LANSING — The SEIU Michigan State Council, which represents more than 80,000 workers in health care, state and local governments, corrections facilities, and the building service industry, today named Bob Allison as Executive Director.
Allison is a longtime leader in organized labor, helping direct both major organizing of health care workers in the state and overseeing large voter contact field operations. He was most recently SEIU Healthcare Michigan’s director of government affairs, a position he held from 2007.
“We face one of the most important times in the movement for economic and social justice, and Bob has the right blend of lobbying, organizing and communications to help rebuild power for SEIU members and all working people,” said Marge Robinson, RN, President of the SEIU State Council and President of SEIU Healthcare Michigan.
Allison, a respected veteran of Michigan political circles, led two successful lobbying and public pressure campaigns to earn first-ever wage increases and training opportunities for 42,000 Michigan home care workers.
He served in 2008 as state director of the Change To Win labor federation’s field campaign for President Obama, and he has extensive experience in coalition building, union political fundraising and strategic planning. Allison was also the senior director for the Proposal 4 home care ballot measure campaign during the 2012 election.
Prior to joining SEIU, Allison was a press secretary for U.S. Congressman David Bonior and served as the media liaison. He was also a media contact for the Bonior gubernatorial campaign in 2002.
“Our members are facing a more hostile political environment than ever before, and Bob brings an aggressive, focused approach that will help all our Locals succeed,” said Mel Grieshaber, Vice President of the SEIU State Council and Executive Director of the Michigan Corrections Organization/SEIU Local 526M.
Before union and political work, Allison was a reporter in Michigan and Florida. He won numerous Associated Press and Gannett News Services award for investigative and public service journalism. In Michigan, Allison worked at the Kalamazoo Gazette, the Port Huron Times Herald and the Lansing State Journal.
