David Rolf

Not to be confused with David Rolfe.
David Rolf
Born1969 (age 54–55)
EducationBard College (BA)
EmployerService Employees International Union

David Rolf (born 1969) is an American labor leader, writer, and speaker. He was the Founding President of Seattle-based Local 775 of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which represents health care workers, and formerly served as international vice president of SEIU. He is the author of The Fight for Fifteen: The Right Wage for a Working America (New Press, 2016) about the movement by low-wage workers to earn a higher minimum wage, and A Roadmap to Rebuilding Worker Power (The Century Foundation, 2018). Rolf was a founder of the Fair Work Center in Seattle, Working Washington, The Workers Lab in Oakland, and the SEIU 775 Benefits Group.[1]

Rolf stepped down as president of SEIU 775 on September 30, 2018, after publishing a blog post on Medium about the importance of term limits for union officers as a way to encourage innovation in the labor movement.[2]

Rolf has been credited for helping to pass the November 2013 ballot measure in SeaTac, Washington known as Proposition 1, which set a $15-per-hour minimum wage for airport and hotel workers. He has also been credited for helping to lead the campaign for a $15-per-hour minimum wage. Following Ed Murray's successful bid for Mayor of Seattle, Rolf served as co-chair of the mayor's Income Inequality Advisory Committee.[3]

Rolf advocates for innovation within the labor union movement, including calling for labor to use its existing resources to reinvent itself by developing organizations that "have economic power to improve lives," that can "scale" to ultimately help millions of workers and that are financially sustainable so they can survive without relying on foundation grants.[4] Rolf has also recently supported new responses to the rise of contingent and on-demand work, including portable benefits and a basic income.[5]

  1. ^ "About David Rolf | David Rolf". The Fight for $15. 2016-03-01. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  2. ^ Rolf, David (2018-09-06). "'Learn, Lead, and Leave' — Why our Local Union opted for Officer Term Limits". Medium. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  3. ^ City of Seattle (January 2014). "Income Inequality Advisory Committee" (PDF).
  4. ^ Greenhouse, Steven (April 9, 2016). "Fight for $15: meet the enfant terrible who turned minimum wage into a national battle". The Guardian.
  5. ^ "Meet The Millennial Who's Trying To Save The Labor Movement With A Facebook For Unions". Fast Company. 2017-09-01. Retrieved 2017-09-29.