Mary Kay Henry Elected to Lead SEIU
May 8th, 2010
The 73-member International Executive Board (IEB) of the Service Employees International Union met in Washington D.C. today to elect Executive Vice President Mary Kay Henry the 10th president of the nation’s fastest-growing union.
“This moment marks a renewed commitment to our union’s core mission: to improve the lives of all workers who are struggling to make ends meet in this economy,” Henry said. ”Working people are facing hardships we haven’t seen in generations, and we believe SEIU can be an even more effective vehicle for change to help them improve their lives and the lives of the people they serve.
“We will get this done by renewing our commitment to organizing, connecting our members at the grassroots level to our political strength and restoring our relationships throughout the American labor movement – because just like I learned as a little girl in a family of twelve, we can’t go it alone. Everything is better when you can organize a group and make a decision to stand and act on behalf of all workers in this country.”
Henry is noted for working side-by-side with SEIU members – meeting with them at 3 a.m. on night shifts in hospitals, walking picket lines, leading members in contract bargaining, and helping them discover the strength they have when they stand together.