2020
YOLANDA
PUMAREJO
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
SSEU LOCAL 371
Yolanda Pumarejo has been a fi erce fi ghter for working people her entire adult life. Her advocacy
began when she was a Caseworker in Child Welfare on Staten Island. She served as a
delegate on location for Social Service Employees Union Local 371��while working her way up
to Child Protective Specialist Supervisor II; she also earned her master’s in social work while
working for the city.
Pumarejo has been serving as Executive Vice President of SSEU Local 371��for 25��years. As a
leader, she has always valued treating members and colleagues with dignity and respect. She
has sought to inspire people by calling on their individual strengths and showing them how
they can be stronger together.
Pumarejo is the chair of her union’s Latino Heritage Committee and its Committee of Concerned
Social Workers (CCSW). She has overseen the Sol Gorelick Scholarship program and
spearheaded the fundraising efforts for the CCSW Scholarship, through which the union has
given more than $100,000��in scholarships to members.
She co-chairs the Lesbian and Gay Issues Committee (LAGIC) at District Council 37. Pumarejo
served as First Vice President of the New York City Chapter of LCLAA (the Labor Council
for Latin American Advancement), and sits on LCLAA’s national board as its AFSCME representative.
She was a longtime member of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW),
the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) and the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists
(CBTU).
SALUTE TO LABOR