SEIU Brings Change to Chattanooga!

Endorsed candidates Win Big in Council Races

SEIU's slate of pro-worker candidates won big in the city council elections, in no small part thanks to a major coordinated union campaign to change Chattanooga.  Of the five candidates that Local 205 endorsed, four of them won their races and one is headed to a runoff election.

In District 3, Pam Ladd prevailed in a tight race over her opponent.  Meanwhile in District 5, Russell Gilbert easily won re-election, as did Jack Benson in District 4.  The big surprise of the evening happened in District 6, where the race between Carol Berz and Marti Rutherford was expected to be close.  In the end, Berz trounced Rutherford, who has been the subject of much controversy over the past two years, with 69% of the vote.  The only candidate who SEIU supported who didn't win outright on Election Day was Leamon Pierce, who is headed for a runoff election.

"This was an historic day - not just for SEIU, but for working people all across Chattanooga" says Doug Collier, president of SEIU Local 205.  "Dozens of our members and their families volunteered their time and energy to make sure that the next council is friendly to city employees."

Jeff Berntsen, the union's lead organizer in Chattanooga, points to a massive grassroots union campaign as the key to victory on Election Day.  "Chattanooga hasn't seen anything like this in a long time," Berntsen says.  "It was rank-and-file members who not only interviewed the candidates and made the endorsement decisions, but who also put their money where their mouths were by coming in to stuff envelopes, make hundreds of phone calls, knock hundreds of doors, and work the polls to get our candidates elected".

Election season isn't quite over yet in Chattanooga.  Runoff elections will be on April 14, and Local 205 will be active in several of those as well.  "Our goal is to make sure that working people's interests finally get the representation they deserve in city government," Collier says.  "For too long, the moneyed special interests have had undue influence over elected officials and city employees have paid the price.  Those days are coming to an end... change is coming to Chattanooga".