{"id":258489,"date":"2026-04-09T00:38:29","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T00:38:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/258489\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T00:38:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T00:38:29","slug":"seiu-california-un-endorses-scott-wiener-for-congress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/258489\/","title":{"rendered":"SEIU California un-endorses Scott Wiener for Congress"},"content":{"rendered":"

SEIU California, one of the state\u2019s most influential and wealthy unions, has un-endorsed<\/a> state Sen. Scott Wiener in his bid to succeed Nancy Pelosi in Congress. Supervisor Connie Chan is now SEIU California\u2019s sole endorsee.\u00a0<\/p>\n

SEIU attributed the withdrawal of support to Wiener\u2019s opposition to San Francisco\u2019s Proposition D<\/a>, informally known as the \u201cOverpaid CEO Tax.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Prop. D<\/a>, a measure put onto San Francisco\u2019s ballot for the June election by San Francisco labor unions \u2014\u00a0including local branches of SEIU \u2014\u00a0would levy taxes on companies in which the CEO earns 100 times or more his or her median income employee. The measure is intended to fill the city\u2019s $650 million deficit<\/a> and stave off layoffs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cA candidate\u2019s stance on the Overpaid CEO Act is more than just another policy choice \u2014 it reveals who is standing with working people in this moment as we fight the Trump Administration\u2019s attacks on our healthcare and our communities,\u201d said Theresa Rutherford, president of SEIU Local 1021 and board member of SEIU California. \u201cWe need elected leaders ready to fight \u2014 not equivocate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Supporting the tax \u201cshould be an easy choice for San Francisco\u2019s congressmember when it means saving the city\u2019s mental health programs, public hospitals, and emergency response services,\u201d she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Prop. D is supported<\/a> by a supermajority of the Board of Supervisors. But other local politicians, including Mayor Daniel Lurie and Wiener<\/a> have opposed it, saying that, if approved by voters in June, it will push businesses to leave the city and paint San Francisco as unfriendly to business.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDowntown is still recovering from the pandemic, and I strongly support Mayor Lurie\u2019s economic recovery work,\u201d Wiener said in a statement. \u201cIn Congress, I will fight for progressive taxation, ensuring the largest corporations pay their fair share, starting with reversing the Trump and Bush tax cuts and closing loopholes that enable corporate tax dodging.\u201d<\/p>\n

That SEIU\u2019s statewide chapter even endorsed Wiener in the first place was a shock to many \u2014 including some of SEIU\u2019s San Francisco branches.<\/p>\n

SEIU 1021, a large San Francisco union of government and healthcare workers, did not support Wiener\u2019s endorsement, instead advocating for a sole endorsement of Chan. SEIU 1021 members didn\u2019t like Wiener\u2019s state-level push for YIMBY housing policies<\/a> and his reluctance to call Israel\u2019s actions in Gaza a genocide<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But they were outvoted by other SEIU locals across the state, which supported Wiener, citing his record at the state legislature on budget and transportation issues. In the end, a co-endorsement of Chan and Wiener was put forward.<\/p>\n

Chan had been expected to gain widespread backing from labor, and has racked up endorsements from other progressive unions including the San Francisco Labor Council, the California Federation of Labor Unions, and the California Teacher\u2019s Association.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cShe will be the best representative in Washington for working people,\u201d said Martha Hawthorne, a member of SEIU 1021\u2019s San Francisco political committee. \u201cHer record speaks to our issues: union rights, affordable housing, tenant protections, funding for public services, and taxing billionaires.\u201d In 2024, San Francisco unions spent<\/a> hundreds of thousands<\/a> on her reelection as District 1 supervisor.<\/p>\n

With the sole endorsement, Chan may get funding for her congressional race from SEIU. Previously, any funding would have had to be split evenly between the two campaigns.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe choice is clear: Connie Chan is the candidate of working people,\u201d said Julie Edwards, Chan\u2019s campaign spokesperson. \u201cWe\u2019re proud to stand with the healthcare workers, janitors, in-home caregivers, school and city employees of SEIU as we work to reach every voter in San Francisco with a simple message: Connie will take on Trump, the billionaires and big corporations to fight for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Critics of Wiener\u00a0 are celebrating. \u201cIt\u2019s about time,\u201d Hawthorne said. \u201cThe lesson is that all rank and file members should be listened to. Ages ago we endorsed Connie Chan, but our union\u2019s opinion was not taken.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI commend the state council for having the courage to change an endorsement,\u201d Hawthorne said. \u201cThat\u2019s not easy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SEIU California, one of the state\u2019s most influential and wealthy unions, has un-endorsed state Sen. Scott Wiener in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":258490,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,35072,1621,45435,5476],"class_list":{"0":"post-258489","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-california","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-california-headlines","10":"tag-california-news","11":"tag-election-2026","12":"tag-scott-wiener","13":"tag-seiu","14":"tag-unions"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258489"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258489\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}