President's Report

Throughout the pandemic, SEIU 721 members have kept the cities and counties of Southern California working and protected vital services for millions of residents when they needed them most.

Almost two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s clear that SEIU 721 members — like other workers across America — are done with business as usual.

With the unprecedented COVID-19 surge in Southern California, essential workers in Los Angeles and other cities and counties around the region are once again on the frontlines. We need to listen to them to protect public health and keep vital services rolling.

If there’s one silver lining in the hurricane of a worldwide pandemic that has claimed millions of lives and disrupted the global economy, it’s that workers are suddenly finding they have the upper hand when it comes to negotiating wages and benefits and the terms of their work.

Sisters and brothers, I’m honored to announce the selection of Simboa Wright to the office of Vice President of SEIU 721 and Adolfo Granados to the office of Treasurer. Both were approved by a unanimous vote of our union’s Executive Board.

Like everyone else who knew her, I am devastated by Linda Dent’s death. I had the pleasure of knowing her and the privilege of working alongside her for years.

LINDA DENT, a clerk in the Los Angeles County Tax Collector’s Office who rose from a steward to become the first woman and first Black president of SEIU 721, has died at the age of 68 after battling pancreatic cancer.

There’s a reckoning going on in America about race. From the historic guilty verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd to the outcry against Georgia Republicans’ efforts to pass laws discouraging Black Georgia residents from voting — there’s a renewed discussion about how structural racism hurts people of color.

It’s an honor to serve as President of SEIU Local 721. We’re a union dedicated to change, to fixing society’s problems and creating a more just economy.