Unions representing Miami-Dade service and healthcare workers are getting behind Miami-Dade County Commissioner Vicki Lopez\u2019s District 5 campaign.<\/p>\n
SEIU 32BJ<\/a> and SEIU Local 1991<\/a> \u2014 whose initialism stands for Service Employees International Union \u2014 endorsed Lopez.<\/p>\n In statements, both groups cited her work with working-class families and public-sector employees as key to earning their support.<\/p>\n \u201cOur members are proud to support Commissioner Vicki Lopez because she believes that the workers who keep Miami-Dade running every day deserve to be respected and supported,\u201d said Helene O\u2019Brien, Florida District Director of SEIU 32BJ.<\/p>\n \u201cCommissioner Lopez understands the pressures working families are facing, and she has shown a willingness to work with our members to find real solutions. We are proud to support her election to the County Commission.\u201d<\/p>\n SEIU 32BJ represents janitors, security officers, airport workers and other service employees across South Florida, while SEIU Local 1991 represents employees, including nurses and physicians, at Jackson Health System<\/a>, Miami-Dade\u2019s public hospital network.<\/p>\n Local 1991 President Martha Baker said in a statement that Lopez \u201chas demonstrated a strong commitment to the health care workers who care for Miami-Dade families every day.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe nurses, physicians, and healthcare professionals\u00a0at Jackson are on the front lines serving this community,\u201d she said. \u201cWe deserve leaders who are focused on strengthening our neighborhoods, improving quality of life, and ensuring government delivers for residents \u2014 and that\u2019s why we are standing with Commissioner Vicki Lopez in her election campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n Lopez welcomed the endorsements Friday, pointing to support from workers across multiple industries.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom health care professionals at Jackson to security officers, janitors, airport employees, and so many other essential service workers, these men and women deserve leaders who will fight for safer neighborhoods, economic opportunity, and a better quality of life for working families,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m grateful for their support and proud to stand alongside them.\u201d<\/p>\n The endorsements add to a widening coalition behind Lopez, who was appointed<\/a> by her County Commission peers last year to represent District 5 after Eileen Higgins resigned from the seat following her election<\/a> as Miami Mayor.<\/p>\n