Election 2016: Members Speak Out
Chad Sullivan
Local 6000
Chad Sullivan, 33, of Houston, is a unit vice president of Local 6000, which represents workers at the Albemarle Corp., a maker of specialty chemicals. He is married with three children.
“There is a lot of vitriol and divisiveness being said on one side. I don’t agree with that. It’s not the right way to go about it. I live in a very diverse neighborhood. I don’t want my son’s friends, my next door neighbors, to feel like they are not welcome.
“I want good jobs for my stepson, who will enter the work force this year, and will hopefully have the opportunity to have a good job, and not work for minimum wage for the rest of his life. He’s not motivated for college. I’d rather he get a trade, and work with his hands. That’s what he’s good at.
“I want good jobs to be here. We’ve had, at our local, over 200 jobs gone this year. Our facility has very few union millwrights or pipe fitters left. They’ve all retired out, and were replaced by underpaid contractors. I hope we can turn that around.
“I was a Bernie supporter, but I’ve shifted to Hillary and found the positives. I’ve done a lot of research on her policies, and she has a better record for workers’ rights and for union labor. I support her policies leaps and bounds ahead of Trump’s policies.
“Hillary has a longstanding record of supporting unions, and has good ties to family. She has shown that.
“Her opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership is tops in my book. I think she falls on the right side of the spectrum for us.
"She supports a minimum wage increase and she supports worker rights, the right to organize, to have a voice on the job. Her passion and her voting records have shown she will do what’s best for the working man. Keeping jobs here and rebuilding our infrastructure is going to be key.”
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