We have a very important news to share. Our union is embarking on a new chapter here at SEIU Local 721.
After more than a decade of service with our union, SEIU Local 721 Executive Director Bob Schoonover informed our Executive Board that he has decided to step down from the role of Executive Director.
There’s no doubt that Mr. Schoonover has been a steadfast leader for our union and for workers across California, and the United States. During Mr. Schoonover’s SEIU Local 721 tenure, he’s served our members in multiple capacities, previously as SEIU Local 721 President and SEIU CA President, leading our union through multiple contract fights and massive policy undertakings like raising the CA minimum wage to $15/hr in 2016.
With the news of Mr. Schoonover stepping down, our SEIU Local 721 Executive Board has entrusted our union President David Green to serve as our new Executive Director with a unanimous vote on May 11th. In addition, the Executive Board also appointed Bob Schoonover as Special Advisor to President Green to facilitate a smooth transition into a new era.
There’s absolutely no better steward for our union than President Green as we emerge out of the pandemic and face new challenges. President Green came up through the ranks as an LA County Children’s Social Worker, and has held every officer position in our union, including serving as Treasurer for 7 years and most recently as President since 2021.
Our membership just a year ago elected President Green with a powerful mandate to continue pursuing campaigns to win strong contracts for our members, fight the privatization of good union jobs, and to aggressively organize new workers into the union across every sector.
With a strong leadership team consisting of SEIU Local 721 Chief of Staff Gilda Valdez and Deputy Chief of Staff Raymond Meza, and the unanimous backing of our Executive Board, President David Green is confident that we will continue winning for workers and meeting every challenge that lays ahead.
Make no mistake, President David Green is already hitting the ground running in his expanded capacity leading multiple contract and employer fights across our union.
In the City of Los Angeles, our members kicked off an escalation vote, up to and including strike over the repudiation of our City contract. In Riverside County, our members are gearing up to negotiate a successor contract with a County that we ferociously fought for multiple years, and ultimately won.
In LA County, we are continuing to track and fight the contracting out of good union jobs. In Ventura County we just won additional rights for our Joint Labor Management Committee and are mitigating the impacts of the Alameda decision.
We’re confident that Executive Director and union President David Green will continue leading our union in developing groundbreaking, cutting-edge campaigns that win for our members and their families.
We wish Bob Schoonover well in the next phase of his life and for his tireless dedication to our members, and we look forward what’s in store for our union in 2023 and beyond.
As always, when we fight — we win!