For Immediate Release: September 27, 2016
Contact: Aries Dela Cruz, Cell: (347)683-3020, Email: aries@bao2016.com
SUPPORT FROM CALIFORNIA LABOR UNIONS CONTINUES TO GROW FOR BAO NGUYEN’S CAMPAIGN FOR CONGRESS WITH LATEST ENDORSEMENT
Orange County, CA — Today, SEIU California State Council, which is made up of 700,000 California workers, announced its endorsement of Mayor Bao Nguyen for Congress in California’s 46th District. With only 49 days until Election Day, the endorsement and pledge of support by the largest labor union in California gives Mayor Nguyen’s campaign added momentum in his campaign to be the champion in Washington for the 46th Congressional District.
Two of the SEIU California locals provided statements of support for the endorsement of Mayor Bao Nguyen for Congress. SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW), which counts 90,000 hospital workers, released the following statement from Denise Varela:
“Mayor Nguyen represents the next generation of diverse leadership that makes our nation strong. Bao came to this country as an immigrant and a refugee, and he symbolizes how our nation can move forward when we open the American Dream to all,” said Denise Varela, a SEIU-UHW Executive Board Member and Kaiser Permanente employee from Orange County. “As Mayor, he’s been a leader and a champion on issues important to working people, from raising the minimum wage to creating good jobs. I’m proud my brothers and sisters of SEIU have endorsed Bao Nguyen for Congress, and we’ll be spending our evenings and weekends talking to voters about why he’s the right person to represent us in Washington.”
Another local, SEIU-United Service Workers West (SEIU-USWW), which represents more than 40,000 janitors, security officers, airport service workers, and other property service workers across California, with 4,500 employees at Disneyland, released the following statement from Marisol Rivera, SEIU USWW Vice President:
“In California’s 46th Congressional District, there is only one candidate for Congress who truly understands and supports the needs of working families, and that candidate is Mayor Bao Nguyen. Throughout his career, he has strongly supporting our organizing campaigns and contract campaign for janitors, and he has always been available to our union and its members. Mayor Nguyen gets what working families need and he’s willing to take the heat for workers, and to use his voice on our behalf, and that is not the case with his opponent.”
“SEIU represents so many hardworking people in Orange County, and I’m grateful and humbled by their endorsement,” said Mayor Bao Nguyen. “This campaign is about working together to fight a system that puts tax cuts for corporations and wealthy individuals above the security and quality of life for the vast majority of America’s working families. As a former labor organizer with United Domestic Workers of America AFSCME, I know the important role of the labor movement and unions like SEIU have played in protecting workers’ rights and expanding our middle class. We need someone in Orange County who will take up that fight in Congress, and who will be a defender of labor and social safety nets—not someone who will work to weaken them like opponent surely will, and not someone who will dodge opportunities to debate the issues in front of the voters of the district.”
About SEIU California State Council
The SEIU California State Council is over 700,000 members strong in California, and we are proud to be part of the largest and fastest growing union in the United States, the Service Employees International Union, with over 2.0 million members nationwide.
About Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
The Service Employees International Union is an organization of 2-million members united by the belief in the dignity and worth of workers and the services they provide and dedicated to improving the lives of workers and their families and creating a more just and humane society.
About Mayor Bao Nguyen
Bao Nguyen is running for Congress in California’s 46th district. Born in a UN refugee camp, Bao and his parents emigrated to the U.S. to escape oppression in communist Vietnam and achieve their own American Dream. Bao grew up in the district, attended Garden Grove public schools and graduated from Pacifica High School. After receiving a college degree from UC Irvine and a Master’s degree from Naropa University, Bao came back to Garden Grove to teach, before turning to public service. Bao – who speaks English, Spanish and Vietnamese – was elected in 2014 to a two-year term as the first Vietnamese American, first openly LGBTQ mayor of Garden Grove.