2015 Fairfax County Board of Supervisors ElectionsSEIU Candidate Questionnaire Thank you for participating in the Service Employees International Union Questionnaire and Interview Process. SEIU will take your responses, in addition to verbal responses made during a candidate interview, into consideration as we make a recommendation to our membership and staff living in Virginia for the election. There are two SEIU locals in Virginia. SEIU Virginia 512 represents Fairfax and Loudoun County employees, Fairfax County deputy sheriffs, and home care workers across the Commonwealth. SEIU Local 32BJ represents commercial office cleaners in Northern Virginia. With 2.1 million members, SEIU is the nation's largest and fastest-growing union, focused on uniting workers in three sectors to improve their lives and the services they provide: as America’s largest health care union, we unite members in the hospital, nursing home, and home care industries; as the largest property services union, we unite members in the building janitorial and security industries; and, with 1 million public sector members nationwide, SEIU unites local and state government employees for a voice in providing quality public services. CANDIDATE STATEMENT I affirmatively seek the endorsement and support of SEIU, its members, and their families. In seeking this endorsement, I pledge to support the rights of workers to join a union and collectively bargain. I understand that as a community leader, I may be called upon to help workers form unions, including speaking with employers and urging them to respect these same rights. Further, as an elected official, I will maintain regular contact with SEIU Local leaders and members. Any campaign contribution I may receive is from SEIU members who voluntarily give small monthly donations. ________________________________________________________________________ Name ________________________________________________________________________ Office ________________________________________________________________________ Key Contact Person & Phone Number Email questionnaire to: David Broder President, SEIU Virginia 512
[email protected] If you have additional questions or concerns please call David Broder at 571-432-0209. 1 CAMPAIGN PROFILE Office Sought: ___________________________________________________________ District: ________________________________________________________________ Party: __________________________________________________________________ Committee Name: ________________________________________________________ Campaign Address: _______________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Campaign Phone: _________________________________________________________ Campaign Fax: ___________________________________________________________ Campaign Website: _______________________________________________________ Campaign Manager: _______________________________________________________ Campaign Manager Cell Phone: _____________________________________________ Campaign Manager E-mail: _________________________________________________ Anticipated Campaign Budget: ______________________________________________ Campaign Funds Raised to Date: _____________________________________________ Previous Campaigns: ______________________________________________________ Offices Held Prior: ________________________________________________________ Other Endorsements: ______________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Organizational Affiliations: _________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Top Three Campaign Issues: ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 2 VALUES 1. Why are you running for office? What are the values you hope to bring to the Board of Supervisors? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ A VOICE ON THE JOB 2. If elected, will you publicly support workers who are forming unions by reaffirming the importance of unions to our communities and by taking actions such as working with unions, contacting employers and urging them to not interfere with employee free choice, issuing public statements, honoring picket lines, attending rallies, sponsoring public forums, and otherwise supporting union organizing? __________ YES ________ NO Comments: ______________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 3. If the General Assembly passes legislation that would allow meet-and-confer or collective bargaining for employee groups, would you support meet-and-confer or collective bargaining in Fairfax County? __________ YES ____________ NO Comments: ______________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 3 4. Briefly explain what actions you have taken as a public official or private citizen that demonstrate your commitment to helping workers achieve a voice on the job and in the political process: ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ QUALITY PUBLIC SERVICES SEIU members are dedicated to delivering quality public services to the people of Fairfax County. Families and business move to Fairfax – and stay here – because of the high quality of our parks, schools, road maintenance and the wide variety of public services that county employees provide. Yet, years of budget cuts to our mental health services, social safety programs, libraries and more have made it harder for county employees to do their jobs well and harder for county residents to access the programs they need. 5. Do you support funding positions at a level, which will attract the best talent and provide the quality public services that a growing Fairfax County needs? __________ YES ____________ NO Comments: ______________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 6. Front-line employees have the first-hand knowledge to cut red-tape and find costsavings while maintaining quality services. Would you support a system where our members could regularly provide feedback to agency directors and the Board regarding improving services and/or efficiency? __________ YES ____________ NO Comments: ______________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 4 MAINTAINING AND RECRUITING QUALITY EMPLOYEES Fairfax County residents have come to expect high quality public services. In order to meet the demands of local families and businesses, Fairfax County needs to recruit and retain a quality workforce with a competitive pay and benefits package. However, years of stagnant pay, increases in healthcare costs and the burden of unfilled positions have caused increasing numbers of county employees to leave Fairfax. The Board of Supervisors must take decisive steps to address this retention and recruitment crisis FUNDING THE COUNTY PAY PLAN After years of a “Pay for Performance” system, which treated lower pay grade employees, African-Americans, Latinos, Hispanics and Asian-American and Pacific Islanders unfairly, union members and the Board of Supervisors worked together to develop a pay plan for county employees. This new pay plan helps provide certainty and a sustainable, affordable path for county employees to move through their pay scale over their careers. However, in its first year (FY’16), the Board of Supervisors chose not to fully fund the pay plan. 7. Do you support fully funding the pay plan and fulfilling the promise made to county employees? __________ YES ____________ NO 8. Do you pledge to work with union members to find budget solutions to fully fund the pay plan for county employees? __________ YES ____________ NO Comments: ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ QUALITY PAY AND BENEFITS Fairfax County residents have come to expect the highest quality public services. In order to meet the demands of local families and businesses, Fairfax County needs to recruit and retain a quality workforce with a competitive pay and benefits package, including pension. However, in recent years, Fairfax County has lost ground to neighboring jurisdictions and is in danger of losing quality employees. 5 9. Do you support maintaining Fairfax County’s defined benefit pension system for General County employees? __________ YES ____________ NO 10. Do you support working with employee unions to find solutions to ensure the longterm viability of the existing defined benefit pension system for all General County employees? __________ YES ____________ NO Comments: ______________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 11. In recent years, county employees have seen their health insurance costs increase significantly while their paychecks have remained flat. Do you support working with employee unions to find a long term viable solution to rising health care costs and insurance premiums? __________ YES ____________ NO How would you address this issue? ___________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 12. What else will you do to help our members win fair wages and benefits? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 6 HEALTH AND SAFETY 13. In recent years, safety trainings have been reduced due to budgetary cut-backs. As a result, the County has seen an increase in workers compensation and safety issues. Unfortunately, many county employees are currently discouraged from filing workers compensation. Instead of discouraging employees to file, our members believe that investing in safety training will decrease workers compensation costs and protect the health and safety of county employees. Would you support a safer workplace by restoring training funds and requesting a review of workers compensation policies to provide benefits that are fair? __________ YES ____________ NO Comments: ______________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ADDRESSING ECONOMIC INEQUALITY Economic inequality -- the gap between the wealthiest and average Americans -- is at its worst levels in our nation's history. More and more Americans are struggling to make ends meet, and the American dream may just be out of reach for the next generation. This inequality threatens to undermine our economy, our community and our very democracy. Here in Fairfax County, rising economic inequality and the growth of lowwage jobs are undermining the strength and security of our community and local families. That’s why working Americans are coming together as part of the national “Fight for 15” to raise wages for all hard-working Americans so that no one who works full time is forced to live in poverty. 14. Will you support proposals to raise the minimum wage to $15/hour and index it to inflation? _____________ YES ____________ NO Comments: ______________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 15. Many county employees make significantly less than $15/hour. Will you support efforts to ensure that all county employees make at least $15/hour? 7 _____________ YES ____________ NO Comments: ______________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 16. Will you stand in solidarity with the Fight for 15 by issuing public statements, attending rallies, sponsoring public forums, and otherwise supporting efforts to raise the wages of hard-working people? _____________ YES ____________ NO Comments: ______________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ QUALITY HOME CARE Home care providers work hard to help Fairfax’s older adults and people with disabilities lead healthy and full lives in their own homes and communities, as part of the state’s Medicaid home care program. However, home care providers receive low wages (just $11.70/hr in Northern Virginia), lack health care and other basic benefits, and receive little job training and few opportunities for advancement. The resulting high turnover rate among home care providers jeopardizes the health of our community’s older adults and people with disabilities, and puts an undue burden on local governments, such as Fairfax County. 17. Will you work with members of the General Assembly to improve funding for quality Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services, including living wages and health insurance for providers, and sufficient hours and services for older adults and people with disabilities? _________YES _________ NO How will you do so? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 8 _____________________________________ Candidate Signature 9 ________________________ Date