July 27, 2021
HOLYOKE — Rebecca Lisi has won the endorsement of the Massachusetts Nurses Association in her campaign to be mayor of Holyoke.
“The MNA proudly endorses Rebecca Lisi for mayor of Holyoke. Like the registered nurses and healthcare professionals we represent in Western Massachusetts and across the commonwealth, Rebecca Lisi has committed herself to protecting and lifting up those who need help the most,” association President Katie Murphy said in an emailed statement.
“Rebecca has had the backs of healthcare workers as we have advocated for safer patient care, and has long joined with unions and community members to help strengthen our united voices.”
Lisi, 42, is in her 14th year as a city councilor at large. She received an MNA endorsement in her 2017 re-election campaign when the at-large city council seats were reduced by two. She welcomed the union’s support of her bid to become Holyoke’s mayor.
“I am honored to receive the endorsement of the Massachusetts Nurses Association,” said Lisi. “Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we all witnessed the lengths to which healthcare workers go to protect our community health. I am committed to working alongside MNA nurses and health professionals to maintain high standards of patient care in our city.”
Labor unions have supported Lisi throughout her career because they know she will use her role as an elected official to fight for working families.
“I have been on the City Council for 14 years building a city of opportunity and as mayor I will be in a better position to execute, explain and build support for that vision,” Lisi said in a questionnaire completed for the MNA endorsement.
In May, Lisi joined acting Mayor Terence Murphy in support of a plan to require that contractors on city jobs pay employees properly.
The proposed wage theft ordinance would be aimed at ensuring not only that workers get the pay due to them, but also that contractors pay taxes and workers’ compensation. The proposal is under discussion in the City Council Ordinance Committee, of which Lisi is chairwoman.
Katie Murphy is a practicing intensive care unit registered nurse, according to the Canton-based MNA.
The MNA is the largest union of registered nurses and health professionals in the state and third largest in the nation. The union represents over 23,000 members in hospitals, schools, visiting nurse associations, public health departments and state agencies, the union website said.
On the MNA questionnaire, Lisi said she supports healthcare professionals’ efforts to unionize and would support a bargaining unit struggling with an employer who is using union busting strategies.
School nurse programs should be better funded by the state and the accreditation process must be more accessible to low-income people and people of color, in particular, Lisi said.
She also would push for more state funding and other support for school nursing programs, she said.
Lisi also supports a proposal the union favors to establish nurse staffing ratios. Massachusetts voters in 2018 rejected such a measure.
The four pillars of Lisi’s campaign for mayor are education, economic development, being welcoming to newcomers and civic engagement.
Voters will narrow the field of candidates for mayor to the top two vote-getters in the preliminary election Sept. 21. Those two will compete for mayor on Election Day Nov. 2.
Vote for Lisi!