Wednesday, February 9, 2022
Contact: Hal Weiss, 213.247.4585
SEIU 121RN ENDORSES IN PIVOTAL LA MAYOR’S RACE AND OTHER KEY LOCAL SEATS
Union of nurses and healthcare professionals to support contenders for LA Mayor, LA County Sheriff, LA & San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, LA City Council and other races.
Pasadena, CA - The Service Employees International Union Local 121RN (SEIU 121RN) announced official endorsements in upcoming June Primary Elections.
The list of endorsed candidates selected by the Union include:
• Congressmember Karen Bass: LA Mayor
• Chief Cecil Rhambo: LA County Sheriff
• Senator Henry Stern and Senator Robert Hertzberg (dual endorsement): LA County Board of Supervisors District 3
• Senator Connie Leyva: San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors District 4
• DeJonae Shaw: San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors District 2
• Councilmember Bob Blumenfield: LA City Council District 3
• Katy Yaroslavsky: LA City Council District 5
• Sara Hernandez: LA Community College Board of Trustees
• Tim McOsker: LA City Council District 15
“The voices of nurses and other frontline healthcare professionals have never been more significant,” said SEIU 121RN Executive Director, Rosanna Mendez. “Our members are using that elevated platform to boost candidates they know will support policies designed to keep their patients safe. We expect that our endorsements will have an impact on these important races.”
For more than a decade, SEIU 121RN members’ political activism has resulted in the enactment of policies that lead the nation in patient safety. Their robust political program has led to landmark legislation, including the creation of California’s Nurse-to-Patient Ratios, California’s Aerosol Transmissible Disease Standard, Whistleblower Protection for healthcare workers and more. More recently, the union successfully led efforts to mandate the keeping of PPE stockpiles in California hospitals, and to ensure that patients have a ‘right to know’ when hospitals seek exemptions from safe staffing mandates.
“Now, more than ever, it’s important that healthcare professionals—and their patients—have allies in elected offices at the city, county and state level, and beyond,” said Monique Hernandez, a nurse and member of the SEIU 121RN’s Committee On Political Education. “The challenges of the pandemic could have easily shuttered us into silence. Instead, we’re making sure that we have an influential voice.”
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SEIU Local 121RN represents registered nurses and other healthcare professionals in California. This member-led organization is committed to supporting optimum working conditions that allow nurses to provide quality patient care and safety.