UNITE HERE members will build on the union’s impressive record in Virginia politics as they campaign for change in VA-13.

Petersburg, VA – UNITE HERE Locals 23 & 25, the hospitality workers unions that represent over 8,000 Virginia voters, today announced their support for Lashrecse Aird in the 13h Senate District Primary.

In the 2021 general election, 200 UNITE HERE members knocked over 230,000 doors for endorsed candidates in Virginia. Union-endorsed candidates won in every down-ballot race where UNITE HERE canvassed. More recently, 20 UNITE HERE members knocked 9,000 doors for Aaron Rouse in the Virginia 7th District special election in January, which Rouse won by just a few hundred votes.

“District 13’s working families are ready for a change, which we know that Lashrecse will deliver,” said Sam Epps, the Political Director of UNITE HERE Local 25, which represents hotel, restaurant, and casino workers. “As a Black woman, she is personally familiar with the struggles that our members – overwhelmingly women of color – face every day. She’s the advocate workers need in the Senate.”

Aird is running against Senator Joe Morrissey, whose bill to authorize a referendum for a casino in Petersburg died in the Virginia legislature earlier this year. The project did not come with a public commitment to creating good-paying jobs with wages that can support a family. Senator Morrissey has also signaled openness to supporting legislation that could impose greater restrictions on abortion access in Virginia, which the Union believes would be a disaster for working women.

“Electing Lashrecse will be an important step in building a Commonwealth that our members can live and thrive in,” said Bert Bayou, Vice President of UNITE HERE Local 23, which represents airport, stadium, food service and parking garage workers. “It’s time District 13 had a Senator who embodies racial justice, reproductive justice, and economic justice.”

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UNITE HERE is a labor union that represents over 300,000 workers around the country. UNITE HERE Locals 25 and 23 represent over 8,000 Virginia voters.