Lenore Friedlaender

Lenore Friedlaender is the Assistant to the President of 32BJ SEIU, a labor union representing 145,000 office cleaners, building maintenance, operations and security workers in 11 states and the District of Columbia, including 70,000 who work in New York City. Lenore currently oversees the strategic partnership work of 32BJ building strong and meaningful alliances with community, labor, clergy and advocacy partners, locally, regionally, nationally and globally. Lenore built 32BJ’s member engagement and leadership development program based on a lifelong mission of helping working people become active and involved in the effort to improve their conditions at work and to fight for a more just and humane society. She developed adult education curricula for member and staff training modules and has trained staff and members to train others on the curriculum. She founded 32BJ’s summer youth training and internship program and 32BJ’s member organizing program, providing members and their 18-25-year old children or grandchildren the opportunity to develop their organizing and leadership skills.  

After coming to 32BJ in 1999, Lenore served as Director of Organizing for five years, spent 2 years co-leading the representation work in New York City. Prior to working with 32BJ, Lenore worked as a manager in SEIU’s national organizing efforts on the Justice For Janitors Campaign, Dignity nursing home campaign and hospital organizing campaigns. In 2003, Lenore was the second woman elected as a Vice President of 32BJ since its founding in the 1930’s and the first woman elected as Assistant to the President in 2012.  

Lenore is a member of the Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies, CUNY Labor Advisory Board. She is a co-chair of the Thomas Shortman Training Fund Advisory Committee, a labor-management committee providing guidance and input to the Thomas Shortman Fund, a labor-management partnership providing educational, vocational and computer classes to nearly 90,000 32BJ members throughout 32BJ’s geography. She is also one of the trustees of the union’s legal service fund, a deputy trustee on the union’s health, pension, training and supplemental retirement savings program funds. Lenore serves on the Strategic Partners Committee of the SEIU International Union Executive Board, the Executive Committee of the SEIU Property Services Division and is a representative of SEIU on the Uni Global Union federation Property Services Section. Lenore lives in Woodside, Queens.

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