Once upon a time, the labor movement focused on organizing industrial trade jobs, jobs that mainly employed men. Stereotypical union representatives were beefy cigar-smoking men who mostly didn’t bother organizing those service sector jobs that mainly employed women.
Union membership has fallen in recent decades, causing wages to stagnate even though productivity and corporate profits have risen. All of these factors, including the devastation caused by COVID-19, have caused income inequality to increase. Women members now outnumber male members in public-sector unions. Women and people of color are increasingly making up the entire labor movement. The COVID pandemic has highlighted the contributions of all front-line service workers.
The focus on previously neglected service workers has created a new generation of leadership in the labor movement with different priorities.
Meet April Verrett. As President of Service Employees International Union (SEIU), who would like you to know that this is not your father’s labor movement.
April Verrett was raised on the south side of Chicago by her grandmother. Her grandmother was a union steward for Service Employees International Union, so April absorbed labor union values, strategies, and tactics.
Verrett represented SEIU Local 2015 in California which consists of over 400,000 home care and nursing home long term care workers. She has served as International Vice President, member of the Finance committee, chairperson of SEIU’s National Home Care Council, and as co-chair of the National Organizing Committee.
In 2019 she was appointed by California Governor Newsom to the Alzheimer’s Prevention and Preparedness Task Force. The following year, Newsom appointed her to the Taskforce on Business and Jobs Recovery to help California working families to through the COVID-19 economy.
Verrett has served as Executive Vice President of SEIU Healthcare Illinois and Indiana (HCII), and SEIU Secretary- Treasurer for two years before being elected President of SEIU. She is the first Black woman to serve in that position.
Union leaders of the past concerned themselves with wages, benefits, and workplace working conditions in male dominated jobs.
Today, April Verrett and the new labor leaders for our time are concerned with valuing diversity, combating structural racism, holding corporations accountable, advocating that the wealthiest pay their fair share in taxes, eradicating poverty, and strengthening our democracy against the threats of authoritarianism.
Along with April Verrett, these Women Leading The Labor Movement want you to know that this is not your father’s labor movement:
United Steelworkers, Roxanne Brown:
https://thesexypolitico.com/2025/12/01/women-leading-the-labor-movement-roxanne-brown/
The National Association of Immigration Judges, Mimi Tsankov:
https://thesexypolitico.com/2025/03/16/women-leading-the-labor-movement-mimi-tsankov/
Adult Performance Artists Guild, Alana Evans:
https://thesexypolitico.com/2024/07/12/women-leading-the-labor-movement-alana-evans/
Service Employees International Union, Mary Kay Henry:
https://thesexypolitico.com/2022/08/02/women-leading-the-labor-movement-mary-kay-henry/
AFSCME Council 31. Roberta Lynch:
https://thesexypolitico.com/2022/07/26/women-leading-the-labor-movement-roberta-lynch/
Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, Sara Nelson:
https://thesexypolitico.com/2022/07/12/women-leading-the-labor-movement-sara-nelson/
Sources:
https://www.seiu.org/april-verrett/
https://afj.org/membership/member-spotlight-april-verrett-seiu/
https://cof.org/person/april-verrett
https://publicservices.international/resources/news/the-new-colonizers-are-multinational-corporations-seiu-president-april-verrett–psis-afrecon?id=16260&lang=en
Thanks and a tip of the hat to SEIU for the image.
