Mary Kay Henry
Mary Kay Henry (center) was recently elected president of the Service Employees International Union, the first woman and the first out LGBT individual to hold that post. Henry has worked with SEIU for three decades as an organizer, a researcher and most recently, Executive Vice President for Healthcare, working to better the conditions for hospital workers and improve patient care throughout the country. Henry was also a founding member of the SEIU’s gay and lesbian Lavender Caucus. “Right now, there is a crisis for workers in this country. I’ve had the privilege of building unions with non-union workers, and I see my role as to help all workers turn up the heat on the employers who don’t know what it’s like to get paid so little that you can’t put food on the table or buy the school books your kids need,” Henry says. “Unions are a vehicle for change, and it’s time to make real change for people who work.” -CB
