1199SEIU members celebrate victory with Senator-Elect Elizabeth Warren.
And their commitment certainly paid off! With 98% of the precincts reporting, Warren beat Brown by a decisive 8 percentage points, 54% to 46%.
Thousands of 1199SEIU members in Massachusetts in the months prior to the election canvassed neighborhoods in Massachusetts to drum up support for Elizabeth Warren and President Obama. "During the summer months, we went door-to-door in Boston, Brockton, Lawrence, Lynn and Springfield speaking to people about Medicaid. This was an important issue for personal care attendants and so many of us who depend on MassHealth," said Lisa Ivey, a member political organizer.
"Fired up, ready to go!"
During the fall election season, 1199SEIU members canvassed neighborhoods with historically low turnout including communities in Boston, Springfield, Lawrence, Brockton, Lynn, New Bedford, and Fall River. Thanks to their work along with the support of other union locals, overall turnout among all of those cities was up by an average of six percent.
Two days after Massachusetts historically elected its first woman to the U.S. Senate, Governor Deval Patrick visited the 1199SEIU office in Dorchester and praised the dozens of member volunteers who attended for their hard work and their commitment. "As they said in the south during the civil rights movement, 'My feet are tired, but my soul is at rest'," said the governor to the crowd, emphasizing that though they may be exhausted from hundreds of hours of door knocking and phone banking, they could take comfort in the fact that their hard work paid off.
A "mandate" rally was held later on in the day where union members discussed the importance of holding our lawmakers accountable now that they've been elected (or re-elected) into office.
