SEA/SEIU Local 1984 is New Hampshire’s largest public sector union, representing 11,000 public servants across the state. Yesterday, August 29th, 2016, SEA/SEIU Local 1984 announced their endorsement of Jay Kahn for New Hampshire State Senate, District 10. The Local 1984 press release writes that his "background in education as well as his leadership and development experience have prepared him well for the job, and his focus on economic development and innovation shows he knows what is needed to keep New Hampshire moving forward." “Jay Kahn is with us on many important issues including increasing access to education and health care, investing in our infrastructure and combatting the opioid epidemic,” said Leneille Howe, of Swanzey, the Local 1984 member cited in the press release. “What really struck me was how attentive he was to the concerns we brought forward, and how deeply those concerns seemed to resonate with him. It’s important that a candidate is right on the issues, but more so that they’re able to really understand the concerns of the people they represent.” Jay Kahn was an administrative professional for 43 years, 28 of them spent in the Monadnock region at Keene State College, both as the Vice President of Finance and Planning and as Interim President. He has chaired the Greater Keene Chamber of Commerce, Cheshire Medical Center, and the Monadnock Economic Development Corporation.
Jay Kahn responded to this endorsement with the statement: "This endorsement means a lot to me. I appreciate what the SEA/SEIU Local 1984 membership does for the people of New Hampshire. I’m working hard to represent District 10 in the next legislative session, and having SEA/SEIU's support is a valuable piece of that effort. Thank you."
Local 1984's support follows the Kahn Campaign picking up support from the American Federation of Teachers-New Hampshire (AFT-NH), the New Hampshire branch of the National Educational Association (NEA-NH), District 10 Congresswoman Annie Kuster, and outgoing State Senator Molly Kelly, along with 31 other current, in-district elected officials.
SEA/SEIU Local 1984 represents over 10,000 public and private-sector employees across the Granite State. First formed in 1940 as a social organization, the SEA won passage of New Hampshire’s Public Employee Labor Relations Law in 1975. Since then, the union has negotiated hundreds of contracts with state, county, municipal and private-sector employers. The SEA affiliated with the Service Employees’ International Union in 1984. With two million members, SEIU is the fastest-growing union in the Americas.