HARRISBURG — After 20 years as the face of organized labor in Pennsylvania and 50 years since the United Steelworkers issued his first union card, Bill George is stepping down as the state president of the AFL-CIO.

George, who will turn 69 in August, said Thursday he'll retire sometime after his successor is elected at the labor federation's biennial convention in Pittsburgh next month and before his term expires in June.

"It wasn't an easy decision, but it's the right decision and at the right time," George said in statement issued by the union.