Patricia King became the first woman to serve as a national officer of the Union when she was appointed SIPTU Vice President in May 2010.

During her 25 years as a full time organiser with the Union, King organised members in both private and public sectors across all areas of employment.

From county Wicklow, Patricia was appointed as Regional Secretary of SIPTU's Dublin region representing some 72,000 members across all sectors, in 2004.

As a Branch Organiser and Regional Secretary she has represented workers in the non-commercial Semi-State, Education, Health and Local Authority sectors including State Industrial employees. She also worked with the Commercial Semi-State companies and has served as a member of the RTE Authority and the National Roads Authority.

She was prominently involved in the Irish Ferries dispute in 2006/07 and played a central role in the negotiation of employment rights legislation including the establishment of the National Employment Rights Authority.