Matt McCarten for Mana

Matt McCarten, leader of Unite union, has announced today he’s standing in the Mana (Wellington) by-election.
Formerly the Alliance party president, Matt has plenty of experience in running electoral campaigns. But his real strength lies in his hands-on experience in fighting for workers’ rights. That is a rare thing in politics these days, where parliament is awash with bland, middle-class liberals.
Since founding Unite union in 2003 Matt McCarten has been a prominent figure in the union’s campaigns for low paid casualised workers. He has shown an absolute commitment to building a new movement for workers.
He is running as an independent, endorsed by the Executive of the union.
As well as hammering home the message that the minimum wage needs to be lifted to $15 an hour, Matt can be expected to put the heat on Labour, a workers party in name only.