Politics

Breaking With Johnson Amid Split With Teachers Union, SEIU Locals Back Giannoulias

The Service Employees International Union Local 73 and Local 1 endorsed Alexi Giannoulias in the Chicago mayor’s race on Tuesday, breaking from Mayor Brandon Johnson and dealing his bid for a second term a major blow.

Representing approximately 50,000 employees in schools, parks, airports and office buildings, both SEIU organizations have been embroiled in a bitter fight with the Chicago Teachers Union over which labor organizations some Chicago Public Schools employees, including tutors and recess monitors, should belong to.

The 30,000-member CTU backed Johnson’s bid for reelection last month, ensuring that Chicago’s progressive labor community will be split between Johnson and Giannoulias, who is also seeking a second term as secretary of state on Nov. 3.

However, SEIU Healthcare did not join Local 73 and Local 1 in backing Giannoulias, keeping the SEIU Illinois State Council out of the race, for now.

SEIU Healthcare and SEIU Local 73 endorsed Johnson before the first round of voting in the 2023 mayoral election, with SEIU Local 1 backing Johnson during the runoff against former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas.

“SEIU members care for our families, strengthen our communities, and make Chicago work,” Giannoulias said in a statement. “They deserve a mayor who will stand shoulder to shoulder with them, fight for better wages and benefits and put working people at the center of every decision at City Hall.”

Johnson repeatedly touts what he says is a long list of achievements that he contends have benefitted all unionized employees, including SEIU members, by offering more paid time off and more paid childcare services.

Johnson “has prioritized workers and centered the folks in this city that past administrations deemed unworthy of investment and has hired more young people, reopened more mental health clinics, built more affordable housing and invested more in our public school system than previous administrations,” said Christian Perry, Johnson’s campaign manager.

The city’s trade unions — including Chicago Laborers District Council, the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 and the Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council — backed Giannoulias as soon as he launched his bid for mayor.

SEIU Local 1 President Genie Kastrup praised Giannoulias for supporting a recently passed state bill that will allow drivers for ride-hailing services like Lyft and Uber to unionize.

Standing alongside Giannoulias at an afternoon news conference, Kastrup blasted Johnson, who rose to prominence as an organizer for CTU.

“This mayor who quotes himself as the labor mayor has done real damage to my members,” Kastrup said.

A number of SEIU Local 73 contracts with city departments are set to expire in 2027.

“We are going to walk into those rooms with a mayor who has our backs,” said Dian Palmer, the president of SEIU Local 73, which represents employees in the secretary of state’s office. “That’s Alexi Giannoulias.”

Giannoulias has $19 million in cash on hand as of Sept. 30, records show. By comparison, Johnson has less than $380,000 available in his campaign account, records show.

In the Nov. 3 contest for president of the Chicago Board of Education, SEIU is supporting Jessica Biggs, while CTU is backing Hilario Dominguez.

Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]

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