Gay Henson
Secretary-Treasurer

Gay Henson was elected IFPTE Secretary-Treasurer in August 2021 at the union’s 60th Convention and was re-elected at IFPTE's 61st Convention in New Orleans in July 2024. Before that, Gay served the IFPTE Executive Council as Eastern Federal Area VP (2012-2021) representing U.S. federal workers east of the Mississippi focusing on the many issues facing these dedicated public servants.

Gay serves on the AFL-CIO committees on Energy, Women Workers, Organizing, Safety & Occupational Health and Immigration. As one of 8 labor members, Gay also serves on the U.S. Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety & Health (FACOSH) in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 7902(c) which advises the U.S. Secretary of Labor on matters, policies, plans & programs relating to the occupational safety & health of federal employees.

Since April 2024, Gay continues to serve the Maritime Trades Department as a member of their Executive Board. The Maritimes Trade Department promotes a comprehensive legislative agenda aimed at giving maritime workers a grass roots presence.

In late summer 2024, Gay was named to serve as an external participant on the White House Nuclear Power Project Management and Delivery Working Group whose objective is to find legislative remedies to current obstacles of cost, risks & delays in moving forward with nuclear power initiatives. 

Gay’s local union is the Engineering Association (EA) - IFPTE local 1937. The EA represents ~2500 white collar workers at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). She served the EA as President from 2005-2022. The EA membership includes engineers, scientist, technicians, IT professionals, program administrators and operation support specialists. TVA is the nation’s largest public power provider serving 10 million people. Her leadership of the EA includes successfully campaigning to stop the outsourcing and privatization of 220 TVA IT workers’ jobs during the pandemic by engaging community partners and labor support.

At TVA, Gay is employed in work management at the Sequoyah Nuclear Station as a Project Control Specialist. Her TVA career includes many years as a Health Physicist providing radiation protection to workers, the environment, and the public.

Gay studied at Oak Ridge Associated University (ORAU) were she received certification in Applied Health Physics. She is a graduate of University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a BS degree, She currently resides in Chattanooga, TN & DC with her husband Maurice.