their capacity to function at home and in the world during their retirement years.

Together with Bobbie Rabinowitz (SEIU 371) and Laura Friedman (CWE), Barbara founded the NYC Labor Chorus, which has blossomed into an international, multi-ethnic, and multigenerational labor chorus with over 100 members. The chorus has performed in Sweden, Cuba, and many states, and was invited to perform with choruses from Japan and Wales, and at the United Nations. Music has always been a catalyst and a platform for workers to speak out, and the labor chorus aims to preserve labor’s rich history and help motivate the labor movement of today.