Malloy Appoints Waterford's Palmer As CT's Head Of Labor

Today, Gov. Dannel Malloy appointed Waterford’s Sharon Palmer to serve as the commissioner of the state’s Department of Labor.

“For more than two decades, Sharon has been a tireless advocate for working people from all walks of life in the state of Connecticut,” Malloy said. “She has shown an ability and a sensibility in working with management to affect meaningful change.  And, as we all know, change is hard.  But change is also necessary.”

Palmer serves on Waterford's Representative Town Meeting and was formerly a teacher at Clark Lane Middle School. She also is the president of the AFT Connecticut, an AFL-CIO union representing 28,000 teachers and other workers.

“I want to thank Governor Malloy for this opportunity,” Palmer said. “I found the collaboration with him and his administration last year produced broad, positive consensus, and I’m looking forward to now being a member of the administration.” 

Palmer will start on October 5. Palmer grew up in East Hampton and lives in Quaker Hill with her husband George.

“Governor Malloy is a strong supporter of the rights of working people, and he understands that change is best achieved when labor and management work together,” Palmer said. “I think his administration has accomplished a lot of good in 20 months and I’m looking forward to helping to accomplish even more.”