07/24/2024
We are proud to endorse Sarah Lopez for County Commissioner District 2 and Celeste Racette for County Commissioner District 3. Both candidates have demonstrated strong commitments to supporting public sector unions, opposing harmful privatization, and fostering collaborative partnerships to improve community services and quality of life. Sarah Lopez’s consistent advocacy for union rights and her efforts to enhance communication between county and school districts, alongside Celeste Racette’s detailed analysis against privatization and her dedication to equitable resource distribution, make them the right choice to lead Sedgwick County forward. Their thoughtful and comprehensive approaches to these critical issues align perfectly with our values and vision for a stronger, more inclusive community.
Judy Pierce, President of WHLF, emphasizes the importance of our endorsement process: “Our affiliated unions look to the Wichita / Hutchinson Labor Federation as the entity that vets candidates. We take this process very seriously. We survey and interview all candidates, examine their records, and only offer endorsements to those candidates who will stand with working families and work hard in their interest. We are not partisan and will endorse Republicans or Democrats as long as they demonstrate a commitment to the principles and values that support and advance the lives of working people.”
The Wichita / Hutchinson Labor Federation of South Central Kansas (WHLF) is a non-profit labor membership organization devoted to supporting, advancing, and advocating for the working people of the south central Kansas region. The WHLF brings together 30 local unions from every trade, occupation, public and private sector of the Kansas economy. We represent over 30,000 union members and their families, including teachers, aerospace professionals, operating engineers, construction workers, electricians, firefighters, state employees, janitors, train operators, and many more who are the face of today’s workforce.
Our mission is to improve the lives of workers, their families, and our communities, and to bring economic justice to the workplace and social justice to our region. To accomplish this mission, the WHLF works to build worker power through political education and action, supporting economic development in South Central Kansas, being an active partner with business and government leaders, organizing workers who choose to be in a union, providing community service and job training, and conducting educational programs for working people.
