Healthcare Workers Endorse Rawlings-Blake, Praising Her Commitment to a Healthy Baltimore

Members of 1199SEIU, Baltimore’s healthcare union, give key early backing to mayor, citing her longstanding work for quality healthcare and quality jobs

First labor endorsement of mayoral race goes to Rawlings-Blake; issued by caregivers with strong record of early backing, electing progressive candidates

BALTIMORE — The healthcare workers of 1199SEIU formally announced their endorsement Thursday of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake in the election for Baltimore City mayor.

“Our members have voted to endorse Stephanie Rawlings-Blake because no one has worked harder to build a healthy Baltimore,” said John Reid, executive vice president of 1199SEIU, Baltimore’s healthcare union. “As a city council member, as council president and now as mayor, she’s fought tirelessly for quality healthcare — and for quality healthcare jobs. By helping caregivers to win a voice for our patients and a better life for our families, she’s helping to improve the quality of life for everyone in Baltimore.”

The early backing of the healthcare workers is one of the most important endorsements in Baltimore and Maryland elections. It’s a people-powered endorsement, with substantial numbers of SEIU members going door-to-door for candidates who share their values. It is widely considered the most powerful grassroots election operation in Maryland.

Rawlings-Blake has a strong record on healthcare issues. As city council president, she sponsored a 2009 resolution backing the Heart of Baltimore campaign, which is uniting healthcare workers in a movement to ensure quality care across the city. The resolution, which passed the council unanimously, supports the right of every Baltimore caregiver to a free and fair union election so they can have a strong voice for patients.

Last summer at the Heart of Baltimore rally, the biggest gathering of local caregivers in a generation, Rawlings-Blake stood with healthcare workers from the University of Maryland Medical System and other healthcare facilities who are uniting in 1199SEIU. With the launch this month of Healthy Baltimore 2015, Rawlings-Blake showed that healthcare remains a priority for her administration.

“I’m honored to be standing with the caregivers of 1199SEIU,” said Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. “Healthcare workers are the heart and soul of Baltimore. One in five jobs in our city is in healthcare, so by improving conditions for workers in our hospitals, nursing homes and clinics, we’re not only improving healthcare standards, we’re improving living standards across the city. I’m proud of the progress we’ve made so far, and I know together we can do so much more by 2015.”

Being an incumbent doesn’t guarantee an endorsement from 1199SEIU. In 2010, the healthcare workers and other SEIU unions backed progressive challengers to five sitting state senators in Maryland. All five incumbents were defeated. SEIU’s support for U.S. Rep. Donna Edwards was also considered key in her successful run against incumbent Al Wynn. SEIU members were also key supporters for 1999 Mayoral Candidate Martin O'Malley, leading to his decisive victory in that hotly contested Democratic primary race.

“I’m standing with Stephanie Rawlings-Blake because she’s stood up for healthcare workers,” said Taren Peterson, a unit clerk at Maryland General Hospital and a member of 1199SEIU. “When caregivers rallied last summer for quality care and quality jobs, she was there with us lending her support. And this spring, when workers from Maryland General took part in a community clean up, she was side by side with us again, getting the job done.”

1199SEIU–United Healthcare Workers East unites more than 10,000 caregivers in its Maryland/DC Division and altogether includes more than 340,000 healthcare workers along the East Coast from Massachusetts to Florida. It is an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union, the largest and fastest-growing healthcare union in America.