George Gresham, the former longtime president of the 1199 Service Employees International Union has died, officials said. He was 71.<\/p>\n
Gresham led SEIU \u2014 one of New York\u2019s largest unions, mostly representing health care workers \u2014 from 2007 to 2025. He died Friday after battling a long illness, SEIU<\/a> said.<\/p>\n Beyond New York, 1199SEIU is also the nation\u2019s largest health care workers union.<\/p>\n Posting on X<\/a>, Mayor Mamdani praised Gresham as \u201ca giant of New York\u2019s labor movement and a relentless champion for working people. From the hospital floor to the presidency of 1199SEIU, he dedicated his life to fighting for the dignity, safety and economic security of health care workers and their families,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Mamdani announced that on Saturday the Big Apple would lower flags to half-mast at all municipal buildings to honor Gresham<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom his start as a hospital worker to leading 1199SEIU, George Gresham was a legendary labor leader who never stopped fighting for working people, communities of color, and the dignity every New Yorker deserves,\u201d Governor Hochul said in a statement. \u201cHis voice helped shape New York\u2019s labor movement and strengthen the rights of health care workers across our state.\u201d<\/p>\n Gresham, who was born in Virginia and later moved to New York City, started out as a housekeeper at Columbia Presbyterian hospital before eventually rising to the president of the union.<\/p>\n