SLAP backs John Hanger for Governor

The Student Labor Action Project is going on the campaign trail.

SLAP recently announced its endorsement of Democratic candidate and Penn Law graduate John Hanger for governor, citing his progressive stance on labor, education and environmental issues.

Related: SLAP performs flash mob

“It is a rare movement for labor groups to engage in electoral politics,” SLAP member and College sophomore Clara Hendrickson said. “But the state of affairs [in Pennsylvania] … has just been so awful that it’s a very strategic moment to back this progressive candidate.”

Hanger is the only candidate in this election to have been in a union himself and is calling his campaign “the People’s Campaign.” He recognizes that “the only way to reduce income inequality is to support unions,” Hendrickson said.

Related: Bon Appetit workers vote for union representation

SLAP supports Hanger because of his commitment to creating more jobs — specifically well-paying green jobs, something he did as secretary of the state’s Department of Environmental Protection. SLAP also supports Hanger’s plan to invest in public education by returning over $1 billion of funding cuts in this area.

Part of SLAP’s goal with this campaign is to engage Penn students in the greater Philadelphia community in a lasting way.

“Most Penn students spend more than four years here in Philly,” Devan Spear, a College freshman and member of SLAP, said. “We have a responsibility to do more than just pass through.”

On Saturday, the group joined several other activist groups from across Philadelphia for an event at the Arch Street Methodist Church in Center City, where the Point Breeze Organizing Committee officially endorsed Hanger’s campaign. The event was sponsored by Progressive Philly Rising, a new coalition of social justice groups like PBOC that are “committed to putting front and center [the issues of] public education and economic inequality,” Dina Yarmus, a member of PPR and the emcee at the event, said.

The event included speakers from many of the organizations in the coalition and prominent activists, including retired teacher and education activist Ron Whitehorne and labor activist Bill Fletcher Jr. The Media Mobilizing Project presented a video of the progress made by working people across the city throughout the past year. The event closed with PBOC’s endorsement of Hanger, and Hanger accepted the endorsement in his keynote speech.

“The tone of it was really upbeat,” Hendrickson said. “People were dancing between speakers.” She estimated that about 250-300 people attended.

After the event, Hendrickson and other SLAP members met briefly with Hanger, who recognized their organization and applauded them for their work in unionizing Bon Appetit employees on campus.

Penn Democrats has yet to endorse a candidate for the gubernatorial election and is waiting for all of the leading candidates to visit campus before making a decision. Both Penn Democrats and SLAP look forward to Hanger’s visit to campus on Feb. 12. Penn College Republicans have not formally endorsed a candidate either but is working with the campaign of Gov. Tom Corbett (R-Pa.), the incumbent.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.