this is an upset, since anna burger was andy stern's hand picked choice to succeed him.
as a result, the SEIU will probably become less involved in politics and elections (as if getting MORE involved in politics and elections was possible) and push for reunification with the AFL-CIO.
SEIU Picks New Leader Top officials of the Service Employees International Union elected a new leader Saturday, who pledged to spend more on private-sector organizing, put more resources into this year's gubernatorial elections and rebuild ties with other unions.
The SEIU's 73-member executive board elected Mary Kay Henry, head of the union's health-care division, to succeed Andy Stern, who announced his retirement last month after 14 years as president.
In her first moves as president of the 1.8-million-member SEIU, Ms. Henry said SEIU will create a $4 million "innovation fund" focused on private-sector organizing and will set aside another $4 million for campaigns related to a handful of 2010 gubernatorial races.
Ms. Henry provided few specifics about new organizing campaigns, but said SEIU will continue to focus on organizing low-wage workers, and named banking and biotechnology as potential new sectors for organizing, along with workers like taxi drivers, domestic workers and freelancers.
"We are renewing our union's incredible commitment to organizing," she said. "We are deeply committed to the low-wage economy and changing that."
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