The 2.2 million-strong Service Employees International Union (“SEIU”) has elected Mary Kay Henry, a veteran health-care organizer, to be its next president.  Henry succeeds Andy Stern, the Union’s long-serving and controversial leader, who announced his retirement last month.  In selecting Ms. Henry, the Union rejected Mr. Stern’s chosen candidate to be his successor, SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger.

Ms. Henry identified organizing, political involvement, and “restoring our relationships with the labor movement” as her three main goals for SEIU.  Ms. Henry’s comments reflect the tension that has existed between SEIU and other unions since at least 2005, when Mr. Stern led SEIU to leave the AFL-CIO and created the “Change to Win” coalition.  Nevertheless, the new president made it clear in a conference call following her election that she had no plans to return the Union to the AFL-CIO or engage with one of  SEIU’s rivals in California – the National Union of Healthcare Workers.

Ultimately, Ms. Henry’s focus appears to be growing SEIU membership.  She has announced plans to devote $4 million to an innovation fund that would support organizing efforts in the private sector and has set a goal of organizing 120,000 new members this year.  In an interview, Ms. Henry indicated that she is not content to wait on legal reforms, stating:  “[W]e can’t pursue the [Employee] Free Choice Act or federal change unless we get the rubber to hit the road across the country and have the labor movement get organizing back as the top priority of our agenda.”