Denver, CO May 30, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — Mike Fishman, President of 32BJ, has been elected to serve as Executive Vice President of 32BJ’s parent body, the Service Employees International Union, which has 2.2 million members across the U.S. and in Canada and Puerto Rico. The vote came Tuesday evening at SEIU’s international convention this week in Denver, with the 1,800 SEIU delegates present voting unanimously for Fishman as part of a slate headed by SEIU President Mary Kay Henry.
??”I am thrilled that SEIU member delegates elected Mike Fishman to join the International Union’s leadership,” Henry said. “Mike is an incredible leader and a fierce fighter who for decades has gone to the mat for working people, many of whom never imagined that joining together in a union could ever be possible. The officer team and I look forward to Mike bringing the many lessons he has learned leading 32BJ to help set the course of the entire union.”
Fishman will remain at 32BJ until a new President is elected and takes office in October. As President of 32BJ for 12 years, Fishman has led the union to nearly triple its size to 120,000 members in eight states and Washington, D.C., making it the largest union of property service workers in the country. Most recently, the union won a tough contract fight in 2011 for 60,000 commercial building workers in seven states. And 32BJ continues to grow through the addition of thousands more private security officers and food service workers to its ranks.
“I’m honored by the trust SEIU’s member delegates have placed in me,” Fishman said. “I will bring with me the spirit and energy of 32BJ. We take pride in having built an incredible leadership team and the union has never been stronger. I am confident the union and its members will continue to remain powerful and united.”
32BJ is holding its election for President and other offices in September. Hector Figueroa, the Secretary-Treasurer of the union who has worked closely with Fishman for years in building 32BJ, is running for President.
With more than 120,000 members in eight states and Washington, D.C., 32BJ SEIU is one of the largest unions representing property service workers in the country.
Contact:
Maia Davis: (201) 396-4444
Eugenio H. Villasante: (646) 285-1087
