December 18, 2007

L.A. labor fed backs Ridley-Thomas

The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor announced its endorsement of Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas in the race to replace retiring County Supvervisor Yvonne Brathwaite–Burke.

The 800,000-strong federation has said the race will be its top priority in 2008.

Ridley-Thomas will face off against Bernard Parks, a member of the Los Angeles City Council, who is expected to garner the backing of the business community in a battle to sway control of the board.

From the release, with highlighting by Capitol Alert:

“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.”

Posted by Shane Goldmacher on December 18, 2007 12:06 PM