Mary Kay Henry

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Mary Kay Henry (born 1958) is an American labor union leader who served as International President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) from May 2010 until her retirement in May 2024. She was the first woman to lead SEIU and helped shape its approach to organizing, especially in health care.

Early life and education
Henry was born in 1958 in the Detroit area of Michigan. She grew up in a large Catholic family, attended Marian High School in Michigan, and was the oldest girl among 10 children. Her faith inspired her interest in social justice. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University in 1979, majoring in urban planning and labor relations. She worked in hospitals while in college and after graduation, and began her career in public service distributing food stamps.

Path to SEIU
Henry joined SEIU as a researcher in 1980 and spent many years in California, taking on many roles as the union expanded its health care organizing. She was the San Francisco area strike coordinator during a 1986 strike involving thousands of hospital workers. In 1993, she became director of SEIU’s health care division. She later held several senior positions, including executive vice president and chief healthcare strategist, and she helped win important card check agreements with health care employers.

Leadership and influence
Henry played a major role in SEIU’s health care organizing drives and in broad campaigns to increase union membership. She was involved in major organizing efforts with Kaiser Permanente, Catholic Health Care West, Tenet Healthcare, and HCA. In 2006, she was part of the leadership decisions surrounding significant changes in SEIU’s health care locals, including negotiations that led to the creation of a new statewide local and the formation of rival unions in California.

Presidency of SEIU
In April 2010, after President Andrew Stern announced his resignation, Henry was elected by SEIU’s executive board to serve as president. She took office on May 8, 2010, becoming the union’s first female president and serving a term that ended with her retirement in 2024. Her stated priorities included advancing labor rights, immigrants’ rights, and LGBT rights, and she emphasized letting local unions set the union’s agenda. She also led SEIU through organizational changes and continued its focus on organizing new workers.

Awards and recognition
Henry and SEIU were honored in 2019 with the Eugene V. Debs Award for the Fight for $15 and their work. She was inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame in 2017 and was named to Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2020. Modern Healthcare named her one of its Top 25 Women in Healthcare in 2009.

Personal life
Henry is openly lesbian and co-founded SEIU’s Lavender Caucus, a group dedicated to LGBTQ rights within unions and workplaces. She and her partner, Paula Macchello, are advocates for same-sex marriage. She has served on the executive board of Families USA, a health care advocacy group.