Union’s Executive Board Entrusts SEIU 721 President David Green to Serve as New Executive Director Effective May 11 and Appoints Schoonover to Special Advisor Position During Transition
LOS ANGELES – SEIU 721 Executive Director Bob Schoonover announced that he will step down as Executive Director of the union, a position he’s held since 2021 after having served as SEIU 721’s President since 2007.
Upon receiving the news, the union’s Executive Board unanimously appointed SEIU 721 President David Green to the post. He will assume his Executive Director responsibilities effective today, with Schoonover serving as a Special Advisor to ensure a smooth transition.
“It’s a new era for SEIU 721 but one that was made possible only because of the dedication of people like Bob Schoonover,” said SEIU 721 President and Executive Director David Green. “While we endured years of anti-union attacks, Bob kept us on course. And he didn’t just play defense. He played to win – scoring major victories for tens of thousands of our union members across Southern California by successfully negotiating one strong union contract after another while expanding new union membership everywhere from higher education to fast food.”
During Schoonover’s tenure at SEIU 721, he also served as President of SEIU California, where he was instrumental in achieving massive policy milestones such as raising California’s minimum wage to $15/hour in 2016.
“I’m proud of what we’ve achieved – and I know SEIU 721 will go on to even greater heights,” Schoonover said. “There’s no better steward for our union than David Green. He came up through the ranks as an LA County Children’s Social Worker and he’s held every officer position in our union – including serving as Treasurer for seven years. Just last year, our union membership elected him to serve as President of SEIU 721 with a powerful mandate to continue winning strong contracts, to fight job privatization and to aggressively organize new workers across every sector. He’s already proven to be the perfect person for the job and I’m confident that, with him also serving as Executive Director, our union’s best days are ahead of us.”
David Green will serve as President and Executive Director in partnership with his leadership team composed of Gilda Valdez, Chief of Staff and Raymond Meza, Deputy Chief of Staff. He will also have the support of hundreds of Union Stewards and thousands of union members across Southern California who are dedicated to the success of both SEIU 721 specifically and the larger labor movement generally – which is experiencing a renaissance of activity in America and globally, with SEIU 721 on the forefront.
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Contact: Roxane Marquez, Roxane.Marquez@seiu721.org, (213) 705-1078
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