Lydia Edwards Endorsed by MNA

Lydia Edwards has been endorsed by the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) in the special election to State Senate. Primary Election Day is December 14, 2021. General Election Day is January 11, 2022.

“Lydia Edwards has been a strong ally of the Mass Nurses Association and our members as we stand up to corporate executives and fight for better working conditions for our members and safer care for our patients,” said MNA President Katie Murphy. “Long before serving in office, Lydia was a champion for exploited workers, securing a Domestic Workers Bill of Rights and standing up for them court to protect their rights.  We are proud to endorse Lydia Edwards for Senate and we know she will deliver for the people of Boston, Revere, Winthrop and Cambridge.”

The MNA is the largest union and professional association of registered nurses and health professionals in the state, and the third largest in the nation, representing more than 23,000 members working in 85 health care facilities, including 51 acute care hospitals, as well as a growing number of nurses and health professionals working in schools, visiting nurse associations, public health departments and state agencies.

In 2014, Lydia led the successful efforts to win statewide labor protections for domestic workers, nannies and house cleaners cut out of the New Deal. Lydia has since fought to eliminate sub-minimum tipped wages for restaurant workers and to provide financial resources to restaurants who change their business model to a single, equal wage. Her advocacy resulted in the creation of a Restaurant Revitalization Fund to improve conditions for both restaurants and workers.

At Suffolk Downs, Lydia stood by labor to win a Project Labor Agreement at the largest private development project in Boston’s history, creating good union jobs for a whole generation of workers. She fought for commitments to language justice and won an unprecedented investment in ESL for job training. 

Lydia Edwards has stood with workers in the hospitality industry, service workers at Logan Airport, student workers in our higher education system, teachers, Brazilian immigrant workers and many others.

Lydia Edwards is a candidate for State Senate representing the First Suffolk and Middlesex District, following the departure of Senator Joseph A. Boncore. To date, Edwards has been endorsed by: OPEIU Local 453, Teamsters Local 25, Revere activist Juan Jaramillo, State Representative Nika Elugardo. For a full and up-to-date list of endorsements, visit: LydiaEdwards.org/endorsements.

Councilor Lydia Edwards is a career advocate, activist, and voice on behalf of society’s most vulnerable. She is currently the Chair of the Committee on Government Operations and the Committee on Housing and Community Development in the Boston City Council. Learn more at LydiaEdwards.org/meet-lydia.