The 14,000-member SEIU State Council joins the growing coalition of working people who stand with Kunce.
St. Louis, MO — Today, over 14,000 healthcare providers, higher education faculty, janitors, nursing home workers, first responders, and social service workers united in the SEIU Missouri/Kansas State Council announced their endorsement of Lucas Kunce for U.S. Senate.
“SEIU members are essential workers who have tirelessly served our communities across Missouri throughout the pandemic, and they deserve a U.S. Senator who wakes up each day ready to work to improve the lives of Missouri’s working families, not big-money donors,” said SEIU Missouri/Kansas State Council President Lenny Jones. “Lucas Kunce has made that commitment to our members and we’re ready to get to work to help elect him so we can build a better Missouri together.”
“We need an advocate for the rights of working people representing us in the Senate,” said Eugene Hubbard, a custodian at Washington University and an SEIU Local 1 member. “St. Louis building-service workers are proud to have Lucas Kunce as an ally in our fight to win protections for janitors and security officers at the St. Louis Board of Aldermen when there is a change in contractor on City contracts. Whether at the local or federal level, Lucas Kunce has demonstrated he is ready to speak out for hard-working Missourians.”
“No parent should have to choose between caring for their child or being able to put food on the table. As the mother of a son with Type 1 diabetes I know this dilemma firsthand, and so does Lucas Kunce whose family faced similar challenges when he was growing up,” said Ashley Mosley, SEIU Healthcare Missouri Executive Board member. “That lived experience is why he supports the Earned Paid Sick Leave Initiative and efforts to raise the minimum wage both in Missouri and at the federal level. I’m proud to support a candidate who is driven by his values and cannot be bought.”
Workers from all backgrounds are uniting behind Lucas Kunce. From firefighters to custodians, ironworkers to pipe fitters, and more, working people are making their choice for this Senate race known.
SEIU joins a growing coalition of support from organized labor for Lucas Kunce, including the Missouri AFL-CIO, the Missouri Fire Fighters (Missouri State Council of Fire Fighters, MSCFF), MO State Council of Machinists, the St. Louis Building and Construction Trades Council, the Greater Kansas City Building and Construction Trades Council, UFCW Local 655 (Missouri’s largest private-sector local union), Pipe Fitters 533, IBEW Local 124, Iron Workers Local 10, Insulators Local 63, Roofers Local 2, Insulators Local 1, Roofers Local 20, Sprinkler Fitters Local 268, Bricklayers Local 1, Tilesetters Local 18, and Iron Workers Local 396.
“SEIU is an organizing force that is on the frontlines of fighting for working people across Missouri,” said Kunce. “I’m grateful to have their support. This is how we take back this Senate seat — by growing a coalition of working people who love this state and are willing to fight for the people who make it great.”