For a few hours on February 24, NUHW’s Emeryville headquarters was the epicenter of California politics as nearly 200 supporters along with reporters from the San Francisco Chronicle, Wall Street Journal, Politico, and local television news stations attended a rally for Congresswoman Katie Porter.
NUHW President Sal Rosselli emceed the event, noting that he wasn’t surprised when NUHW members voted to endorse Porter in a landslide following our union’s candidate forum last October.
“Katie gets results, and she shows up,” Rosselli said. “She walked our picket lines in Orange County and supported our members when their Tenet hospital refused to keep them safe during the early days of the pandemic.”
Porter has built a strong record representing Orange County in Congress, passing laws to lower drug prices, reduce out-of-pocket healthcare costs, and improve access to mental health care.
But she is best known for grilling corporate executives about excessive pay and profits while their workers struggle to provide for their families. Porter, who’s in second-place according to the recent Public Policy Institute of California poll, is also a fierce advocate for clean politics, refusing to take contributions from lobbyists and corporate PACs.
“If we are going to rebuild trust in our democracy, it’s going to come from doing Washington differently,” Porter told supporters during the rally. “My colleagues in this race are amazing and they have done amazing things. But this is a race about what we will do, not what we have done.”
The audience included many NUHW members as well as members of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL–CIO, and California School Employees Association, whose union presidents also spoke at the rally.
“It was a beautiful sight seeing so many people come together for Katie Porter,” said Laura Nakamura, an NUHW member who works at Children’s Hospital Oakland. “Just like the members of NUHW, Katie is a fighter. She’ll prioritize us — the needs of the people, over special interests.”
Also speaking during the rally were State Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, who represents the East Bay.
Wiener called NUHW “an essential partner” in creating parity for mental health care and touted Porter’s refusal to passively accept the status quo. Wicks touted Porter’s determination to reform Washington and fight for workers.
“She’s not just going to vote the right way,” Wicks said. “She’s going to find the right way. She’s going to lead the right way. Never underestimate Katie Porter.”
