Early Life and Union Career
McElroy was born in Providence, Rhode Island to Edward J. McElroy, Sr. and his wife Clara Angelone McElroy. He graduated with an A.B. degree in education from Providence College in 1962.
McElroy began a career as an educator teaching social studies and English at Lockwood Junior High School in Warwick, Rhode Island after graduation. He was elected president of the Warwick Teachers Union, AFT Local 915, for a two-year term in 1967. In 1969, he was elected president of the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers (RIFT). He continued to teach until 1972, when he became a full-time RIFT president.
As president of RIFT, McElroy oversaw rapid expansion in the union's membership. He also led the union in organizing school paraprofessionals, public employees, higher education faculty and campus workers, and nurses and other workers in hospitals and other health care organizations. McElroy stayed personally involved in the life of the union by handling negotiations and arbitrations for many of RIFT's education locals.
McElroy also was active in state politics. He served on the executive committee of the Rhode Island Democratic Committee, and several workforce development commissions and boards for the state.
In 1974, McElroy was elected a vice president of the AFT, and took a seat on the AFT's executive council. McElroy was instrumental in 1990 in launching the AFT's 'Futures Committee,' a panel of AFT vice presidents who spent two years studying and revamping the union's governance structures. The resulting constitutional amendments enhanced the role of the AFT's constituencies outside the preK-12 teacher division and made other recommendations on strategic planning, financial practices and priorities for the AFT.
In 1977, the 36-year-old McElroy was elected president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO.
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