John Samuelsen was born in Brooklyn, New York, and traces his Irish heritage to County Cork, and Derry. John began his transport and union career in 1993 when he was hired by the New York City Transit Authority, and was assigned to a subway track gang in Brooklyn. His co-workers soon elected him Local 100 Shop Steward where he fought vigorously for a safer workplace. He went on to lead the Track Safety Committee, the Track Division, and the
Maintenance of Way Department. In 2004, he authored the Comprehensive Track Safety Bill, which the New York State Legislature subsequently passed. In 2009, Samuelsen was elected Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 100 President, TWU’s largest Local, and in 2012, and 2015 they overwhelmingly re-elected him. Samuelsen currently is the International President of TWU and was first sworn in as President in May, 2017. As the International President of TWU, John Samuelsen represents more than 155,000 workers in the airline, railroad, transit, tourism, university, utility, and service industries. John Samuelsen is
also the President of the James Connolly Irish American Labor Coalition and a founding sponsor of the James
Connolly Visitors Centre in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He is a member of the New York City Transit Authority
Emerald Society, a Knight of Saint Patrick, and serves as a labor representative on the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority Board. Samuelsen was Grand Marshal of the 2022 Queens County Saint Patrick’s
Day Parade, was named Knights of Saint Patrick Labor Leader of the Year in 2018, and was named The Grand
Council of United Emerald Societies’ 2025 Irishman of the Year.