In June 1995, AFL-CIO incumbent president Lane Kirkland resigned. Secretary-Treasurer Donahue was elected by the AFL-CIO Executive Council as his interim replacement at the regularly scheduled Executive Council meeting in early August. After his appointment, Donahue announced he would run for president of the labor federation in October 1995. In a gesture aimed at unionized women and clearly intended to defuse the excitement caused by Chavez-Thompson's candidacy, Donahue named Barbara Easterling, secretary-treasurer of the Communications Workers of America, as his choice for AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer. On August 1, 1995, Easterling was appointed by the AFL-CIO Executive Council to the position vacated by Donahue—making her the first woman to serve as an AFL-CIO officer (albeit an appointed officer).