 Edward J. McElroy was president of RIFTHP from 1969 to 1992.He was elected Secretary-Treasurer of the AFT in 1992, and President in 2004 (he retired in 2008).In 1971, David Selden, then a national representative with the AFT, attempted to convince the leaders of RIFTHP to join with the state federations in Connecticut and New York to fund and operate an organizing project, but the RIFTHP leaders rejected the idea.