April Verrett | |
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| Known for | President of the Service Employees International Union (2024-) |
April Verrett (born 1958) is an American labor union activist who is the first Black woman president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in its over 100 year history as an organization. [1] Verrett was included on Modern Healthcare's Top 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare 2024 list. [2]
Verrett was born in the South side of Chicago. Verrett has a sister and was raised by her grandmother who served as a Union Steward for SEIU Local 46. [3] [4]
Her grandmother's involvement a Union Steward for SEIU Local 46 has been mentioned as playing a role in inspiring her work as a labor organizer. [5] [6]
Her organizing career has a focus on healthcare workers across the nation which began with leading SEIU Healthcare Illinois-Indiana-Missouri-Kansas's (HCII) 92,000 members as Executive Vice President where she advocated for corporate tax responsibility and broader worker protections. She then led SEIU Local 2015 from 2019 through 2022, California's largest local union and the largest long term care union in the US representing over 400,000 care providers. From 2022-2024 Verrett was the International Secretary Treasurer of SEIU taking on strategic planning and development. [7] [8]
Her career also includes chairing the National Home Care Council, sitting as co-chair for the National Organizing Committee, and serving on SEIU's Finance Committee. [9]
Verrett also became active in the Democratic Party, and in 2021 was appointed as its state controller in California. [10]
Under her leadership, the SEIU reaffiliated to the AFL-CIO, and Verrett became a vice-president of the federation. [11]
Verrett's mother died two weeks after her birth at the age of 28. Her father at age 32 completed suicide when she was six. [12] [13] [14]