As public employees, our political involvement is very important. Our job security, working conditions, and benefits are decided by elected officials. With our strong, united voice, we can hold politicians accountable at every level of government. We show this united strength in our endorsement process.
As SEIU members, we alone decide which candidates we’ll support. We make these decisions at Town Hall meetings, open to all Local 99 members. For example, when we endorsed County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, each of the following L.A. County locals cast one vote (which represented the collective vote of that local’s membership): Local 99, Local 721, UHW-W, Local 1877, Local 1000, and ULTCW.
To decide which candidate SEIU will support in a U.S. Presidential election, locals vote to select their preferred candidate. Then each local sends representatives to the Member Political Action Committee (MPAC) Conference in Washington, D.C., which occurs every four years (the year before the election). At this conference, each local is given one vote on the national level. The winning candidate gets SEIU’s endorsement.
