BOSTON—The National Association of Government Employees (NAGE / SEIU Local 5000) has endorsed Jon Santiago in the race for mayor of Boston. NAGE becomes the latest labor union to throw their support behind Santiago, following Laborers Local 223, the Dorchester-based building trades group.
“On behalf of the 20,000 NAGE members living and working in Massachusetts and more than 2,000 in the City of Boston, I am proud to announce our support of Jon Santiago for Mayor of Boston,” said David Holway, national president. “This is the most consequential election in the history of Boston and our members believe in Jon Santiago’s ability to unify the city through proven crisis leadership and foster a recovery rooted in equity and opportunity for all.”
NAGE represents public and private workers including federal, state and municipal employees including first responders, correctional officers, nurses and emergency medical technicians and office workers. NAGE affiliated with SEIU in 1982 and remains committed to empowering union workers of every race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, age, physical ability and sexual orientation and building lasting economic security for their members.
“I am honored and humbled that NAGE workers from here in Boston and across our state have placed their trust in me and are joining this movement to build our city back from this pandemic, stronger than ever before,” said Santiago. “By building this coalition of working people and neighbors from every background who share our vision for a recovery rooted in equity and opportunity, we’re going to bring Boston together and strengthen the way our city serves its people. I can’t wait to have the men and women of NAGE / SEIU Local 5000 at our side in this campaign as we write the next chapter of our Boston story.”
With today’s endorsement, NAGE joins a list of endorsers supporting Santiago for mayor. The group includes Ways and Means Chairman Aaron Michlewitz of the North End, Assistant Majority Leader Mike Moran and Representatives Kevin Honan of Allston, Rep. Ed Coppinger of West Roxbury and Rep. Dan Ryan of Charlestown. Other notable endorsements for Santiago include Dorchester’s Laborers Local Union 223, community leader Horace Small, former Executive Director of the Union of Minority Neighborhoods, and the Latino Victory Fund.
Jon Santiago is currently serving his second term as the State Representative for the 9th Suffolk District representing the South End, Roxbury, Back Bay, and Fenway neighborhoods of Boston. He is an emergency room physician employed at Boston Medical Center, the city’s safety net hospital. He serves as a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve and has deployed overseas. Prior to these experiences, Santiago served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic. He lives in the South End with his wife, Alexandra.
Source:
Sean Downey
Hilltop Public Solutions
sdowney@hilltoppublicsolutions.com
