Sisters and brothers, I’m honored to announce the selection of Simboa Wright to the office of Vice President of SEIU 721 and Adolfo Granados to the office of Treasurer. Both were approved by a unanimous vote of our union’s Executive Board.
Like everyone else who knew her, I am devastated by Linda Dent’s death. I had the pleasure of knowing her and the privilege of working alongside her for years.
LINDA DENT, a clerk in the Los Angeles County Tax Collector’s Office who rose from a steward to become the first woman and first Black president of SEIU 721, has died at the age of 68 after battling pancreatic cancer.
There’s a reckoning going on in America about race. From the historic guilty verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd to the outcry against Georgia Republicans’ efforts to pass laws discouraging Black Georgia residents from voting — there’s a renewed discussion about how structural racism hurts people of color.
It’s an honor to serve as President of SEIU Local 721. We’re a union dedicated to change, to fixing society’s problems and creating a more just economy.
Bob Schoonover announces retirement from Presidency of SEIU Local 721, will remain as executive Director
While I’m glad 2020 is behind us, it confirmed two really important things for me. First, SEIU 721 members are courageous, committed and resourceful enough to hold our communities together in the face of the worst crisis in modern times. Second, these same qualities helped us build a union that fought to protect frontline workers when the White House refused to.
When Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell adjourned the U.S. Senate on October 26, he doomed any chance of additional federal stimulus, abandoning millions of small business owners, workers and families desperate for support.
Everybody already knows this November’s election is the most important in a generation. The choice is clear: If we’re going to bring the pandemic to an end, get the economy moving again and start dismantling systemic racism in our society, Trump has got to go.
Nelson Mandela said “A winner is a dreamer who never gives up.” Wise words, because the fight for workers’ rights these days isn’t just hard — more often than not, it’s also long. That’s why having a strong union is so important, you have to have the resources to stay in the fight for as long as it takes.