BOSTON – Today 1199SEIU and Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) proudly announced their endorsement of Maura Healey for re-election as Governor of Massachusetts.

“Whether she’s working to make healthcare more affordable or expanding access to reproductive rights, we can count on Governor Maura Healey to stand up for working people in Massachusetts,” said Cari Medina, Executive Vice President of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. “As President Trump and MAGA extremists attack our healthcare, drive up the cost of living, and threaten our immigrant workers and their families, Maura Healey is in our corner. As our Governor, we know she’ll keep standing up against MAGA assaults on healthcare and reproductive justice, defending immigrant workers from ICE, and working every day to make life more affordable for working families. The 85,000 Massachusetts healthcare workers of 1199SEIU are proud to endorse Maura Healey for re-election as Governor of Massachusetts.”

“We’re proud to offer Governor Healey our endorsement for re-election,” said 32BJ SEIU Executive Vice-President Kevin Brown, who leads the union in Massachusetts. “Maura Healey has always worked hard to meet the concerns of working people, including the janitors, security guards, university workers, and Logan Airport workers who form the core of our Massachusetts membership. We are especially thankful for her local leadership since President Trump has returned to office, compounding our members’ economic struggles with federal policies that are often downright hostile to their survival.”

“At the core of President Trump’s hostility to working people is his animosity toward immigrants and people of color – that is to say, against the vast majority of our 22,000 Massachusetts members,” Brown continued. “In championing the Protect Act, Governor Healey drew a line against ICE’s reckless actions in sensitive spaces and strengthened local law enforcement’s independence from federal immigration enforcement. She has also worked diligently to counter federal cuts to programs like Medicaid and SNAP, to resist the degradation of education and public health, and to support the ability of all workers to form a union. In fact, Governor Healey played a key role in creating the means for 70,000 Massachusetts rideshare drivers to form the first union in the United States.”

On June 13th, Healey met with SEIU members in a forum to hear from members about their priorities for the next four years. SEIU members have a tradition of deep political engagement, and the unions’ endorsements bring with them hundreds of active volunteers who will help get out the vote and lift up key issues important to union members in the governor’s race.

Leonardo Perez, who attended the June forum, said, “I came to ask the Governor to speak with MassPort about establishing an airport-wide health-care policy, so that wheelchair attendants and airplane cabin cleaners like me can afford good health insurance. She heard me and promised to speak with them, just like she has supported so many of us at Logan who came to this country to work hard for a better life. It made me proud to support her re-election.”

“I’m excited to get out on the doors and talk to my neighbors about why we need to re-elect Maura Healey as our Governor,” said Ann Burke, Cape Cod Advocate for Fenway Health and a 1199SEIU member. “As the LGBTQIA+ community faces attacks, especially trans people, Governor Healey hasn’t backed down; she has reaffirmed her support and efforts to protect our community. And as MAGA extremists try to rip away healthcare coverage from millions of people across the country, Governor Healey is fighting for the affordable healthcare we deserve.”

 

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