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   Nation’s Largest Health Care Union Endorses Howard Dean for President

SEIU Members Ready To Put a Doctor in the House

WASHINGTON, DC – Citing the former Vermont governor’s commitment to health care and workers’ rights, the 1.6 million-member Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the largest union of health care workers in the country, today announced that it has endorsed Dr. Howard Dean for President of the United States.

SEIU’s decision, which was made last Thursday during a meeting of local union leaders from across the country, is the result of a long and thorough decision-making process that began with – and ends with – SEIU’s members.

“Howard Dean understands health care, and he's got a vision and a plan to make things right," said Mark Trombitas, a direct care worker in Youngstown, Ohio.  Mark, who works with the developmentally disabled, added that he was encouraged to learn that Dean is a doctor with “a proven track record in Vermont - he delivered health care to the kids.”

Nearly a year ago, SEIU’s leaders stated that in order to be considered for the union’s endorsement, candidates had to meet three criteria:  1) they must be publicly committed to workers’ rights; 2) they must offer a written, comprehensive health care plan, including a way to pay for it; and 3) they must demonstrate widespread support among SEIU members.

Since then, SEIU has helped members learn about the candidates by providing information on their positions, and opportunities to hear from them directly. And throughout, SEIU national and local leaders conducted numerous polls, surveys straw votes, and face-to-face discussions to find out what the members thought of the candidates and the question of endorsement.

“SEIU’s members are the heart, the soul, and the decision-makers of this union,” said SEIU President Andrew L. Stern.  “And as the members learned more and more about the candidates, it became clear that there was an overwhelming enthusiasm among them for Howard Dean.”

"Health care isn't just some issue to me, it's something I deal with every day in my job,” said Pauline Taylor, an operating room nurse at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, adding: “I know that's something Howard Dean really understands, because he was a doctor long before he ever became a governor. So when he talks about health care, he's not just thinking about the policy; he's also thinking about the people who are affected."

With the endorsement, thousands of members from early primary states like Pauline will now begin working to help Howard Dean win the Democratic nomination, making thousands of phone calls, knocking on thousands of doors, and distributing thousands of flyers at worksites to help spread the word about Dean among other members. 

In addition to its thousands of nurses in Iowa, SEIU is the largest union in New Hampshire with 7500 members, and has hundreds of thousands of members in other key primary states like Michigan (45,000), Wisconsin (10,000), and Washington State (50,000).