BOSTON, Mass. – Today, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) local unions in Massachusetts, comprising 115,000 unionized members, announced its endorsement of Ed Markey for re-election to the Senate, backing a proven champion for working people and union families across the Commonwealth.

SEIU members are the backbone of Massachusetts — janitors, security officers, airport workers, healthcare workers, human service professionals, higher education workers, school administrative assistants, youth sports coaches, street outreach workers, and resident physicians and fellows — whose labor keeps our economy moving and our communities thriving.

Senator Markey has always stood alongside SEIU members and working families: taking on corporate greed, fighting for fair pay and dignity on the job for the most vulnerable workers, and defending the rights of immigrants, people of color, and all working people at a time when those rights are under relentless attack from MAGA extremists.

“When it comes to the quality and availability of direct care,” said Harris Gruman, Executive Director of the SEIU MA State Council, “no one in my experience has worked as thoughtfully and effectively as Ed Markey with the providers themselves to improve and expand hospital, nursing, and home care.”

“We stand in full support of Senator Ed Markey just as he has stood in full support of our union members and all working people throughout his political career. Our union’s janitors, security officers and other property service workers are mostly immigrants and people of color, and all of them face the challenge of affordability that is robbing workers of the promise of movement up the economic ladder,” said Kevin Brown, Executive Vice President 32BJ SEIU. “In his leadership on better airport service jobs through the Good Jobs, Good Airports Act, his defense of immigrant rights, and his commitment to health care access for all, Senator Markey has proven his values and dedication. Now, in this time of vicious, racialized attacks by the federal government, our state and nation need Senator Markey’s passionate leadership in Congress more than ever, and we are proud to commit ourselves to supporting his campaign for re-election however we can.”

“Senator Markey stood with caregivers when private equity like Steward Health Care weakened our healthcare system by shuttering two hospitals. He listened to our members’ stories and helped to expose the dangers of corporate greed in healthcare and fought to hold Steward executives accountable for their mismanagement and disregard for workers and patients,” said Cari Medina, Executive Vice President of 1199SEIU. “Senator Markey's leadership remains critical to ensure the necessary investments and reforms to keep quality care in our communities.”

“Senator Markey has long been a champion of our Health Safety net for the most vulnerable in Massachusetts. He can always be counted on to stand up for working people and the care they provide,” said Dave Foley, SEIU Local 509 President. “When we need his help Markey and his team are always there.”

“Senator Markey has stood shoulder to shoulder with physicians on the picket line to demand that Massachusetts’ largest and richest hospital system supports its front line workers and patients,” said Dr. Alex Cerjanic of the SEIU Committee of Interns and Residents. “At a time when resources are being diverted from care to skyrocketing CEO pay and venture capital funds, we need a senator who will ensure that patients come first.”

“Senator Ed Markey is a champion for Local 888 and every other union member in Massachusetts. He is our champion in Washington D.C.,” said Tom McKeever, SEIU Local 888 President. "Now is the time to support and assist Ed Markey, strategize with Ed Markey! Help and participate, volunteer your time in preparations of midterms that could return the focus to hard working Americans and their struggles rather than the 1%-ers that benefit from the current administration. Local 888 defends, supports and endorses Ed Markey in his quest for re-election as U.S. Senator of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.”

Senator Ed Markey issued the following statement following the SEIU’s endorsement:

“I’m grateful to earn the endorsement of these powerful SEIU locals because they know what it means to show up when the work is hard and the stakes are high," said Senator Ed Markey. "Whether it’s airport workers keeping our national transportation system moving, healthcare workers holding the line during crises like Steward when private equity tried to loot our healthcare system, or human service workers caring for people who are too often overlooked – these jobs are essential to the strength of our communities and our economy. I take seriously the trust SEIU members are placing in me, and I will keep fighting to make sure working people have real power, real job security, and a voice that can’t be ignored in Washington.”

Background on Senator Markey’s actions:

• Senator Markey forcefully intervened when Rümeysa Öztürk, a Tufts University graduate student and SEIU Local 509 member, was abducted on the streets of Somerville in March 2025. Markey immediately called for her release, later traveling to a Louisiana ICE detention facility to visit her as she endured intolerable conditions and suffered multiple asthma attacks. Markey condemned the case as part of a broader assault on constitutional due process and free speech, making clear that Rümeysa must be released and her visa restored, and pledging to keep sounding the alarm until justice is done.
• Senator Markey has been a national leader in improving conditions for airport service workers, authoring the Good Jobs for Good Airports Act to ensure that workers at federally funded airports can earn family-sustaining wages, access benefits, and work with dignity. He has been clear that public dollars should create good union jobs, not low-road subcontracted work.
• Senator Markey stood in solidarity with Mass General Brigham physician residents and fellows as they successfully unionized with the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR-SEIU), backing their fight for fair working conditions, adequate staffing, and the resources needed to deliver high-quality patient care.

Steward Health Care:

• Senator Markey has partnered closely with 1199SEIU to hold Steward Health Care accountable. In September 2024, he hosted a press conference alongside 1199SEIU and the Massachusetts Nurses Association to condemn Steward’s CEO for refusing to testify about the company’s financial crisis and the harm inflicted on patients and workers.
• Senator Markey has been a leading congressional voice in the Steward Health Care crisis, treating it as a warning sign for the nation. He has convened listening sessions and field hearings with local leaders and impacted communities, warning that private equity is treating the American healthcare system like a personal piggy bank.
• Senator Markey worked with Senator Bernie Sanders, as a Senate HELP Committee member, to investigate how Steward executives enriched themselves while hospitals were stripped for parts — selling hospital land to real estate investment trusts, saddling facilities with crushing debt, and leaving workers without basic supplies, even as the then-CEO amassed luxury yachts and private jets.
• Senator Markey took action when Steward’s CEO refused to testify under subpoena, joining colleagues in referring him to the Department of Justice for criminal contempt of Congress. In September 2025, Senator Markey wrote a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi urging enforcement of the Senate’s criminal contempt referral of Dr. de la Torre.
• Senator Markey introduced the Stop Medical Property Trusts Act to curb predatory real estate deals that prioritize executive profits over patient safety and community health.
• In September 2024, Senator Markey released The Steward Health Care Report, documenting how private equity looted the healthcare system. The report spotlighted patient and worker experiences, hospital quality data, and information on hospital closures in Massachusetts and around the country, to document the devastating impacts of Steward’s mismanagement.