Lobbying Lawmakers

Massachusetts members press their elected representatives in Boston.

Nearly 300 members came together on May 14 for 1199’s annual healthcare and homecare advocacy day in Boston, Massachusetts. Advocacy day allows caregivers from all sectors to share their stories with legislators and press for policy changes that benefit working people.

This year the members’ focus was on extending the ban on mandatory overtime to the entire care team; requiring hospitals to address workplace violence; establishing an immigrant legal defense fund; creating a labor peace agreement for homecare; and making multinational corporations pay their fair share in taxes.

With looming cuts to Medicaid, unjust deportations of immigrants, and a worsening healthcare workforce shortage, the event was timed to amplify solutions that invest in care and protect the communities where 1199ers live and work.

“We are all immigrants to this country,” said Rose Pierre, a CNA from Blue Hills Nursing Home in Stoughton, MA. “This is not about Haitians or Dominicans, it’s about all of us feeling safe. We need the Governor and legislature to protect all residents and fight back against these attacks,” she added, when delivering a letter to Governor Healey’s office.

For some 1199ers, this was their first visit to the Massachusetts State House and an opportunity to make their voices heard about how their ability to deliver quality healthcare is affected by government policies.

“Right now, they are trying to cut Medicaid at the federal level. I’ve been here in Boston for seven years, I’m from Florida. I came here because I’m trans and I want to be myself,” Xenia Garcia, a bilingual outreach navigator at the Fenway Health clinic in Boston, told lawmakers.

“But I don’t feel like I’m part of Boston anymore since I graduated college,” she added. “Boston doesn’t want me because I’m not a high earner. Our patients are not able to get all the healthcare they need because they are either on MassHealth [Medicaid] or are unable to qualify and are left without insurance.

“I’m on MassHealth, too. If these Medicaid cuts go through, I won’t be able to get the hormones I need and I won’t be legally recognized as a trans person. As elected representatives, you have power and influence. Use it.”