Monica Russo
Port St. Lucie

Commissioner Monica Russo is president of SEIU Healthcare Florida, the largest union of health care workers in the state of Florida and the South, representing more than 16,000 nurses, hospital and nursing home workers at 100 facilities across the state. SEIU Healthcare Florida’s Legacy is to “transform lives by empowering our communities to stand for justice, dignity and respect for all.”

Commissioner Russo began her career in the labor movement in 1986 and in 2001 was elected to be the first International Vice President in the South for the 1.9 million-member Service Employees International Union. She is helping lead the effort to unite healthcare workers throughout the industry and over the last decade has led one of the most successful private sector union organizing campaigns in the South —uniting more than 16,000 nursing home and hospital employees despite strong and often vicious employer opposition. These victories have led to dramatic improvements in quality of life for caregivers and quality of care for patients.

Commissioner Russo serves on numerous Boards including, South Florida Workforce Investment Board, the Florida Commission on the Status of Women, Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, Florida International University’s Research Institute for Social and Economic Policy, Congressman Kendrick Meek’s Haitian Advisory Task Force, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz’s Healthcare Working Group, Miami-Dade Branch NAACP Executive Committee and Labor Committee Co-Chair, and the United Way.