The 2.1 million member Services Employees International Union (SEIU) today announced its endorsement of President Barack Obama for re-election in 2012.
The endorsement is the culmination of a six month conversation among SEIU members and leaders across the country that evaluated the candidates, identified members’ priorities, and ultimately led to a final endorsement.
Nurses, healthcare workers, para-educators, long-term care workers, janitors, and others say President Obama is the right candidate to create good jobs now, end devastating cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and other critical programs, require everyone to pay their fair share in taxes, and create a fair path to citizenship for immigrant workers.
Local SEIU members including nurses, healthcare workers, long-term care workers, child-care providers, janitors, and security workers responded to today’s announcement:
“We believe in a country where people come before profits, where every American has a good job to support our families, where workers can retire with dignity and where our children can do better than we did,” said Carol Harris-Davis, a University of Washington Patient Services Specialist and Family Child Care Provider, member of SEIU Local 925. “That’s why child care providers, healthcare workers, nurses, public school and university higher- ed staff are endorsing President Barack Obama.”
“President Obama is the only candidate I can trust to put the interests of the 99 percent of us who are struggling above the interests of large corporations,” said Karen Washington, a home care worker from Spokane and member of SEIU Healthcare 775NW. “He is concerned about ensuring my family has access to quality affordable healthcare. And President Obama is the only one who has shown a willingness to invest in our future through good schools and rebuilding our roads and bridges.”
“More of our patients have access to healthcare thanks to President Obama’s leadership on passing the Affordable Care Act and investments in training for nurses and healthcare workers,” said Tara Lerew, RN, and member of SEIU Healthcare 1199NW. “If we’re going to rebuild our economy, we need to create jobs and increase access for healthcare instead of leaving families unable to afford healthcare in our Emergency Room. More than ever, we need to continue our work to protect healthcare, including Medicare and Medicaid. Our patients and our families are counting on President Barack Obama as the leadership we need for the next four years.”
With the endorsement, SEIU is committing to a robust campaign to engage SEIU members and their families and friends as well as the general public in the fight to re-elect President Obama.
