Lewis Endorsed By SEIU Mass State Council and Local Unions

A release from the Committee to Elect Jason Lewis:

BOSTON ---- The Massachusetts State Council of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has endorsed State Senator Jason Lewis for re-election in the 5th Middlesex District, citing his strong track record fighting for working families and labor rights in Massachusetts.

Senator Lewis has also been endorsed by SEIU 1199, SEIU 888 and SEIU 32BJ.

"As Senate Chair of the Committee on Labor and Workforce Development, Jason Lewis led a historic process this year to pass a $15 minimum wage and the best statewide Paid Family and Medical Leave program in the country,” said Harris Gruman, SEIU Mass State Council Executive Director. “He facilitated a substantive dialogue between representatives of business, labor, community and faith groups to build a consensus on how to structure and phase-in livable wages and paid leave in a way that would truly strengthen our state's shared prosperity. Progressive leadership like this is what our state needs to create an economy that works for all of us. The SEIU Massachusetts State Council is proud to endorse a real champion for our working families."

“I’m honored to have the endorsement of SEIU and to fight alongside our labor unions for better pay, benefits, and working conditions for all workers,” said Senator Jason Lewis, Senate Chair of the Committee on Labor and Workforce Development. “Working together we’ve been able to raise the minimum wage, enact the strongest paid family and medical leave program in the country, and protect the rights of workers to organize and make sure their voices are heard.”

Senator Lewis has been a leader in successfully pursuing numerous legislative victories for working families and organized labor in the Commonwealth, including:

● Raising the statewide minimum wage to $15 an hour (over the next five years), which will raise wages and incomes for almost a million workers in Massachusetts.
● Enacting the strongest paid family and medical leave program in the nation, so that workers will no longer need to choose between keeping their job and caring for a sick family member or bonding with a new baby or adopted child.
● Passing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act to ensure that pregnant women receive protections and reasonable accommodations in the workplace.
● Passing legislation to provide all workers in Massachusetts with Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) protections.
● Securing funding and support for expanding apprenticeship programs into new industries like manufacturing and healthcare, in order to provide more pathways to good paying jobs and careers for young people.

Collectively, SEIU unions represent hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts workers, who work in healthcare, home care, nursing homes, janitors, food service, and state and local government. SEIU is also part of Raise Up Massachusetts, a grassroots coalition of community organizations, faith groups, and labor unions committed to building an economy that works for all of us.

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Senator Lewis is proud to stand and advocate alongside organizers from SEIU 32BJ as they work towards a more equitable and progressive Commonwealth (courtesy photo).