Javier Morillo, the forceful and often contentious president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 26 and an influential figure in state Democratic politics, is stepping down in June after 14 years with the union.
Morillo will join the Center for Innovation in Worker Organization at Rutgers University in New Jersey. He will remain in Minnesota, where he plans to interview workers, research and write a book.
"The basic thrust of the project is to tell stories of organizing work that we've done over the years, victories and challenges, with an eye toward theorizing new forms of worker organization," Morillo said Wednesday. "I think a lot of the lessons we've learned here are applicable … to a broader audience."
Iris Altamirano will take over the union, which chiefly represents building service workers and security guards and leads many workers' rights and social justice initiatives.
Morillo, a Puerto Rican military kid who was born at the Panama Canal and graduated from Yale University, transformed what had been a sleepy janitors' union into a political force at the center of the progressive movement in one of America's bluest cities.
Morillo and his allies pushed for new rules on worker scheduling, sick leave and a higher minimum wage, pressured Target Corp. to improve working conditions for nonunion janitors, defeated a voter ID referendum and used one-day strikes and traffic disruptions in downtown Minneapolis to call attention to janitors' contract talks. Morillo has often been at the center of it all, shouting into a bullhorn or arguing vigorously on social media.
He threw his weight behind the election of Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges and her unsuccessful bid for re-election. He supported Gov. Tim Walz's successful campaign. He also publicly supported Hillary Clinton's unsuccessful presidential campaign.
In a sign of his influence, the union's announcement of the leadership change carried statements praising Morillo from many of the state's top Democrats, including Walz.
