Recently, Eliseo Medina was unanimously elected as International Secretary-Treasurer of the 2.2 million-member Service Employees International Union. Medina is the first Latino to serve in the position.
"Forty-five years ago tomorrow, I walked in to a church as a 19 year-old grape picker having no idea what a union was but knowing something was wrong. I saw that the union gave us all the opportunity to help - the union showed us what we could do, and brought out the power in the hearts of each and every one of us to create the future we believed in," said Medina after his election. "Today workers of all races, colors and backgrounds are facing the greatest economic crisis in a generation, and I am honored and humbled by this opportunity to help working families rebuild a more just and inclusive country and make the dreams of our members a reality for everyone."
Called "one of the most successful labor organizers in the country by the Los Angeles Times and named one of the "Top 50 Most Powerful Latino Leaders" by Poder Magazine, Medina has spent more than 40 years giving workers across the country a voice on the job, especially in non-traditional union states in the South and Southwest. In Los Angeles, he was a key architect of the historic Justice for Janitors campaign in 2000, and for an encore, he helped 74,000 Los Angelenos who provide in home care to seniors and the disabled win the right to organize for better services for the people the care for, improved training, and decent wages and benefits.
"Eliseo has dedicated his life to fighting for equal rights and economic equality for every worker based on their desire to better our society, not the color of their skin or their national origin," said SEIU President Mary Kay Henry. "Whether he is standing by the side of striking janitors in Miami, registering voters in California or testifying in front of Congress, Eliseo can always be found on the front lines of the struggle for justice."
Recently, Medina helped organize some of the first private hospital workers in Texas, he developed an extensive voter registration drive across the Southwest and he continues to lead the national movement for passage of comprehensive immigration reform.
SEIUs International Executive Board elected Medina to serve the remainder of the term of former Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger, which concludes
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