PHILADELPHIA — Today, we joined with fellow union members at SEIU 32BJ and SEIU Local 668 to endorse Katie McGinty for U.S. Senate.
Crowds of workers and supporters gathered at Love Park in Philadelphia to announce our support and hear from the candidate who has pledged to stand with us and workers across PA as we strive to strengthen working families and ensure access to quality, affordable healthcare for all.
“She comes from a working family,” said Jeanette Oakley, a hospital worker from the Philadelphia area who spoke at Monday’s event for the candidate. “She was the first candidate to come out in support of a fifteen dollar an hour minimum wage. That fight for $15 will raise thousands of Pennsylvania families up out of poverty and lift the rest of us too.”
Katie McGinty has spent her career working to give Pennsylvanians a shot at a better life. She’s advocated for workers and helped create thousands of clean energy and infrastructure jobs. She helped Governor Wolf expand Medicaid to half a million Pennsylvanians, guaranteeing them the freedom to seek better employment opportunities without risking their family’s health.
“No candidate in this race is as committed to standing with working families as Katie McGinty,” said Neal Bisno, President of SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania. “She has marched with hospital workers fighting for good jobs, has been a champion for homecare and nursing home workers, and was the first candidate to announce her support for raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. She is a proven leader who will work to grow the middle class, ensure access to quality, affordable healthcare and education, and expand job training programs. The nurses and healthcare workers of Pennsylvania are excited to help make KatiecGinty the first woman U.S. Senator in the history of our state!”
“I am honored to have the support of SEIU which represents hundreds of thousands of workers across the country, including 80,000 workers in Pennsylvania,” said Katie McGinty. “As the daughter of a police officer and a restaurant hostess, I have the utmost respect for hardworking women and men who give it their all to provide for themselves and their families. No one working full time should live in poverty in this country, which is why I fully support SEIU’s “Fight for $15″ campaign for a living wage. SEIU and I are also dedicated to ensuring access to affordable and quality healthcare, universal pre-K, increasing college affordability and protecting Social Security and Medicare. I look forward to working in partnership with SEIU to give workers a fighting chance.”
As Pennsylvania’s first female senator, Katie McGinty will fight for equal pay for equal work. She’ll fight for affordable childcare and paid family leave so that no one has to choose between earning an income and raising a family. She will defend Social Security and Medicare so our seniors can retire with dignity and respect.
When we elect Katie McGinty, we are electing a champion for the workers of Pennsylvania.