John August

To say that John is passionate about social justice is an understatement. If you woke him up from a dead sleep, he could still quote legendary UAW leader Walter Reuther, community organizer Saul Alinsky and the Brazilian revolutionary educator Paulo Freire without missing a beat.  

 

John has been an organizer for more than 30 years, representing social workers, bus drivers, airline mechanics and flight attendants, school employees, printers, and virtually every type of worker in hospitals as well as nursing homes and home care. Over the years, he has also maintained positive relationships with large employers, especially in the health care industry, and is well-respected by Kaiser Permanente executives.  

 

Before joining the Union Coalition, John held several positions with Service Employees International Union, most recently serving as the deputy director of SEIU's Health Systems division.

 

To unwind, John exercises, reads history and political economy and goes to movies—and blogs at all hours, quoting from the great social justice leaders that came before him.