We honor the memory of IVP Dan DiClemente, a longtime labor leader in New York state

Convention attendees on Wednesday paid tribute to the late AFSCME International Vice President Daniel DiClemente, who died in June at age 56 after a long battle with cancer.  

“Dan was everything an AFSCME leader should be. He inspired trust and loyalty. He was passionate about building worker power and solidarity. And he was deeply rooted in his hometown of Rochester, New York,” AFSCME President Lee Saunders said.   

DiClemente was “not just a great trade unionist, but a person of unfailing decency and integrity. He embodied the very best of our union: hard-working and community-minded, committed to public service and civic activism. He was a mentor to countless people. He earned the respect of both allies and adversaries,” Saunders added.  

The former president of AFSCME Council 66  became active in the labor movement at a young age when he worked as a glazier. He went on strike as a member of a building trades union and then worked as a custodian at the Rochester City School District in 1992. 

DiClemente quickly became a respected leader and served as president of the Board of Education Non-Teaching Employees (BENTE/AFSCME) Local 2419 for 21 years. During that time, he helped push many school support workers from poverty into the middle class. His goal was to ensure a good union job for every one of his fellow BENTE members.  

In 2017, he became president of Council 66 and went on to lead the union of more than 8,000 members across Upstate New York and the Hudson Valley. He built Council 66 into a powerful force. Ahead of the U.S. Supreme Court's attempt to gut public service unions in Janus v. AFSCME Council 31, DiClemente rallied Council 66 members to organize for our shared values. 

Even after he was diagnosed with stage four cancer in January 2020, he continued fighting for working people, ensuring that union members were protected on the job during the COVID-19 pandemic. And in his final days, he held organizing conversations with health care professionals from his hospital bed in Cleveland. 

Angelo Palmerini, the current president of BENTE, spoke about DiClemente’s legacy. 

“Dan believed that in addition to giving him a living wage, health benefits, and a pension, the union gave him purpose, hope and community,” Palmerini said. “Dan’s courageous work transformed the lives of thousands of community members, forever changing the lives of everyone that knew him.” 

In a letter announcing his retirement earlier this year, DiClemente wrote that the union has “gifted me purpose, hope, and community. It hasn’t always been easy, but it has always been worth it.” 

DiClemente is survived by his wife Laura; his daughters Stephanie and Katie; his father Anthony; and brothers Anthony and Steven. Laura and Katie DiClemente were in the convention hall to hear the tributes.