HARRISBURG – In response to Senator Pat Toomey’s newly-stated opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Matthew Yarnell, President SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania’s largest and fastest growing union of healthcare professionals, issued the following response:
“Pat Toomey has built an entire career in politics catering to Wall Street and the super wealthy,” said Yarnell. “Time and again, he pushed laws and supported policies that hurt working men and women. Now, in what we’re to believe is a sudden spark of concern for those same working families, Toomey claims to disavow the TPP in part to protect the “46,000 Pennsylvanians [with] jobs in the life science and pharmaceutical sector.”
“Where was his concern and protection for working families when he repeatedly voted against raising the federal minimum wage? Was he supporting working men and women when he voted to make it easier for employers to reclassify workers and cheat them out of overtime? Was he standing up for working families when he co-sponsored a national “Right-to-Work for Less” bill?”
“Pat Toomey’s blatant attempt to curry favor by claiming to stand up for America’s working class is fooling no one,” continued Yarnell. “This November, Pennsylvania will send Pat packing and elect a real champion for workers – Katie McGinty.”
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SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania is the state’s largest and fastest-growing union of nurses and healthcare workers, uniting nearly 45,000 nurses, professional and technical employees, direct care workers, and service employees in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home and community-based services, and State facilities across the Commonwealth. SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania members are committed to improving the lives of healthcare workers and ensuring quality care and healthy communities for all Pennsylvanians.