Labor Attorney To Challenge Ed Markey For US Senate Seat

BOSTON - DECEMBER 10: Shannon Liss-Riordan, who has won several high-profile class action suits on behalf of workers, including Upper Crust Pizza, and is changing labor law, shot at her office.

Suzanne Kreiter The Boston Globe via Getty Images

By Katie Lannan | State House News Service

May 20, 2019

Attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan, a Democrat who had been considering a primary challenge against U.S. Sen. Ed Markey in 2020, is now officially in the race.

"I have spent the last 20 years as a workers' rights attorney, fighting alongside those who have been taken advantage of by their employers," Liss-Riordan wrote in an email announcing her candidacy. "The cases I have fought - for tipped workers, employees misclassified as independent contractors, and low wage workers - have made me realize just how much the rich and powerful have reshaped our country to benefit them. They have been writing the rules for too long - we need to make a change."

Liss-Riordan first filed with the Federal Elections Commission to create a campaign committee on April 19 but had yet to formally launch a bid.

A labor attorney, she has represented drivers in a class action lawsuit against Uber and, according to her campaign website, brought cases that forced policy changes at Starbucks, FedEx, Harvard University and American Airlines.

A Malden Democrat who had served in Congress since 1976, Markey won his Senate seat in a 2013 special election that featured a primary battle against fellow U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, where Markey took in about 57 percent of the vote. Markey then beat Republican Gabriel Gomez 55-45.

Markey did not face a primary challenge in 2014, and defeated Republican Brian Herr with 62 percent of the vote in the general election. Markey had more than $3.5 million in his campaign account at the end of March.

Liss-Riordan is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Harvard College, and in 2009 co-founded the firm Lichten & Liss-Riordan. She lives in Brookline with her husband and their three children.

"This country is stuck because of the cycle of Washington politics," Liss-Riordan said in a statement. "Washington needs a fresh voice willing to break that cycle. This election, the people of Massachusetts will have a choice. Maintain the status quo in Washington and stay in this endless cycle. Or vote for me and break it."