IAM International President Brian Bryant has appointed Jeff Wheeler as Associate General Counsel in the IAM Legal Department, effective April 20, 2026.
Wheeler brings decades of experience fighting for workers and advancing labor rights from nearly every corner of the labor movement — including as a union attorney, organizer, local union president, educator and international labor rights leader.
“Jeff brings an incredible depth of experience and a lifelong commitment to working people,” said Bryant. “From organizing and collective bargaining to international labor rights and government service, he understands the challenges workers face and the importance of building worker power. We are proud to welcome Jeff to the IAM.”
Most recently, Wheeler served as director of the U.S. Department of Labor-funded Global Trace Protocol project, which worked to reduce child and forced labor in global supply chains from 2021 to 2024. He also taught courses on trade and worker rights at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.
Wheeler previously served as Senior Labor Advisor at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and as an International Affairs Officer at the U.S. Department of Labor from 2009 to 2022, where he implemented labor rights technical assistance programs. During that time, he also served as president of AFGE Local 12 at the Department of Labor and chaired the union’s bargaining committee from 2020 to 2022.
His broad labor movement experience also includes serving as an advisor and consultant on labor rights projects, Chief Technical Advisor for an International Labour Organization project in Africa, Senior Counsel to the Board at the National Labor Relations Board, attorney and organizer with the AFL-CIO in Atlanta, and an attorney in private practice in Chicago.
Wheeler is an active member of the District of Columbia Bar, an inactive member of the Georgia Bar, and serves on the board of the Washington, D.C. chapter of the Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA).
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