Terrence Melvin
Terrence Melvin is a labor union boss who as of 2026 was working as the secretary-treasurer of the New York State AFL-CIO and as the president of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU). Melvin is known for the left-of-center political activities of his union coalitions and being an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, whom he has accused of waging a “war on Blackness” in the United States. 1
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Education and Family
Terrence Melvin graduated from the Rochester Center for Theological and Biblical Studies with a bachelor’s degree in ministry. 2
Melvin is married to Sonja Marie Melvin and has three children. 2
Career
In 1980, Terrence Melvin started his career as a member of Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Local 427, a branch of a union representing over 250,000 state, county, municipal, and private sector workers throughout New York, at the Western New York Developmental Center. Melvin was hired on the night shift and then became a union shop steward, grievance representative, and later vice president. 2
In 1983, at age 21, Melvin was elected president of CSEA Local 427, representing over 2,000 members, making him the youngest CSEA local president. Melvin also became the secretary of CSEA Western Region 6. 2
In 1996, Melvin was appointed the executive assistant to CSEA statewide president Danny Donohu, for whom Melvin oversaw and directed the day-to-day activities. 2
Also in 1996, Melvin was elected director of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists Region One, an identity-group body for African-American union activists in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts as well as Ontario, Canada. Melvin was re-elected seven times from 1998 to 2010. 2
In 2007, Melvin was appointed to the position of New York State AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer. 2 Melvin has pushed the union to become more politically active, including by increasing voter registration and promoting get-out-the-vote drives for “national, state, local, city and school board elections.” 3
In 2008, Melvin “spearheaded the development” of the NYS AFL-CIO community outreach department, a program that promoted union interests among local community and religious leaders to “gain allies … to assist with contract fights, organizing campaigns and overall political/legislative program.” 2
In 2012, Melvin was elected president of the national Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU), succeeding CTBU co-founder and first president William Lucy. 2
As of 2026, Melvin was on the board of the AFL-CIO Working for America Institute. 4
Politics
In August 2025, Terrence Melvin and the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists issued a statement condemning President Donald Trump for a supposed “war on Blackness.” Melvin said, “We condemn Donald Trump’s rampage against Blackness—from LA to Texas to DC; from his federal DEI purge to his union-busting and destruction of public education. He cannot purge Blackness from America’s DNA no matter how many executive orders he signs or insults he hurls at strong Black leaders.” 1
In September 2025, Melvin wrote an op-ed for Black Press USA on “the State of Black Work Life in America?” Melvin again accused President Trump of waging a “war on Blackness,” accused Trump of minimizing the horrors of slavery, and claimed that Black workers were leaving jobs at twice the rate of white workers due to “toxic racial bias” promoted by Trump. 5
Melvin was elected unopposed as a Democratic convention delegate from New York’s 23rd Congressional District, and was pledged to vote for then-President Joe Biden until he withdrew from the campaign. 6
In 2020, Melvin was elected as a Democratic convention delegate from New York’s 27th Congressional District, and voted for then-former Vice President Biden. 6
In 2022, at the 44th Annual New York State Public Employees Federation Convention, Melvin encouraged voter mobilization to support union interests. He argued, “Our state is at a tipping point… I’m sounding the alarm. We are losing. There is no more time to talk or debate, I am here to call you to action. We need to get active, get moving, get mobilized. There is too much on the line in 2022 for working men and women.” He also stated, “The ultra-conservative Supreme Court is no joke. Roe v. Wade is just the tip of the iceberg. They want to tell a woman what to do with her body.” 7
Also in 2020, Melvin and the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) endorsed Biden for president. In the announcement, Melvin said, “Four more years of a Trump presidency could push America to the point of no return. The hate and divisiveness being poured into the veins of this democracy by the man elected to preserve it has done incalculable damage to our institutions, our families, and our communities.” 8
In 2016, Melvin was elected as a Democratic convention delegate from New York’s 27th Congressional District, and voted for Hillary Clinton. 6
Personal Life
Terrence Melvin is an ordained Baptist minister and, as of 2026, was associate minister and assistant to the pastor at the Second Baptist Church in Lackawanna, New York. 2