OUR DELEGATE LEADERS
Distinguished Service
Since She Found the Union
Joe Macagnone, a mental health assistant at Columbia Memorial Hospital in Hudson, NY.
“In my town when I was growing up, everyone knew that workers had no rights without unions. And that thought has stayed with me.” —PCA Carlita Martinez Carlita Martinez is a Personal Care Attendant in Methuen, MA. oe Macagnone has been an 1199SEIU delegate for just a few months, but he’s been a labor leader for much of his adult life. Before landing a job three years ago as a mental health assistant at Columbia Memorial Hospital (CMH) in Hudson, NY, Macagnone was a member of the Teamsters Union for some 20 years. “I was a shop steward as a Teamster, too, and I learned a lot there, but that was a different time in my life and I’ve left that behind,” he says. Because of his leadership qualities, he was urged to become a delegate by his Columbia Memorial co-workers. It paid off in May when members at CMH negotiated a five-year contract after an almost five-month struggle. Macagnone was one of the leaders of the negotiating committee and one of its most outspoken members. Says 1199SEIU VP Rosa Lomuscio: “Joe is a leader in every sense of the word. As a member of the Union’s bargaining team during a very difficult struggle, Joe not only relayed the details of negotiations to the membership, but he listened carefully to what they had to say and brought their concerns to the table. His dedication and commitment to his patients, his community and his Union is outstanding.” On June 4, Macagnone was scheduled to be among the CMH members accepting the Distinguished Service Award by the Columbia County Democratic Committee. The award was to be presented to the caregivers “in recognition of their stellar work in the community and their fight for union members everywhere.” Macagnone thinks the award is significant. “With our families, we make important contributions to the region,” he says. “I’m proud of our work and I’m proud to be a member of 1199SEIU.”
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hen Carlita Martinez became a Personal Care Attendant (PCA) in 2008 she recognized that there was still a void in her work life. “I wasn’t a member of a union,” she says. “I had problems with my agency, but I didn’t know how to correct it.” Martinez, who was born in San Pedro de Marcoris in the Dominican Republic and had been a caregiver her entire life, had become a PCA in Methuen, MA, first to care for an ailing aunt and later, her father. “I was looking for a union and I found 1199SEIU through another PCA, Vincente de la Rosa from Lawrence.” That meeting changed Martinez’s life. She not only joined 1199SEIU, but she immediately became one of the most active, enthusiastic builders of the Union and a strong advocate for PCAs. “In my town when I was growing up, everyone knew that workers had no rights without unions,” she says. “And that thought has stayed with me.” Martinez has canvassed other PCAs to join the Union and has immersed herself in political activities. She has lobbied legislators and appeared in the media on behalf of PCA funding and legislation. “Carlita Martinez is a model delegate,” says 1199SEIU VP Rebecca Gutman. “She takes a leadership role in building the Union and her community. Her PAC sign-up rate in terms of numbers and amount contributed surpasses many in our Union. Carlita understands and educates other PCAs about the connection between our lives at work, our lives at home, and the importance of being politically active.” “We PCAs need a lot of things like better benefits and higher salaries,” Martinez says. “We always want to do more for our clients, too. To do that, we need to build strength and that means building our Union.”
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May/June • Our Life And Times
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