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Service Employees International Union’s (SEIU) secretary-treasurer, Anna Burger, has withdrawn her candidacy for union president, all but ensuring that Mary Kay Henry, an international executive vice president, will take the helm. On April 14, long-time president Andy Stern announced his retirement. Burger acknowledged that she lacked the votes from SEIU’s executive vice presidents to win the election, slated for May 8, and vowed to work with Henry “to make sure that this is a smooth transition and that our union will continue to help our members do extraordinary things.” In her announcement to withdraw from the race, Burger denied that the support for Henry amounted to a “shift in SEIU’s priorities” or a "rejection of the Stern/Burger agenda.”
Henry has been an employee for the SEIU since 1979 and was elected as an international executive vice president in 2004. Much of Henry’s career with the SEIU has focused on promoting union membership for health care workers.
Photo credit: SEIU.org