Mark Bernard is the executive director of AFSCME Council 93, a union representing more than 45,000 members in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont, one of just a handful of multi-state AFSCME councils in the nation.
A former AFSCME Local 703 union leader in the city of Boston, Mark worked as a city health inspector for nine years before joining the Council 93 team as a staff representative in 2007.
Over the next 12 years, Mark rose steadily through the ranks, before being unanimously appointed by the executive board in 2019 to serve as the youngest executive director in Council 93 history.
In the course of working in a wide range of leadership positions at Council 93, Mark has successfully negotiated a number of impressive contracts at the municipal and statewide level. He also spearheaded a number of key initiatives aimed at helping the Council successfully prepare for the Janus Supreme Court decision, including a well-coordinated “AFSCME Strong” campaign that resulted in thousands of AFSCME members formally recommitting to union membership, and many of the limited amount of agency fee payers converting to full dues-paying members.
Under Mark’s direction as executive director, Council 93 successfully passed legislation in Massachusetts and Maine that included some of the strongest Janus-response provisions in the nation. In addition, a number of successful organizing drives under Mark’s leadership have resulted in hundreds of new workers joining the Council 93 family, including library workers at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Mark has also worked to build solidarity within the labor movement by increasing the Council’s involvement in state federations and regional labor councils and serving on the executive board of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO.
As a former local union activist and leader, Mark is a strong believer in continuously improving member representation and service by actively seeking input from local leaders and rank and file members. Mark also strives to build a family-like atmosphere within Council 93, working to organize a number of events and outings aimed at bringing members, staff and their families together. He has pledged to bring these approaches to the International Executive Board.