November 2008 Political Roundup

SEIU’s People-Powered Politics Makes An Impact All Across Tennessee!

Whether it was on the campaign trail or in the halls of government, your union was on the move during the November 2008 general election to make sure that candidates and politicians put working people first.

Elections

The International Union proudly endorsed Barack Obama for president and already Washington is starting to change. Universal healthcare and the Employee Free Choice Act—both of which are top priorities for SEIU—are on President-Elect Obama’s agenda to help working families thanks to the strong support by union members in Tennessee and across America.
 
Also at the federal level, all of SEIU’s endorsed candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives won their elections, including Steve Cohen, Jim Cooper, Bart Gordon, and Lincoln Davis.

At the local level, several of SEIU’s endorsed candidates — Russell Gilbert in Chattanooga and Freda Williams in Memphis — were elected thanks to the hard work of SEIU members who volunteered their time or donated to the union’s COPE fund to propel them to victory.  And in mid-summer, Local 205 was very active in the Metro School Board and the Metro Benefit Board elections, which helped push the concerns of our members front-and-center throughout the whole campaign.

Issues

Political action doesn’t just happen during election time. It also happens in legislative sessions and your union worked both in the spotlight and behind the scenes to make sure that our members won. SEIU members led the fight to stop another round of privatization at the Metro Social Services department in Nashville by lobbying Board members and taking direct action. Also in Nashville, union members at the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office lobbied their councilmembers and won a victory to get a major improvement to their pension benefits. And in one of the largest actions in recent memory, hundreds of workers at Nashville Electric Service stormed the Metro Council to protect the union contract and their benefits package.

These are just a few examples of the political activity your union has been involved in 2008.  Remember… whether you work in the public or private sector, politics matters to you and your family every single day.

Stay tuned for more information on how you can get involved in 2009!