Yebri Earns First Labor Endorsement of 2022 LA City Council District 5 Race
LOS ANGELES, CA – Today, the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 36 announced their endorsement of community leader, workers’ rights attorney, and candidate for LA City Council District 5 Sam Yebri. This is the first labor union to endorse in the District 5 primary and adds further momentum to Yebri’s campaign, which three months ago announced a commanding lead in fundraising despite refusing corporate and PAC money and donations from real estate developers and billboard, cannabis, and oil and gas industries.
“Sam Yebri arrived in Los Angeles as a refugee, attended local schools, and built his practice here in the District defending the rights of workers and working families,” said Robert Smith, Political Director for the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 36.“The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades provides working men and women the ability to achieve the American Dream with workplace protections, a living wage, and retirement benefits. Sam’s record of service, and life experience, is exactly the type of leadership we need in City Hall. With Sam on the City Council, Los Angeles can once again be a City that provides hope and opportunity for all.”
The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) District Council 36 represents more than 11,000 men and women who work in the finishing trades as industrial and commercial painters, drywall finishers, wall coverers, glaziers, glass workers, floor covering installers, sign makers, display workers, convention and show decorators and in many more exciting occupations. IUPAT members’ skills are in high demand at every construction project in Los Angeles.
“I am honored to earn the endorsement of IUPAT District Council 36 and to be their choice to bring fresh leadership and true representation to LA City Council,” said Yebri. “Working families deserve better than our broken status quo, and I look forward to working hard for IUPAT DC 36 members as our district’s next Councilmember.”
This announcement comes on the heels of over 1,000 neighborhood and community leaders endorsing Yebri, who has also earned the endorsements of LA County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, former LA Congressman Henry Waxman, and LA Congresswoman Nanette Barragán. See the full endorsement list HERE.
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Sam Yebri is an advocate, small business owner, attorney, husband, and father of four young children. Nearly 40 years ago, Sam and his family came to Los Angeles as refugees from Iran and moved to Westwood, where they experienced firsthand the promise of Los Angeles. He attended public schools in the 5th District and went on to earn degrees from Yale and USC Law School. Sam built a successful law firm in the District, working to provide effective representation in a broad range of issues, including civil rights. He has used his expertise to advise startups and small businesses and litigate on behalf of workers, tenants, and refugees. Committed to public service and championing the promise of Los Angeles, Sam formerly served as a Commissioner on the Los Angeles Civil Service Commission and currently serves as a board member of the Friends of Westwood Library. He has also served the Los Angeles community as a board member of numerous non-profits, including the Anti-Defamation League, Bet Tzedek Legal Services, the Jewish Community Foundation, and ETTA, which provides services and housing for developmentally disabled adults.
Los Angeles’ 5th City Council District is being vacated by Councilmember Paul Koretz due to term limits. The District currently includes the neighborhoods of Bel Air, Beverly Crest, Beverly Fairfax, Beverlywood, Carthay, Century City, Century Glen, Cheviot Hills, Comstock Hills, Encino, Melrose, Palms, Pico Robertson, Rancho Park, Roscomare, Westside Village, and Westwood.
