Stanley Gacek

Stanley Gacek is a labor lawyer with both U.S. and international experience. For well over forty years, he has developed familiarity and expertise with labor standards issues and labor relations systems throughout the world.

In September of 2016, Gacek was named Senior Advisor for Global Strategies at the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), representing over 1.2 million working women and men in the retail, food production and allied industries of the United States and Canada. He serves as his Union’s focal point on international relations.

From April to December of 2015, Gacek served as Officer in Charge and Interim Director of the International Labor Organization (ILO) Office in Brazil, being the chief representative of the organization´s mission in the country. From August of 2011 to April of 2015, and from January to August of 2016, he served as Deputy Director, with his chief responsibilities including: general management and administration of the office, review and analysis of labor standards and labor law issues, relations with the Brazilian trade union centrals, employers and government authorities, and the development of future projects and funding prospects.

From August of 2010 until July of 2011, Gacek was International Relations Officer in the United States Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs and was responsible for policy and comparative labor law analysis, as well as assisting the representation of the U.S. Government in its bilateral discussions with counterpart labor ministries throughout the world (i.e., the U.S.-Vietnam Labor Dialogue, the U.S.-Colombia Labor Action Plan, Memorandum of Understanding on Labor Cooperation, Brazil/U.S. and Memorandum of Understanding on Labor Cooperation, Argentina/U.S.), and in the conferences of international organizations, including, for example, the ILO´s 17th American Regional Meeting.

Prior to his job with the Labor Department, Gacek served as Special Counsel for International Labor Law at the Solidarity Center/AFL-CIO and Associate Director of the AFL-CIO's International Department from 2006 to July of 2010. From 1997 to 2005, he served as the AFL-CIO's International Affairs Assistant Director, Responsible for the Americas. He was the Assistant Director for International Affairs at the UFCW from 1984 to 1997, and UFCW Assistant General Counsel from 1979 to 1984.

Gacek received his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1978 and his B.A. in social studies from Harvard College in 1974, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude. He has been a member of the District of Columbia Bar Association since 1979. He was admitted as a life member to the Council on Foreign Relations in 2009.

Gacek was a visiting instructor at Harvard University in the Spring Semester of 2008, co-teaching Sociology 191 - "The Politics of Labor, Law and Globalization in the Americas" with Assistant Professor Tamara Kay. He is also an expert on labor and politics in Brazil, having closely followed developments in the country since 1981. He is the author of a comparative study on Brazilian and U.S. labor law systems, entitled, Sistemas de Relações de Trabalho – Exame dos Modelos Brasil-Estados Unidos, Editora LTr, São Paulo, 1994. This book was updated in co-authorship with Professor Ana Virginia Moreira Gomes of the University of Fortaleza Law School, and was re-published by Editora LTr in 2015. He received the Order of Merit for Labor Justice from then President (Chief Justice) Ives Gandra of the Brazilian Superior Labor Court (TST) on November 16, 2016, in recognition of his contribution on behalf of international labor standards in Brazil. He also has been serving as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Washington Brazil Office (WBO) since 2022.

Gacek is fluent in English, Portuguese and Spanish, and has a working knowledge of French. His additional publications, including numerous articles and commentaries, are available upon request.