Heather Conroy was elected Executive Vice President of SEIU in 2016 after serving previously as executive director of SEIU Local 503 and as a Vice President on SEIU’s International Executive Board. Conroy’s approach to leadership is based on the determination, collaboration, and innovation.
Through both traditional and creative approaches to organizing, Conroy has helped to unite underpaid workers to win a better life for themselves and their families. Her leadership on “common good bargaining”—an innovative approach to collective bargaining that raises living standards for all Oregonians—garnered national interest and inspired hope for the future of collective bargaining during a time of hostility toward unions.
In 2012, her leadership and innovation resulted in 22,000 home care workers winning healthcare coverage by resourcefully leveraging the Affordable Care Act. These workers also became one of the first groups of home care workers in the nation to secure a path to $15 an hour in their contract.