 Cordtz retired from his position at the Metropolitan Detroit AFL-CIO in 1991 but his departure from these and other posts — many of which provided him with an income — angered his critics, who accused him of .SEIU President John Sweeney won election as President of the AFL-CIO on October 25, 1995.Sweeney resigned as SEIU president on December 12, 1995, and the 74-year-old Cordtz was elected president the same day to serve out his unexpired term (which ended in April 1996).