Mitch Perry
SEIU Florida — which has led the “Fight for $15!” campaign to raise the minimum wage in Florida over the past two years — announced on Monday that it is endorsing Jupiter U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy for the U.S. Senate.
“Congressman Murphy is well prepared to serve as our United States Senator and has earned the support of SEIU Florida members across the state by aggressively fighting for policy solutions that are important to Florida’s working families,” said Monica Russo, president of SEIU Florida, in a statement. “We support candidates who are willing to be a champion and a voice for working-class families who are sick and tired of being pushed aside. Patrick Murphy is one of those candidates.”
In its statement announced its support, the SEIU — one of the most politically powerful unions in Florida — noted how Murphy demonstrated his commitment to raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour by taking the union’s “minimum wage challenge” last year. That’s when he took up the proposal (as have other Florida lawmakers) to live on just $85 a week to bring attention to the impact of low wages, and his solidarity with that movement.
The SEIU also applauded Murphy for advocating for Medicaid expansion in Florida, noting that “He is committed to closing the coverage gap for nearly 1 million Floridians and the millions of Americans around the country who don’t have access to quality, affordable healthcare.
“The vast, vast majority of people on minimum wage want to be working, want to be making more money, want to be giving more back to the community, are doing a lot of jobs that are very important, and they deserve to be paid more,” said Murphy. “It’s unacceptable to be on the minimum wage, be working 40 hours a week, and live in poverty. That’s unacceptable in this country.”
It should be noted that Orlando-area Congressman Alan Grayson, Murphy’s top competitor in the Democratic primary, also took the minimum wage challenge this past March.
According to the SEIU Florida’s website, the labor union represents more than 55,000 active and retired healthcare professionals, public employees, and property service workers in the state of Florida.
