Henry, Mary Kay

Henry, Mary Kay,

1958–, American labor leader, b. Detroit, B.A. Michigan State Univ., 1979. She began working with the Service Employees International UnionService Employees International Union
(SEIU), labor union representing U.S. and Canadian workers in health care (doctors, nurses, health technicians), public services (government workers, school employees), building services (janitors, elevator operators, security officers) and
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 (SEIU) in 1979, focusing on union organizing and collective bargaining in the health-care industry. In 1993 she became director of the union's health-care division and two years later she was elected to the SEIU executive board. She became the union's main health-care strategist in 2004; she also was elected an SEIU executive vice president that year. When the union's controversial president Andrew L. SternStern, Andrew L.,
1950–, American labor leader, b. West Orange, N.J., grad., Univ. of Pennsylvania (B.A., 1971). A charismatic and frequently controversial reformer, he became a significant figure in the labor union movement.
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 stepped down in 2010, Henry was elected to succeed him, becoming the first woman to head the union. A founding member of the union's gay and lesbian caucus, she also is active in the gay-rights movement.