Mike Fishman

Mike Fishman, President of 32BJ Service Employees International Union (SEIU), leads New York’s largest private-sector union and the country’s largest property services union. The union represents more than 120,000 property service workers -- including cleaners in offices, schools, stadiums, arenas, malls and institutions; superintendents, doormen and maintenance workers in residential buildings; security officers, food service workers and other service workers – in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Florida.

A union leader for more than 30 years, Mike was re-elected President of Local 32BJ in September 2009 for a fourth three-year term. He is widely credited with revitalizing the union and is dedicated to a member-driven agenda that prioritizes higher industry standards and membership growth. Under Mike’s leadership, the union has doubled its membership and increased its power at the bargaining table through large scale organizing drives: 8,000 commercial office cleaners in New Jersey have joined 32BJ since 2001 and in the process have doubled their wages and secured family health care; a campaign to raise standards for security officers has helped 9,000 security officers in New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. join the union; and, most recently, a campaign in the D.C. Capital Area is giving 3,000 office cleaners in northern Virginia the chance to improve their lives with higher wages and improved benefits.

In virtually all of these organizing campaigns, workers came away with significant wage hikes – as much 100% for some workers -- as well as important benefits such as health care, vacation and sick days, a pension and job security. By creating family sustaining jobs in formerly poverty-wage industries and locations, these organizing campaigns are improving the lives of tens of thousands hard working men and women and their families and changing the nature of service industry jobs around the country into good paying jobs.

In 2007, Mike led a multi-billion dollar contract negotiation for 50,000 commercial building service workers across six states and Washington, DC. The successful campaign led to multi-year contracts and job security, steady raises, increased pension contributions and continued or improved health care coverage at a time when millions of workers have seen such benefits disappear for themselves.

Named a “winner” in the 2008 elections by Crain's New York, 32BJ mobilized members in the key presidential campaign states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida and Virginia while fielding a strong New York State campaign, which contributed to a change from Republican to Democratic majority control of the New York State Senate. In 2009 and 2006, New York Magazine named Mike one of the most influential New Yorker in politics. As the sole labor leader appointed by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to the Commission for Economic Development, Mike successfully advocated for the working poor. In 2008, Mike was honored by the Asociación Tepeyac for the union's defense of immigrant workers and commitment to immigration reform.

The grandson of a union carpenter who taught him the trade, Mike’s career as a labor activist began when he joined the carpenters’ union. After nearly 20 years at the carpenters’ union, during which he served as Director of Organizing, Mike joined SEIU in 1996 as Chief of Staff to the President. Today Mike serves as Vice President of the New York State AFL-CIO Executive Council; Vice President of the New York City Central Labor Council; Chair of the 32BJ Benefit Fund; and Vice President of SEIU.

Mike was raised in Queens and Connecticut, where he attended public schools. He is married, has a daughter and lives in New York City.

“When we stand together as one union we have the power to do great things for ourselves, our families and our communities.”
- Mike Fishman