Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Cites Her Commitment To Addressing Income Inequality And Support of Workers’ Right To Organize
PROVIDENCE – SEIU 1199 New England has become the 13th labor organization to support Gina Raimondo for governor. The membership of SEIU 1199 is supporting Gina because of her ability to rebuild the middle class, create good jobs, address income inequality and her commitment to workers’ right to organize.
“We look forward to working to elect Gina as governor because she is on the side of our families,” said Shirley Lomba, a C.N.A. at a nursing home in Providence. “Allan Fung is not on the side of Rhode Island’s working families and even opposes a raise in the minimum wage.”
“I’m proud to have the endorsement of SEIU 1199 New England in this election,” said Gina. “We need to ensure that all Rhode Islanders have access to quality, affordable health care, good public schools, reliable, efficient public transportation and a path to higher education.
“I’ll be a governor who stands up for working families by raising the minimum wage and by creating an Office of Economic Empowerment in the governor’s office,” Gina continued. “But, even with a raise in the minimum wage, you’re still just barely getting by. My focus as governor will be on creating good, middle-class jobs that provide for a family and allow Rhode Islanders to get ahead. We need to improve our economy in a way that helps everyone."
“Gina Raimondo understands that the private sector and the public sector need to work in tandem for the economy to grow. Strategic investment in people and industries are the way to grow the RI economy and close the growing income gap,” said Patrick J. Quinn, Executive President of SEIU 1199 NE.
“What we really need are good middle-class jobs that allow you to support a family. As governor, that’s what Gina will do," said Sukie Ream, a Labor and Delivery R.N. at Women & Infants Hospital and chairwoman of 1199 SEIU’s Political Action Committee in Rhode Island. “Gina is on the side of health care workers, our families and the patients we care for every day.”
District 1199 SEIU NE represents over 4,000 health care and service workers throughout Rhode Island, along with almost 20,000 in Connecticut. It is affiliated with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the fastest-growing union in the United States with more than 2 million members.
