Calexico – State Assembly Candidate Manuel Perez, who is running for the 80th State Assembly District, and Assembly Member Mary Salas today participated in the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Local 221 “Walk A Day In My Shoes” program with Calexico city employees Juan Diego Lopez and Antonio Retana.

The “Walk A Day In My Shoes” program invites candidates and elected officials to spend a day on the job with a public employee, helping the member perform their routine job duties. The goal of the program is to educate the candidates and elected officials about the struggles faced by working people and in turn use that knowledge when making important decisions that affect workers.

“It’s good for Manuel to work with us,” Antonio Retana said. “He will fight for us workers.”

“It’s really important to relay to any candidate what job we do so when they are considering cutting funds they can tell the other guys in the Assembly that our jobs are important,” Juan Diego Lopez said.

Mr. Perez and Assembly Member Salas spent their “Walk A Day” cleaning sewage lines and doing water system maintenance.

 “I really got to connect with those who do this work and see the important services they provide,” Assembly Member Salas said.

“It’s important to see what it’s like in the trenches, to be at work at 5 a.m. and to take on the job and responsibilities of the job in 120 degree heat,” Mr. Perez said. “Many times policy makers don’t understand what workers do. I want to understand from the ground up what’s important to working people.”

Candidates across the country have participated in SEIU’s “Walk A Day In My Shoes” program including Presidential Candidate Barack Obama and Vice Presidential Candidate Joe Biden.