FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Public Employees Union Endorses Megan Barry for Mayor
SEIU Supports “Highly Qualified, Big Picture” Candidate to Succeed Dean
(Nashville) Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 205, the labor organization representing thousands of public employees working in Metro Government, Metro Schools, and various local government agencies, announced its support for Megan Barry as mayor of Nashville.
Barry, a two-term at-large member of the Metro Council and business executive, faces hedge fund millionaire David Fox in a runoff election on September 10. Barry championed several pieces of pro-labor legislation during her years on the council, including a living wage ordinance for city employees and a domestic partner benefit, which is the first significant expansion of employee benefits in years. She is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, she’s built a career in the field of ethics and corporate accountability, and is active in local non-profit and community organizations.
“In looking at the backgrounds and track records of the two remaining mayoral candidates, the decision to support Megan Barry was an easy one for our members to make,” said Doug Collier, president of SEIU Local 205. “Megan has demonstrated a greater working knowledge of how Metro works, that she can work with people on all sides of an issue and be a consensus builder, and that she is receptive to the needs of people who work for a living,” Collier stated. “Meanwhile, David Fox’s career has been built off of gambling with other people’s money on Wall Street and killing jobs like the 700 custodians who lost their jobs and benefits with Metro during Fox’s term on the school board.”
“The city needs more funding for our public schools, not more charters who cherry pick students and don’t have to play by the same rules as public schools,” said James Brown, a communications technician who served on the union’s candidate committee. “Nashville needs to keep the experienced, hard-working employees it has, not fire them for mythical cost savings that never materialize. Megan Barry understands that prosperity, not austerity, is what builds economies and improves the quality of life and she has the experience and skills to follow through on that.”
Election Day is on Thursday, September 10, 2015, but early voting begins on Friday, August 21. Complete information on early voting dates and voting locations is available from the Davidson County Election Commission at 862-8800.
The Service Employees International Union is the fastest-growing labor union in North America, with a membership of over 2 million members. In Tennessee, SEIU Local 205 represents thousands of public service and healthcare workers across the state, including public employees in Metro Government, Metro Schools, MDHA, Metro Action Commission, the Nashville Hospital Authority, and other local government departments and agencies.