IBEW Local 2321 backing Katherine Clark for Congress

MALDEN – State Senator Katherine Clark, D-Melrose, has earned the backing of IBEW Local 2321 as she runs for Congress. The telecommunications union supports Katherine because they know she’ll go to Washington to fight the extremist Republicans attacking women’s rights and get them to start talking about creating jobs, increasing the minimum wage and standing up for the middle class.

“Katherine Clark stands out among the candidates in this race,” said Ed Starr, business manager for IBEW Local 2321. “Senator Clark’s recent support of call center workers in Massachusetts is a strong indication to our members of her commitment to keeping middle-class jobs in the state. When our members, many of them women, were told that they would have to relocate to a job almost one hundred miles away, Senator Clark stood up and added her voice in opposition to the employer’s plan. We are proud to support Katherine Clark for Congress and will mobilize our members to ensure she is elected this fall.”

As the country gradually climbs out of the Great Recession, Republicans in Congress are trying to steer the country off the path to recovery by attacking women’s rights, repealing Obamacare, and shutting down the federal government. In Washington, Katherine would change the conversation to the agenda outlined in her Pledge to Women and Families – securing pay equity for women, increasing the minimum wage, investing in early education, and stopping the epidemic of gun violence facing the country.

Katherine also has the backing of IBEW Local 2222, which along with Local 2321, are the largest telecommunication locals in the Commonwealth, representing thousands of workers in Massachusetts.

“It’s an honor to have the support of IBEW Local 2321 along with IBEW Local 2222,” Katherine Clark said. “In Congress, I’ll fight for every family across the Fifth Congressional District because progress can’t wait any longer on pay equity, on a livable wage for all of our workers, and on investing in our future by ensuring a first class education for every student.”

“Senator Clark has been a tireless advocate for working families in the State Legislature and we know she will continue to act on their behalf in Congress," said Myles Calvey, business manager and financial secretary for IBEW Local 2222. "As a labor union, it is imperative that we do not simply back those who make promises to union leaders; but that we support candidates who will fight for our middle class and the communities in which our members and their families live and work.”

Katherine has also been endorsed by the United Steelworkers Union Local 12012, Ironworkers Local 7, NAGE/IBPO/SEIU Local 5000, Teamsters Local 25, IBEW Local 123 and the Women's Campaign Fund. She has been placed "On The List" by EMILY's List and has the backing of Attorney General Martha Coakley , Melrose Mayor Robert Dolan, State Rep. Marjorie Decker, D-Cambridge, and State Rep. Paul Brodeur, D-Melrose.

About State Senator Katherine Clark
Katherine was sworn in for her second term as a Massachusetts state senator representing Malden, Melrose, Reading, Stoneham, Wakefield and Winchester on January 2, 2013. She was first elected in March 2008 to the Massachusetts House of Representatives.

Senator Clark serves as the Chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary and Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse. She also serves on the Joint Committees on Public Health and Public Safety and Homeland Security. Senator Clark is a member of the Advisory Council for the Department of Early Education and Care. In 2011, Senator Clark was appointed to the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy Advisory Board at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Katherine and her husband Rodney are raising their three boys in Melrose.