Kamala Harris to speak at SEIU convention set to elect the union’s first Black president

By Monica Alba, NBC

WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris is set to deliver the keynote address at the Service Employees International Union convention in Philadelphia on Tuesday, one day after the group is expected to elect its first Black president.

April Verrett, who is secretary-treasurer of the 103-year-old union, is running unopposed but has received the support of leaders who represent 89% of SEIU’s membership, according to a letter they wrote earlier this year.

The massive union, which represents nearly 2 million workers in health care, property service and the government, has pledged to spend $200 million to help President Joe Biden and Democrats in key battlegrounds this year, an effort that will begin in earnest next week.

[…]

SEIU is targeting about 6 million people who either haven’t voted before or are less likely to do so, including voters of color in states like Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. They believe those voters could be the critical difference makers in a razor-thin election.

“We will be able to get their attention and we will be able to connect the dots: The way you make your life easier is by re-electing President Biden because I bet they know their lives are better now than they were under President Trump,” she said.

Keep reading.

Follow election updates in our breaking news section.