Max Arias
Max Arias is the Executive Director of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 99. He was appointed in 2015 as the first Latino to lead the 50,000 education workers of SEIU Local 99 and was re-elected in 2021. Mr. Arias also serves as Chair of Child Care Providers United (CCPU), a statewide partnership between SEIU Locals 99 & 521 and AFSCME UDW. Most recently in 2023, he was the Chief Negotiator for a historic contract with LAUSD after a massive strike and was the Lead Negotiator for CCPU’s groundbreaking agreement with the State of California.
At a young age, Mr. Arias’s deep commitment to fighting for worker rights and economic justice began. Born in San Salvador in 1971, he fled the civil war in El Salvador as a child with his parents, Rina Amelia Granillo Bonilla and Jose Salvador Arias Peñate. This journey took Mr. Arias across London, Belize, Mexico, the U.S., and back to El Salvador before he turned 18—shaping his belief in the power of ordinary people to transform their lives.
Mr. Arias attended Universidad Centroamericana Jose Simeon Cañas and Universidad Albert Einstein in El Salvador, where he studied Economics. He taught English, math, and science for seven years. His path as a Union Organizer began in Michigan in 2001 with SEIU’s home care campaign, later continuing in Chicago and Oakland, where he served in leadership roles with SEIU Healthcare Illinois/Indiana and SEIU United Health Care Workers West.
“I strongly believe that jobs should show workers respect through fair wages, benefits, safe work environments, a pathway for growth, and the opportunity to succeed,” says Mr. Arias. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Carolyn, their dog, Hank, and two cats, Benito and Pepe.
At a young age, Mr. Arias’s deep commitment to fighting for worker rights and economic justice began. Born in San Salvador in 1971, he fled the civil war in El Salvador as a child with his parents, Rina Amelia Granillo Bonilla and Jose Salvador Arias Peñate. This journey took Mr. Arias across London, Belize, Mexico, the U.S., and back to El Salvador before he turned 18—shaping his belief in the power of ordinary people to transform their lives.
Mr. Arias attended Universidad Centroamericana Jose Simeon Cañas and Universidad Albert Einstein in El Salvador, where he studied Economics. He taught English, math, and science for seven years. His path as a Union Organizer began in Michigan in 2001 with SEIU’s home care campaign, later continuing in Chicago and Oakland, where he served in leadership roles with SEIU Healthcare Illinois/Indiana and SEIU United Health Care Workers West.
“I strongly believe that jobs should show workers respect through fair wages, benefits, safe work environments, a pathway for growth, and the opportunity to succeed,” says Mr. Arias. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Carolyn, their dog, Hank, and two cats, Benito and Pepe.
