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L.A. County Federation of Labor Endorses Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas in the June 2008 County Supervisor 2nd District Election
Dozens of workers and unions of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO gathered on the steps of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors today to announce their endorsement of Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas in the June 3rd race to replace current Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite–Burke.
Burke announced her retirement earlier this year.
“Over the past year it’s become more evident that the decisions made by the board not only have the potential to hurt workers, but severely hurt the communities we live in such as the closing of King Drew Medical Center,” said Maria Elena Durazo, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO. “So when it comes to politics in 2008, there will be no greater political priority for working families than to elect Mark Ridley-Thomas to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.”
In endorsing Ridley-Thomas, the Federation will commit to combine the resources of the entire Labor Movement to turn out the vote on June 3rd. Support will come in various forms including precinct walking, phone banking and targeted mail.
“When nurses, firefighters, electricians, janitors or any other worker says they are behind a candidate, we just don’t mean it on paper. We mean workers will hit the streets to turn-out out the vote.” said Dave Gillotte, a county Firefighter represented by the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) Local 1014. “Come June 3rd, the entire labor movement will work together to ensure that Mark Ridley-Thomas gets elected because this election isn’t just about fighting for our fair share as workers, but about our communities.”
Mark Ridley -Thomas currently serves as Senator in the California State Senate and served in the California State Assembly. During his tenure on the Los Angeles City Council, Ridley-Thomas was a strong proponent of paying prevailing wages for public construction projects. He also authored a city worker retention ordinance, which led to the adoption of a strong living wage ordinance for service workers.
The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO is the chartered Central Labor Council (CLC) of the AFL-CIO in Los Angeles County and is the second largest in the country, representing over 350 unions and over 800,000 workers. Its mission is to promote a voice for workers standing up against poverty by organizing themselves to join a union, through active participation in the political process, by electing pro-union and pro-worker officials and to advance public policies that support workers and their families. As the coordinating center for labor’s political activity, the Federation believes that in educating and mobilizing workers to be politically active they can create and sustain healthy communities, and FIGHT FOR GOOD JOBS that REBUILD THE LOS ANGELES MIDDLE CLASS. Visit the Federation at www.launionaflcio.org
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