Ken was first elected as President of the Indiana State AFL-CIO on December 4, 1997. Prior to that time, Ken had amassed impressive experience as a union and governmental leader.

Ken’s union career began at the Youngstown Steel Door Company in Hammond, where he served as a union steward with the District 50 Mine Workers. IIn April of 1970, Ken left Youngstown Steel Door to work for the Northern Indiana Power Service Company. At NIPSCO, Ken became a member of USWA Local Union 12775. He served as a Steward and Assistant Grievance Committeeman in several of the company’s divisions. In 1982, he was elected Grievance Committeeman for the Construction Division. In 1985, he was elected to his first term as President of Local 12775 and the re-elected for a second term in 1988.

On February 16, 1989, Governor Evan Bayh appointed him to serve as Commissioner of Labor for the State of Indiana. He was re-appointed for a second term in 1993. While serving as Commissioner of Labor, he was elected to the executive board of the Occupational Safety and Health State Plan States Association. He was also appointed by then Secretary of Labor Robert Reich to the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health, which advises the Secretaries of Labor and the Secretaries of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C. Ken was re-appointed to a third term in January, 1997, by the newly elected Governor Frank O'Bannon. In July of that year, Ken resigned his post to actively pursue his current position.