A Journal of 1199SEIU July-August 2018
Don’t Forget Your 1199SEIU Federal Credit Union Account
VICTORY!
Voter Registration Info For Your State. See page 21.
League Contract
Unleashing the Purple Wave
Members cheer after July 13 announcement of contract settlement with League of Voluntary Hospitals and Nursing Homes. See story on page 11.
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July-August 2018
CONTENTS 11
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20 @1199seiu www.1199seiu.org 2
July-August 2018
3 Editorial: Two sides of one coin: politics and union-building.
11 League Contract Victory To win this fight we DID unite!
5 The President’s Column There Is No Blue Wave Without Us.
15 New Organizing Healthcare workers continue to make organizing history.
6 Around the Regions First-ever FQHC worker gathering; calls for #JusticeForPR at NYC Puerto Rican Day Parade; contract victories and struggles. 9 Politics The purple army is on the move and ready to help win races in every region.
16 The Wisdom of Experience Members discuss how longevity has honed their leadership skills. 18 U of Maryland Apprentices These Maryland healthcare workers are learning much more than a new job.
20 The Sky’s the Limit Training Fund graduations celebration in New York and Massachusetts. 21 Voter Guide Election Day is November 6. Here’s the info you need to vote. 22 Forget Your Credit Union Account? Don’t Lo$e out!
1199 Magazine July-August 2018 Vol. 36, No. 4 ISSN 2474-7009 Published by 1199SEIU, United Healthcare Workers East 310 West 43rd St. New York, NY 10036 (212) 582-1890 www.1199seiu.org
Editorial: Your Vote, Our Voice. “We cannot let them destroy what we have worked so hard to build.”
As you’re reading this, you may be getting kids ready for back to school, preparing for a Labor Day cookout, or riding the bus or subway to work. One thing is for sure: if this magazine is in your hands the summer is almost over. And with the passing of that season, we are entering one of the most critical midterm election cycles in our lives. Come November’s elections (and in a host of local contests before that) we can turn this country around. And, as President Gresham says in his column, “we can stop the madness.” On page 21 is a list of voter registration dates and guidelines for every region of the Union. We urge you to read it and then get out and register yourself to vote along with every eligible member of your family. 1199SEIU members regularly demonstrate the power of our vote. Maryland members are helping community-focused candidates like Ben Jealous and Marilyn Mosby. In recent contract talks with the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes, NYC-area members continually reminded management that 1199ers’ work in Albany and Washington, D.C. secures the lifeblood funding for healthcare institutions. In New Jersey, members stayed the course in Trenton and advanced landmark staffing legislation for the state’s nursing homes. And two June graduation celebrations were a touching reminder of the hard work 1199ers do in classrooms and to keep in place resources for training and education programs. University of Maryland Medical Center Secretary Pamela Honeyghan has been a Union and political activist for 44 years. She sees no difference between the fights for dignity in the workplace and dignity in our communities. “Political work is all part of being a good leader,” she states. President Gresham urges us to take that leadership challenge and help right the listing ship that is our country. “The entire history of our country, and certainly our Union, is one of folks uniting, mobilizing and organizing to expand democracy and fight the powerful,” he says. Tresha Thompson, a political activist and a patient access representative at Brooklyn’s Wyckoff Hospital, is ready, and hopes the rest of her 1199 sisters and brothers are prepared to do the same: “We cannot let them destroy what we have worked so hard to build.”
president
George Gresham secretary treasurer
Maria Castaneda executive vice presidents
Jacqueline Alleyne Norma Amsterdam Yvonne Armstrong Lisa Brown Ruth Heller Maria Kercado Steve Kramer Joyce Neil Monica Russo Rona Shapiro Milly Silva Gregory Speller Veronica Turner-Biggs Laurie Vallone Estela Vazquez editor
Patricia Kenney director of photography
Jim Tynan
art direction & design Maiarelli Studio cover photography
Jim Tynan contributors
Mindy Berman Regina Heimbruch Naeem Holman JJ Johnson Bryn Lloyd-Bollard Erin Mei Sarah Wilson
Luba Lukova
“The entire history of our country, and certainly our Union, is one of folks uniting, mobilizing and organizing to expand democracy and fight the powerful.”
1199 Magazine is published six times a year—January/ February, March/ April, May/June, July/ August, September/ October, November/ December—for $15.00 per year by 1199SEIU, United Healthcare Workers East, 310 W. 43 St, New York, NY 10036. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to 1199 Magazine, 310 W. 43 St., New York, NY 10036.
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Social Media
@MILLYSILVA: It’s a better Sunday morning for NJ’s seniors and their caregivers. Thank you @NJSenatePres, @mayorstack, @vingopal, @NJSenDems and all who voted YES this am. RT: @1199seiu_nj: #BreakingNews the NJ Senate passed the #safestaffing bill for nursing homes! Thank you @NJSenatePres @mayorstack @vingopal for your leadership on this critical legislation and the @NJSenDems who voted to protect the health and wellbeing of patients & their caregivers!
1199SEIUMASSACHUSETTS: #FBF to last week’s Summer Unity BBQ in Worcester! Don’t miss out on BBQs in your area. #1199Unity
@1199SEIU_MDDC: 1199SEIU members from across the Maryland/DC region are showing that we are stronger together!!! #1199seiu #seiu #union #1199seiumddc #DC #unionstrong #Maryland #PGCounty #lu #resist
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July-August 2018
@1199SEIU: “I brought my granddaughter out today so she can learn about sticking up for herself and other people. It’s never too early!” -Peggy Wineski, 1199 healthcare worker, #PoorPeoplesCampaign
@1199SEIU: Mount Sinai Medical Center OR Surgical Nurse Shennah Stewart on the 7/12 picket line with daughter Rylei, 5. “We are working for their future,” said Stewart. “We just got back from vacation and I told her we had to be here today. Everything we have comes from Mommy being a member of the Union.” #mountsinai #unionstrong #unitefightwin #union #nopensionmoretension
@NYNURSES: On Long Island, @nynurses stood strong with @1199SEIU. We need a fair contract now! @NorthwellHealth needs to put patients before profits! #solidarity
1199SEIUFLORIDA: This weekend, SEIU Florida organizers were out rallying to say #FamiliesBelongTogether in Palm Beach and Hillsborough County. In Broward and Dade Counties, we held our leadership academy trainings. And in St. Petersburg, we continued to hold screenings for candidates seeking the endorsement of our union members.
@1199SEIU_NJ: #FamilesBelongTogetherNJ! We will not rest until every child is reunited with their family! #EndFamilySeparation
Let’s hear from you. Send your letters to: 1199 Magazine, 330 W. 42nd St, 7th Fl., New York, NY 10036, Attn: 1199 Magazine, Editor; or email them to magazine@1199.org. Please put Letters in the subject line of your email.
There Is No Blue Wave Without Us We must create the movement that will stop the madness in our country. The President’s Column by George Gresham
“...If for some reason you’re not yet registered to vote, I urge you to register immediately. Each state has its own registration deadlines, but it’s not too late. For information on voting registration dates and procedures in your state, see page 21 or contact your delegate or organizer.”
Summer’s over, sisters and brothers, and we have only two months until Election Day, so we’ve got the fight of our lives before us. Anyone who doesn’t understand that working people (actually, our whole country) are in a world of trouble just hasn’t been paying attention. Turns out that the folks who want to Make America Great Again apparently think the last time our country was great was a hundred years ago: before there were laws protecting collective bargaining, union organizing and occupational safety and health; before laws that protected our air and water; and before laws protecting women’s control over their own bodies and the voting rights of racial and ethnic minorities. For many, making America great again means returning to the days when there was one set of laws for white men of means and another for people of color, women, and the poor. The President of the United States, backed by his lieutenants in Congress and a far-right majority on the Supreme Court, are working hard to take us back to those times. November 6, the date of the midterm elections, is our chance to block them. Believe me, the stakes could not be higher. Though the President is not on the ballot, he will undoubtedly be on every voter’s mind. In the meantime, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and one third of the Senate, including one Senate seat in each of the five states where 1199SEIU is present, are up for election. At the same time, many governorships and state
legislative seats are also up for grabs. These are the folks who determine who gets to vote and whether our votes count in 2020, when the next presidential election is held. And of course, they also control Medicaid, Medicare and other spending affecting our jobs and our patients. Sisters and brothers, we cannot be complacent. Numerous polls show that public opinion is on our side, but the 2016 election is a brutal reminder that polls do not determine election results. I’m asking you to forget all the talk about a “Blue Wave” in November. Truth is, we must create the wave, or it won’t happen. Yes, we live in a democracy, but it’s a democracy with serious shortcomings. Donald Trump lost in 2016 by three million votes, but due to the Electoral College, which was created to satisfy the slaveholding states two centuries ago, he is President. In 2016, Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate got six million more votes than the Republicans, but the Republicans still control the Senate. How is this possible? Well, Blue states like New York and California have 19 million and 37 million people respectively; Red states like Wyoming and South Dakota combined have fewer than 1.5 million. Yet, each state has two senators. Think about this: Wyoming has fewer people than Washington, D.C., but Washington isn’t allowed to have any Senators. Many of the state legislatures also up for election in November conduct the gerrymandering and voter suppression which give Republicans a 248-192 advantage over Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
All of which is to say that the cards— or at least the power—are stacked against true democracy. But this has never stopped us before. The entire history of our country, and certainly our Union, is one of folks uniting, mobilizing and organizing to fight the powerful and expand democracy. So, please, if for some reason you’re not yet registered to vote, I urge you to register immediately. Each state has its own registration deadlines, but it’s not too late. For more information on voting registration deadlines and dates in your state, see page 21 or contact your delegate or organizer. Yet the truth is, just YOU registering to vote isn’t enough. We need you to help register all the eligible voters in your family as well. And if you are not already, we need you to get involved in get out the vote efforts; this can be phone-banking, door-knocking, or talking to your neighbors at places like your house of worship, shopping centers, etc. Again, please ask your delegate and organizer how to get involved. We need you to do this. Your families and your communities need you to do this. No doubt these are scary times. The President of the United States talks about “some very fine” Nazis in Charlottesville, rips children away from their parents to lock them in cages, and demands professional athletes be fired (and even deported) for protesting police killings of unarmed citizens. He also keeps saying he wants to build a wall. Well, let’s build him a wall; one made of tens of millions of voters that he cannot overcome on November 6. It is time to stop the madness.
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Around the Regions a collective bargaining agreement that addresses wages, benefits and staffing issues. The contract was reached the day after workers overwhelmingly approved a 10-day strike notice. 1199SEIU-represented registered nurses, nurse’s aides, laboratory and technical staff, dietary and environmental service workers at the hospital have been in contract negotiations for nearly year. “The short-staffing we see every day at Mount St. Mary’s should worry everyone in this community— everyone who may need our hospital or has a family member who counts on quality care at Mount St. Mary’s,” said Terri Ross, an RN at Mount St. Mary’s for the past 32 years.
NEW YORK
Staffing & High Turnover Drive Contract Fights Workers at Livingston Hills Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Livingston, NY took matters into their own hands with a one-day picket July 19 to press management to settle a fair collective bargaining agreement and address the institution’s staffing issues. Facility owners initially refused to renegotiate participation in the Greater NY Health Benefit Fund, which workers fought for and won 15 years ago. The picket turned management around and at press time workers were negotiating back 6
July-August 2018
Management at Anthony Jordan Health Center in Rochester, NY refused a contract settlement offered by a federal mediator.
raises and seeking to address ongoing turnover at a nursing home, where frail and elderly residents count on continuity of care. “I’m exhausted. We are so short-staffed—everyone deserves better than this—workers and our residents. Livingston Hills can no longer delay settling our contract when we don’t have enough staff and quality care is at risk,” said Donna Decker, a Livingston Hills certified nursing assistant.
“When Jordan administration treats us poorly, they are also disrespecting our patients and the people in our community that come here for care.”
Workers at Mount St. Mary’s Hospital in Lewiston, NY on July 27 settled
Minerva Felix-Torres Medical referral secretary
On June 5, 65 healthcare workers at Rochester, N.Y.’s Anthony L. Jordan Health Center conducted a threeday work stoppage protesting their lack of a new collective bargaining agreement. Contract negotiations with Jordan Health began in November 2017 and quickly stalled. Workers picketed the facility in March to alert the community to struggle, and on April 30, employees walked off the job, protesting the Center’s refusal to properly fund their health insurance plan in spite of significant cost reductions. A federal mediator has been overseeing negotiations and in May proposed a settlement to both sides granting significant financial relief to the Center, guaranteeing health benefits for healthcare workers, and providing modest wage increases in the later years of the contract. The Union’s negotiating committee unanimously accepted the compromise. At press time, Jordan’s administration has refused to accept the settlement proposal. “When Jordan administration treats us poorly, they are also disrespecting our patients and the people in our community that come here for care. We are standing up for our patients and the quality care they deserve today, just as we do every day,” said Minerva Felix-Torres, a medical referral secretary who has worked at Jordan in various capacities for nearly 40 years.
Florida Maryland Massachusetts New Jersey New York Washington, D.C.
NEW YORK
First-Ever Meeting for Workers from Federally Qualified Health Centers Policy-makers are increasingly recognizing the benefits of community-based primary health care. That primary care is often delivered—especially in underserved communities—by Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). As these institutions flourish, workers are mobilizing, organizing and union-building to improve patient care and protect their rights, job security and benefits. On July 14, workers from FQHCs held their first unionwide meeting. The gathering at 1199’s Manhattan headquarters included members from long-standing 1199 facilities, newlyorganized workers and caregivers from non-unionized FQHCs in NYC, Hudson Valley, Massachusetts and Maryland. The event was an opportunity for members to exchange experiences, discuss the challenges, and, perhaps most important, create a digital network to keep the conversation going. The program included remarks from Photo: Carolina Kroon
Workers from Federally Qualified Health Centers, which are primary centers of care in many underserved communities, held their inaugural meeting at Union headquarters in July. Photo: Andrew Lichtenstein
“If we don’t stand together with our co-workers, management will always have the upper hand.” Sandra Osorio, Patient Service Representative
Union officers, rank and filers, and leaders including Kirk Adams, Executive Director of the Healthcare Education Project, a Union-associated communitybased advocacy organization. Adams explained the importance of political action to preserve and extend funding for vital healthcare services in local communities. “If you’re not at the table, you’re liable to be on the menu,” he warned. Sandra Osorio, an 1199 member for 11 years, is a Patient Service Representative at Manhattan’s
Ryan-Nena Community Health Center. Osorio was previously an 1199-represented medical translator at a doctor’s office in Lake Success, Long Island. When her job was eliminated, the 1199 Job Security Fund was able to place her in a new position at RyanNena. She lauded the informational aspect of the event. “It is important that we all get involved with our union,” she said. “If we don’t stand together with our co-workers, management will always have the upper hand.”
#UnidosPorPuertoRico! Salsa music drowned out St. Patrick’s church bells and glitter and sequins outshined Tiffany diamonds on June 9 at the 61st Annual Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City. The event drew more than a million people who gathered on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue to enjoy the dazzling spectacle and show of Borinquen pride. This year’s event held special significance as the island struggles to recover in the wake of Hurricane Maria. Hundreds of 1199ers joined the Union’s contingent carrying signs and banners and wearing t-shirts emblazoned with slogans calling for justice and unity for Puerto Rico.
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Around the Regions
NJ nursing home workers stand up for safe staffing at May 1 rally in Trenton.
NEW JERSEY
NJ Members Lead Movement for Nursing Home Safe Staffing 1199 members in New Jersey are in the final stretch of a years’ long effort to win a safe staffing bill for Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) in the state’s nursing homes. New Jersey nursing homes rank near the bottom in the country for CNA hours per patient; members say that lack of staff often prevents them from delivering the person-centered care their residents need and deserve. As part of their campaign to raise awareness about the issue, 1199 members have been making trips to the state capital in Trenton multiple times a week, pressing the urgency of safe staffing legislation with elected officials. Sherry McGhie, a CNA from Paterson, NJ, has been a major voice in this effort, speaking at rallies, testifying at legislative hearings, and even lending her voice to a radio spot which played across the state. “What we’re finding is that short staffing causes patients to break down. It is not an easy thing to talk about,” McGhie testified at spring hearings of New Jersey’s Senate Health Committee. “When a patient is stuck in bed for too long without being moved, 8
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it can cause their skin to deteriorate. I have seen patients develop deep wound issues because they have spent too much time lying down.” On May 1, International Workers’ Day, hundreds of 1199 members flooded Trenton to rally for safe staffing. Margaret Boyce, a CNA and long-time delegate from Elizabeth, NJ, shared some of the more intangible ways that poor staffing levels impact caregivers and residents. “Sometimes, residents who have no relatives want to share a memory with us, but you don’t have time to listen. You have twenty patients—you have to feed them, you have to dress them, and you only might have two minutes to have a nice moment or console them,” said Boyce. “It’s heartbreaking because sometimes you can see the pain in their eyes, being lonely. You just don’t have the time.” On July 1, New Jersey’s Senate passed the staffing bill. It now heads to the Assembly for its final vote this fall. 1199 members are continuing to mobilize during the summer legislative recess and keeping up the pressure.
“Sometimes, residents who have no relatives want to share a memory with us, but you don’t have time to listen.” Margaret Boyce
Massachusetts PCAs are among the tens of thousands of public sector workers represented by 1199SEIU. After June’s Janus v. AFSCME decision by the Supreme Court, the Union’s Executive Council voted unanimously to waive Union initiation fees for public sector workers.
July Resolutions Approved by Executive Council Support Public Sector Members, Decriminalization of Marijuana The Union’s Executive Council on July 20 unanimously approved two resolutions. One resolution supports the decriminalization of marijuana and calls for sentence reduction and the reclassification and sealing of criminal records for those convicted of low level possession of the substance. The resolution also supports the creation of safer consumption spaces to reduce deaths from drug overdoses. A second resolution waives Union initiation fees for all 1199SEIU public sector workers. The fees had been previously waved in the Union’s Florida region, which is a “Right to Work” state. With the U.S. Supreme Court rendering all public-sector jobs “right to work” with its Janus v. AFSCME and Harris v. Quinn decisions, the resolution seeks to grow and improve the working lives and economic standards of all 1199 public sector members by waiving the fees. The Union represents member in 12 public sector chapters in New York, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia. “Our Union is under attack, and this was a good decision,” said Massachusetts PCA Rosario Cabrera.
POLITICS
WE UNLEASH
THE PURPLE WAVE
Member activists answer call to change nation’s course.
Throughout the Union’s regions, 1199ers are answering the call to mobilize voters to beat back the political assault on working people. “When I saw what was happening to our health care, I couldn’t sit still,” says Shadice Blue, a patient access representative at Brooklyn’s Wyckoff Hospital. Blue is one of scores of 1199ers working between now and November to help oust anti-labor politicians from Congress and state houses across the nation. “We can’t let them destroy what our predecessors fought so hard to build,” agrees Tresha Thompson, a Bronx Montefiore Hospital patient care tech who, in addition to being a political activist, was a member of the Union negotiating committee that in July won an outstanding contract with the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Nursing Homes. “I’m a political activist for the same reason that I’m a delegate,” she says, drawing parallels between her contract fight and the electoral struggles. “I realize that I have to do
my part to make us all stronger.” Blue, Thompson and scores of New York Member Political Organizers (MPOs) and activists have been hitting the streets, knocking on doors and making calls to get out the vote for the September 13 state primaries as they did for the Congressional primaries in June. They’re supporting the Democratic Party line headed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has stood with the Union and workers through countless battles, and New York City Public Advocate Letitia “Tish” James, another long-time friend of the Union, in her bid for New York State Attorney General. (If elected, James would become the first African American to hold the post.) A big turnout in the primaries and general election in November will go a long way towards strengthening national opposition to far-right policies attacking health care, racial justice, education, immigration, women’s rights, voting rights, the environment and a host of other issues. A purple-
1199ers canvassing for Ben Jealous in his bid to become Maryland governor
“ I’M A POLITICAL ACTIVIST FOR THE SAME REASON THAT I’M A DELEGATE... I REALIZE THAT I HAVE TO DO MY PART TO MAKE US ALL STRONGER.” – Tresha Thompson, Patient care tech, Bronx Montefiore
propelled Blue Wave could flip a critical handful of Congressional seats and wrest control of the U.S. House of Representatives from extremists who have been far too willing to do the president’s bidding. Turnout will also be the decider of several important gubernatorial contests outside New York, including in Maryland and Florida, and Georgia, where Democrat Stacey Abrams is making a serious bid to be the country’s first Black woman governor. In Maryland, Ben Jealous, former head of the NAACP, the oldest civil rights organization in the U.S., is seeking to become the state’s first African American governor. Jealous won big in the June primary. 1199SEIU was among several organizations that urged the civil rights leader to enter the race. The Union was also a major player in Maryland Together We Rise, an independent expenditure campaign advocating for Jealous. A Baltimore Sun article following
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POLITICS
the primaries noted that “The SEIU is a force” in Maryland politics. The Sun reported that not only was SEIU a major factor in Jealous’s victory, but also in the victory of other progressive candidates. “It’s good to have a candidate who really knows us and understands our issues,” says Tara Johnson, a housekeeper at Westgate Hills Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center in Baltimore. Johnson knocked on doors and phone banked for Jealous and other 1199-endorsed candidates. “I’ve never seen our city in such bad shape,” Johnson says. “We desperately need affordable housing, rent control and a $15 minimum wage. “I think as governor, Ben will work to take care of our city.” 1199ers in Maryland are also working for the re-election of Baltimore City State’s Attorney
Marilyn Mosby, who faced fierce opposition for bringing charges against the six Baltimore police officers in the 2015 death of young African American Freddie Gray. In another Union win, Veronica Turner, a former leader of 1199SEIU MD/DC and Maryland House of Delegates member, won the nomination for State Delegate in Maryland’s District 26, which is in Prince George’s County. Maryland 1199ers are supporting Turner and working alongside progressive allies on behalf of Maryland Senate nominees Antonio Hayes and Cory McCray. “Cory McCray is an especially gifted legislator and he will be a fighter for all workers,” says Shaniqua Covington, Johns Hopkins Hospital operating room associate. 1199SEIU’s Florida district is
“ IT’S TERRIBLE HOW SO MANY PEOPLE ARE BEING TREATED TODAY: HAVING THEIR VOTING RIGHTS TAKEN AWAY, SEPARATION OF FAMILIES, DEPORTATIONS.” 1199ers are supporting Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby in her bid for reelection.
working closely with its SEIU State Council and other strategic allies on statewide turnout operations, including campaigns to flip two congressional districts. The Florida State Council recently joined local and statewide community groups to host South Florida’s first Democratic gubernatorial debate—The Florida Freedom Forum. The Forum explored issues such as education, institutional and implicit bias, access to quality, lowcost health care, and the right to a fair wage. The event spoke directly to the plight of members such as Dukins Delinois, a CNA at Consulate Healthcare of West Palm Beach. “It’s not right that Florida workers providing care to patients can’t afford health care of their own,” says Delinois. “I’ve worked as a CNA for 17 years and I don’t have coverage. When I get sick, I have to figure out some way to take care of myself. We need to change this.” A Democrat has not won a Florida gubernatorial election since 1994. The winner of this year’s contest will have a hand in a host of initiatives critical to Florida’s future including healthcare access for 1.8 million Floridians, union rights for thousands of Florida homecare workers, and living wages for airport workers and adjunct professors. At stake nationally is the crucial redistricting process following the 2020 Census. The 100,000 Puerto Rican (and largely Democratic) voters who moved to the state after Hurricane Maria could tip the state’s electoral scales to Blue. MPO Eva Nolasco, a Latino Caucus member and an endotech at Fawcett Hospital in Port Charlotte, reflects the spirit of the Purple Wave. “It’s terrible how so many people are being treated today, like they’re not even human beings: having their voting rights taken away, separation of families, deportations. It’s sad and affects you personally, so we’re working to make changes by knocking on doors, making phone calls and anything else we can do,” she said. “One encouraging part of this is how many young people are getting involved to help get out the vote.”
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July-August 2018
OUR UNION
VICTORY! League Contract
New agreement secures pensions and cost-free health care, and advances job security protections.
A SPECIAL PULL-OUT SECTION
A SPECIAL PULL-OUT SECTION
1199SEIU members stood up to management in negotiations with the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes. League-Wide June Walkin: Workers at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center delivering a loud, clear message of a fair contract now!
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fter months of talks that culminated in several marathon negotiating sessions at two Manhattan hotels and informational picketing that brought tens of thousands of members into the streets, 1199SEIU and the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes of New York settled a new, three-year collective bargaining agreement on July 13. The contract, which runs from Oct. 1, 2018 until Sept. 30, 2021, includes three yearly 3% wage increases, employer contributions to fully fund the National Benefit Fund through Sept. 30, 2018, and full funding for other 1199SEIU Funds, including the Child Care, Job Security and Training and Upgrading Funds; enhanced organizing ability and advancement of the job security date to protect more workers. With pensions and retirement central bargaining issues, 1199 and the League agreed to additional steps to protect workers’ pensions; employers agreed to increase their
annual pension benefit on a date to be determined by 1199 and The League. (For more contract details, see League Agreement Highlights in this pullout.) “These are some of the toughest negotiations I have ever been in,” said Felicity Lomoty, a rehab aide at Archcare Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Centre in Manhattan. “But we continued to do our work as we went through the process, because we love what we do, and we love our patients. We worked hard to get what we deserve.”
contributions substantially to the National Pension Fund and the Union adjusted qualifying dates for early retirement with a full pension. Retirees will receive a one-time bonus equal to three percent of the
Talks for the new contract began in late May, after the Union and League agreed to open negotiations ahead of the previous agreement’s Sept. 30 expiration date. Bargaining got off to a tense start. Management proposed pension reductions, meager wage increases and expanded floating provisions. Nursing home owners, who initially refused to come to the table, demanded special treatment with a “Most Favored Nation” contract clause which would address their specific concerns. The Union’s 500-member negotiating committee met initial League demands with a resounding “No!” and refused to bargain again until nursing home
July-August 2018
owners came to the table. “It’s like they don’t understand that this is real life,” said Jennifer Rougier, a mail clerk at Northwell Health-Lenox Hill for 21 years. “It is not just that we are angry. We want to be treated with respect for the work we do.” ‘WORKERS MUST FIGHT FOR EVERYTHING WE HAVE’ With a settlement deadline of Friday, July 13 in place, the clock ticked on. 1199ers flexed their muscle and pushed the pace of negotiations with sticker days, walk-ins on the boss, walk throughs and other actions. 1199ers forced management to walk back their demand for damaging pension reductions with a last-minute, one-day informational picket. 1199ers mustered for the action right after negotiations broke down in the wee hours of July 12. Tens of thousands of 1199ers flooded the streets near League institutions marching, chanting and singing the contract campaign’s mantra, “To Win This Fight We Must Unite!” Retiree Charles Moore joined the picket at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan, which stretched across several entrances of the
OUR UNION
To win this fight we DID unite!
Clockwise, from top, right: 1) July 12 informational picket at Archcare at Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Center. 2) July 12 info pickets were a family affair. 3) President Gresham speaks at July 12 informational picket at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in Manhattan.
healthcare giant’s main hospital. “What we’re seeing today means that management doesn’t change and that workers must fight for everything we have, and we probably always will,” said Moore, a Sinai surgical tech for 45 years. Management was clearly moved by the show of force and on July 13 came to the table ready to bargain reasonably. “We are not giving anything up,” said Elva King, a CNA at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx. “We will do whatever we have to win a fair contract. We work hard. We may be in the time of Trump, but when you talk about taking things away from workers, it opens their eyes.” Close to midnight on Friday
the 13, the announcement of an agreement filled a Manhattan hotel with raucous cheers and applause. 1199SEIU President George Gresham addressed a joyful and exhausted committee, which was at that late hour fueled by an elixir of coffee, dance music, and working people’s determination. In his remarks, Pres. Gresham lauded the committee’s vision and solidarity. “When you look at the power that’s in this room and to know how many members you represent back at your institutions who trust your leadership and judgment—that is a very powerful statement. The work you have done is testament to your leadership. If you did not do the kind of fighting you did, we would not
have the contract we have tonight.” A Memorandum of Agreement was signed by Union and League representatives on July 16. As the ink dried, cheers filled 1199’s Manhattan headquarters. “It feels great to know that we accomplished what we set out to do. We protected our health care and our pensions—which were our biggest goals,” said negotiating Committee Member Michael Fullerton, a dietary aide at Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, NY. “The contract is about leveling the playing field and maintaining fair wages and benefits for ourselves and our families. And it shows that we can win when we stand up for our rights.” A contract ratification vote was under way at press time. Official results will be reported in the next issue of 1199 Magazine.
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What We Won! Summary and Highlights of New League Agreement
Close to midnight on Friday the 13th, the announcement of an agreement filled a Manhattan hotel with raucous cheers and applause. 1199SEIU President George Gresham addressed a joyful and exhausted committee, which was at that late hour fueled by an elixir of coffee, dance music, and working people’s determination.
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1. Duration: 3 years, Oct. 1, 2018—Sept. 30, 2021. 2. Wage/Minimums Increases: Oct. 1, 2018—3% Oct. 1, 2019—3% Oct. 1, 2020—3% 3. Health Insurance (NBF): Fully funded for next 3 years. Members will continue to have their health insurance with no premiums or co-pays. 4. Child Care, Training and Job Security Funds: Fully funded for next 3 years to maintain all benefits. 5. Pension Fund: 1199 and the League agreed to additional steps to support the Pension Fund’s recovery from the 2008 crash while protecting Members’ core pension benefits. To that end: a. The Employers will substantially increase their contributions from 10% to 12.6% of gross pay ($156M a year, one-half billion dollars over the next 3 years); b. 1199 agreed to the following modified cost savings: i. Effective Oct. 1, 2018, first-time pension enrollees will begin to accrue service credit toward their pensions after one year of service. ii. For Members choosing to retire with an EARLY, FULL pension: a. Those who are 59.5 years or older as of December 31, 2018, will continue to qualify for an early, full pension when they reach age 62 years old with 20 years of service; b. Members who are younger than 59.5 years as of December 31, 2018, must be at least 62.5 years old with 25 years of service to qualify for an early, full pension. iii. Effective January 1, 2019, for Members choosing to retire early with a REDUCED pension; a. Those who are 59.5 years or older as of December 31, 2018, will qualify for the current 6% annual pension reduction. b. Members who are younger than 59.5 years as of December 31, 2018, will qualify for a 9% annual pension reduction. c. Retiree Bonus: Retirees will receive a one-time bonus equal to 3% of the annual pension benefit on a date to be determined by 1199 and the League. 6. Job Security: We have advanced the date for protected status (no layoffs for the life of the Agreement) for Employees with at least 10 years of bargaining unit seniority, as follows: a. Effective Jan. 1, 2019, Employees hired before January 1, 2009;
July-August 2018
b. Effective Jan. 1, 2021, Employees hired before January 1, 2011 These dates mean that 60% of our Members will be protected from layoff. Members with less than 10 years will be eligible for JSF benefits if they are laid-off. 7. Growing Our Union: We have enhanced our ability to organize non-Union workers in our industry by: a. Requiring our Employers to submit lists every January 2nd and July 1st identifying all non-Union workers in departments where our members work. b. Establishing an Industry Commission to review industry trends and to ensure the delivery of high quality care and strengthening the voices of health care workers through 1199 representation. 8. Nursing Homes: To protect our not-for-profit Homes, 1199 agreed to a joint labor-management committee to facilitate State funding to strengthen their finances. 9. Pro-Tech Members: A new provision will allow 1199 to demand mid-term negotiations to adjust wages and compensation if there are shortages due to retention and recruitment problems. In addition: a. For the first time, we have established one category of preceptor pay—Surgical Technician. b. 1199 and the League will meet to consider establishing the Physician Assistant as a uniform classification. 10. Registered Nurses: a. 11(a)(1) monies: monies generated applying wage increases to longevity will be added to base rates —same formula used in the past (applicable to all LVH nursing home RN employees as well). b. An additional 0.5% will be available for the nurses in each unit to allocate for certifications, educational benefits, charge pay, etc. c. Employers will contribute 0.65% of payroll to support the RN LMI and TJSF (Applicable to all LVH nursing home RN employers as well). d. Staffing Guidelines: a process through arbitration to insure compliance with the guidelines is in place, inclusive of the computation of RN staffing replacement factors. 11. Off-Site Standards: Our Members in off-site facilities will receive the terms of this Agreement, except we will meet with the Employers to preserve and enhance the facility-specific health benefits. 12. Uniform allowance shall be increased by $50 to $225 annually.
ORGANIZING
Workers celebrate after the June 26 organizing victory at Whittier Street Health Center in Roxbury, MA. xTech workers at Northern Westchester Hospital after their July union vote.
New Organizing: Caregivers North & South are Voting 1199 “We needed to form a union to help us secure our rights. There is more power when we fight together.” Over the past few months, more than 900 workers at clinics, hospital and home health agencies have voted to join 1199SEIU. Among the more dramatic victories was the June 26 organizing victory at Whittier Street Health Center in Roxbury, MA. in which workers voted 50 to 9—more than 5 to 1—in favor of 1199SEIU representation. The Whittier workers included doctors, nurses, therapists and other professionals who chose unionization after an acrimonious organizing effort that included harassment, the filing of unfair labor practice charges and the pre-election firing of 13 Union activists. Whittier management
even invalidated workers’ clinic entry passes while they were treating patients. Wide-ranging public outreach brought a maelstrom of criticism upon Whittier’s administration, including rebukes from numerous elected officials, including Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and City Councilor At Large Ayana Pressley. Just hours before the Union vote management reinstated the dismissed workers. Domestic Violence Councilor Brenna Cyr was among the fired workers. Cyr framed the organizing effort in terms of quality patient care. “This is about ending disparities in health care. This is about developing a partnership with management so that
“This is about developing a partnership with management so that workers have shared voice to advocate for our patients...”
workers have shared voice to advocate for our patients and shared voice in the future of this clinic,” said Cyr. A Federally Qualified Health Center, Whittier is a multi-service institution which offers care to one of the Boston area’s poorest communities. “People who work here put up with difficult conditions,” said Dr. John Jewett, a Whittier ER doctor who helped lead the organizing drive. “Our patients have a lot of stressors in their lives, and people who work here could be working other places, but they dedicate themselves to the patients here.” In a June 14 vote, 61 caregivers at Florida’s Mentor Health voted overwhelmingly to join 1199. Mentor Health facilities are located throughout Florida and serve disabled individuals. Caregivers faced a strong anti-union campaign but stood strong. Mentor Health caregiver Mona Ocean cited the organizing drive’s solidarity. “We needed to form a union to help us secure our rights. There is more power when we fight together,” she said. Further north, in Brooklyn, NY, 109 home health aides from the Palm Beach Agency also said yes to 1199 membership in a mail ballot election. The ballots were mailed in June and counted on July 6. Palm Beach aides were working without affordable health insurance, adequate paid time off for vacations and public holidays, as well as respect on the job. In New York’s lower Hudson Valley, 400 workers said yes to 1199 membership in a pair of June elections. Good Samaritan Medical Center’s professional workers voted June 20 to join the hospital’s existing 1199 bargaining unit. A day later, Northern Westchester Hospital’s technical workers voted three-to-one for 1199SEIU membership. And on July 18 at Baltimore’s Chase Brexton Health Center, 75 clerical, service and maintenance workers joined the institution’s previously organized bargaining unit. Farther north, in Upstate New York, 81 service workers Highland Park Rehab in Wellsville voted 1199SEIU in a July 18 election. And a day later, 18 service workers at Orchard Brooke Living Center in Orchard Park followed up with their own vote to join.
1199 Magazine 15
OUR MEMBERS
The Wisdom of
Experience Veteran members who carry the torch.
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As 1199’s leadership emphasizes the importance of growing the Union by recruiting young members and leaders, it hasn’t lost sight of the importance of its veteran members. The value of veteran workers was demonstrated in the recent contract victory of some 80,000 New York 1199ers in the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes. Some of the members of the League negotiating committee brought decades of 1199 experience to the contract campaign. Among those is Richard Benincasa, a pharmacist at Forest Hills Hospital in Queens and a delegate for 35 years. “So much of what I’ve learned over the years I owe to those who came before me,” Benincasa says. The son of a pioneer 1199 pharmacist, Benincasa has used his organizing skills to help transform Forest Hills Hospital from a hospital in which 1199ers were the minority into a wall-to-wall 1199 institution. “Being able to draw on workers throughout the institution makes a huge difference,” he says. Veteran union experience may be even more important in regions with less 1199 density and political clout. This is especially true in the
July-August 2018
South, which has a long history of anti-union sentiment. That is what Pamella Honeyghan, a unit secretary at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, has had to confront as a delegate for the last 44 years. Honeyghan says she drew strength from her leaders. “I heard civil rights leaders like Coretta Scott King speak during 1199’s organizing campaign in Maryland,” Honeyghan recalls. “I was impressed that she was carrying the torch after Dr. King’s death.” So impressed, in fact, that she decided to also pick up the torch of activism. “When I joined the Union, I learned the importance of unity and solidarity. I was shy at first, but I learned that as a Union member I could raise my voice and be protected and defended.” That lesson was brought home to her after she was unfairly fired for insubordination. Honeyghan filed a grievance and her case went to arbitration. “I won and got my job back, and the supervisor who had fired me ended up getting fired,” she affirms. Honeyghan says the experience taught her not only how to defend
herself, but that she could use those same skills to defend others. As have many Union delegates, Honeyghan learned that the fight for dignity and rights at the workplace was not separate from the wider war for all working people. She soon immersed herself in community and political struggles. “Political work is part of being a good leader,” she says. “I’ve been in many campaigns. I’ve done door knocking here in Maryland and also in Pennsylvania and Virginia.” Polly Henry, a CNA at Cold Spring Hills Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation on Long Island, NY, learned early on in her 1199 membership that a social justice union can help workers as well as the wider society. “My Union has opened many doors for me and each time I walk through one I try to keep that door open for others,” Henry says. Unlike Benincasa and Honeyghan, Henry is a relative newcomer with 15 years of Union experience. But she has packed a lot of 1199 work in her 15 years. “I didn’t know anything about unions when I arrived at Cold
Cold Spring Hills NH CNA Polly Henry is a Democratic Committee woman and political activist on Long Island. Photo: Jay Mallin
Pamela Honeyghan has worked at University of Maryland Hospital for 44 years. Coretta Scott King’s leadership during 1199’s Johns Hopkins organizing drive in the 1960’s continues to inspire her activism in and out of the Union. Pharmacist Richard Benincasa’s father worked with 1199’s founder Leon Davis and helped organize workers during a historic strike at Whelan Drugs in the 1950’s.
Spring,” she says. Other members drafted her as a delegate recognizing her work ethic, leadership ability and strong communication skills. “In all my years on the job, I’ve never been late,” she says. “That’s the way I was raised in Jamaica. That’s what I was taught.” Her record is all the more impressive because she has worked many different shifts and often works two jobs. “I became a citizen in 2009, but while I was [preparing for citizenship] I was educating myself and my Union
was helping me achieve my goals, such as becoming a CNA, getting involved in politics and eventually earning my citizenship.” Henry couldn’t vote in 2008, but she threw herself into the presidential campaign for then-Sen. Barack Obama. Today, she is a Democratic committeewoman and an activist in Long Island politics. She believes in the importance of community. “The Union has been my village,” she emphasizes. “And as Hillary says,
“The Union has been my village.” – Polly Henry Cold Spring Hills Center CNA
‘It takes a village.’ The Union helped send my daughter to college, and she is now the leading scientist in her company. I was given help and that’s what I do as a delegate. Whatever I know, I pass on to the members at my workplace.” The same is true for Pamela Honeyghan. “We’ve had wonderful leaders in our Union and I learned from and was inspired by them,” she says. “I understand the need to pass on what I’ve learned.” Benincasa says he learned much while he was active in the 1980s in the Save Our Union campaign that eventually ended deep divisions and put 1199 on the road to becoming a political powerhouse with goldstandard benefits. “One of the reasons I became a delegate was because workplace issues weren’t being addressed at the time,” Benincasa says. “We’ve come a long way, but today we have other challenges.” He’s concerned about the corporatization of health care and with it greater attacks on unions and working people. “We have to keep pace with a fast-changing industry and make sure employees know that we have their back. We need to ensure accountability and greater efficiency. We are the best, but in the current political climate we need to get even better.”
1199 Magazine 17
“ IF YOU WANT TO DO BETTER IN LIFE YOU HAVE TO TRY. YOU HAVE TO TAKE OPPORTUNITIES.” For workers, apprenticeship program at University of Maryland Medical Center is a step up on the ladder of success.
T
his spring and summer, twenty-five 1199SEIU members who work at the University of Maryland (U of M) Medical Center’s Midtown Campus in Baltimore, participated in an innovative apprenticeship program to help workers advance their careers and increase the numbers of Certified Nurses’ Aides (CNAs) and Patient Care Technicians (PCTs)in the healthcare workforce. The apprenticeship program, which was launched in March 2018 and is open to CNAs and service and maintenance workers, grew out of a partnership between the University of Maryland Medical Center Midtown Campus, 1199SEIU’s Training and Upgrading Fund and the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. At press time, the first cohort of CNAs was set to graduate and begin their on-the-job training, with a second group finishing their classroom and clinical studies to become PCTs. Transport worker Renee Brown is a member of U of M’s Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee, which worked with the Training and Upgrading Fund to develop the program and devise apprenticeship criteria. “We started working on this back in October and I am so happy for the participants. Some of them wanted new skills and were struggling with ways to move ahead. This is so good for them in every way because workers often feel like people don’t have faith in them—especially coming from a poor community,” says Brown, a delegate who has been at the institution 18
July-August 2018
Apprentice Jamaal Booker (in orange hat) takes a blood pressure reading during clinical exam.
“Programs like this make a real difference in people’s lives.” – Renee Brown, member of U of M’s Training and Upgrading Committee
for 29 years. “Programs like this make a real difference in people’s lives. They are told ‘you can’t’ a lot, but this says, ‘you can!’ One [participant] told me she wants to be an RN, and this has opened the door for her. Another is buying a house. People can really feel like they are doing something.” The program is a U.S. Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship and provides combined paid work training with related instruction to progressively increase workers’ skill levels and wages. Apprentices earn a full salary while dividing their time between work and classroom and clinical hours. During the six-month program, enrollees learn bedside skills
and practical skills like phlebotomy and CPR, as well as academic subjects like pharmacology and anatomy and physiology. All learning takes place on the job site, in classrooms, and on patient floors under the supervision of watchful instructors, mentors and preceptors. Frederika Gray is typical of the apprenticeship participants. Gray previously held a CNA license, but it lapsed when she couldn’t get a job without experience, so she started working at the hospital as a housekeeper. The day 1199 Magazine visited, Gray and another student were being supervised by a Registered Nurse as All photos by Jay Mallin
E D U C AT I O N
(Above left) Working under the supervision of RN Sandra Jonjo, apprentices Frederika Gray and Fatimah Hamilton check the vital signs of a patient. (Above right) Patient Transporter Ikeya Coates back on the job after her morning Apprenticeship Program classes. (At left) Ashley Cook demonstrates best practices on her “patient,” fellow apprentice Kristina Thompson. (Left below) Apprentice Carrie Ellis, left, demonstrates bedside patient care techniques.
“If we have brains, then we should use them. Working in housekeeping was the foot in the door that is allowing me to move ahead.” – Frederika Gray
they monitored a geriatric patient. “This program will help me get the experience I need,” she says. “It’s so great because you get to help people in need and it’s hands on; you connect with your patients. I’ve learned so much about feeding people and taking care of people with special procedures. And I’ve really learned to multitask. It was helpful that the trainer I had was very hands on. She’d show me how to do something, then let me do it, and then we would go over it.” Gray, whose brother Freddy was killed in 2015 while in police custody, aspires to become a Registered Nurse, specializing in emergency or pediatric intensive care. “I tell people that I want to move forward in my life, so I have to do this,” she says. “If we have brains, then we should use them. Working in housekeeping was the foot in the door that is allowing me to move ahead.” Apprentice Carrie Ellis is a Unit Clerk who wants to work in sports medicine. She was keeping her eye on the finish line. “It can be a little crazy with my work schedule of 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. and then having to be back here early the next day for class, but it’s worth it,” she says. “I love to learn.” “It’s stressful, rewarding and complicated,” agrees Syerah HoterStephenson, who entered the program as a floating medical assistant and plans on going into obstetrics nursing. “But I know what the possibilities are, and I know for sure I’m capable of doing anything.” For more information, visit www.1199SEIUbenefits.org or call the 1199SEIU Training and Upgrading Fund at 410-752-4068.
1199 Magazine 19
Massachussetts members at their June 22 Training Fund graduation.
Guadalupe Diaz, a home health aide (HHA) with Staten Island’s Stella Orton Agency, in May completed the Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) Program at Curtis High School. Diaz says her experience as a home health aide and caring for a niece with muscular dystrophy nudged her to advance her career in health care. “I saw so many patients who needed kind and compassionate care, the kind of care I could provide as an LPN,” she says. On June 22, Massachusetts members celebrated their educational milestones with a recognition ceremony at the Union’s Quincy headquarters. Bay State 1199ers have been participating in the 1199SEIU TUF for 11 years, and over that time more than 500 working women and men attained their educational goals in the field of health and human services with post-secondary certificate or degree programs.
#GradSelfie: Nursing students at Orange County Community College at May graduation.
“ It was extraordinary to see my dreams come to life. Sometimes, it felt like an out-of-body experience,” Jacqueline Stanley, Pharmacy technician at Rite Aid
“ Don’t Lose Hope. Be Patient. You Can Get Far if You Don’t Give Up.” Grads shine at Training Fund celebrations
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The 1199SEIU Training and Upgrading Funds celebrated the accomplishments of graduates with June events in New York City and Massachusetts. The annual celebrations recognize members who complete Training and Upgrading Fund (TUF) programs during the academic year. In Manhattan on June 28, New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie was the keynote speaker at a celebration attended by 650 graduates from throughout New York State, Maryland and New Jersey. Attendees were among the more than 1,000 members who in 2018 completed TUF programs that ranged from professional certification and training to Associate’s,
July-August 2018
Bachelor’s and advanced degrees in nursing and counseling. Heastie, a staunch 1199SEIU ally, lauded workers’ perseverance in the pursuit of education; a special brand of determination is needed for adult students who often have a host of responsibilities in addition to academic commitments. Jacqueline Stanley, a pharmacy technician at Rite Aid #1302 in Newburgh, NY, graduated in May from the RN Program at Orange County Community College and passed her RN licensing exam in July. “It was extraordinary to see my dreams come to life. Sometimes, it felt like an out-of-body experience,” she says.
The event’s keynote speaker was Massachusetts Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders, who praised grads for their contributions to the health and wellness of Massachusetts residents. Personal Care Attendant Yusta Ntakirutimana said TUF classes have helped her build a new life after escaping war-torn Burundi with her family. “Once our family got settled I started [as a PCA] for my older sister who has cerebral palsy. I clean, cook, change her diaper, help her with exercises give her massages and medication,” she said. “One day an organizer from the Union knocked on my door and told me about all the classes I could take with the union. I told him I had never taken the train and would be too afraid, but I really wanted to go. He took two buses and a train with me to Dorchester to show me how to do it.” Ntakirutimana says the experience gave her the confidence to take more classes and keep learning about her new home country. “My advice is to trust yourself,” she says. “Don’t lose hope. Be patient. You can get far if you don’t give up.”
Election Day Is November 6 Here’s what you need to know to vote in the 2018 general election. NEW YORK Polls open from 6:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. • Voter registration deadline for the General Election: application must be postmarked by October 12 and received by the Board of Elections by October 17. • Absentee ballots request must be postmarked by October 30. • Absentee ballots must be postmarked by November 5. • You have the right to cast your vote if you are in line at your polling location at 9:00 p.m. • For questions & more info on voting in NY: go to http://vote.nyc.ny.us/ or contact the State Board of Elections 1-800-FOR-VOTE MASSACHUSETTS Polls open from 7:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. • Voter registration deadline for the General Election: Delivered or postmarked 20 days prior to election. • Early voting for the General Election is from October 22 through November 2. To find polling locations go to www.MassEarlyVote.com • Absentee ballot request deadline: November 5. • Absentee ballot return deadline: November 6. • For questions and more information on voting contact the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth 1-800-462-VOTE (8683) or www.sec.ma.state.ma.us. You can register to vote online as well. NEW JERSEY Polls open from 6:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. • Voter registration deadline for the General Election: 21 days prior to election. • Last day to request absentee ballot: 3 p.m. November 5 in person, or by mail at least 7 days prior to election. • Absentee Ballot return deadline: 8:00
p.m. on November 6. • You have the right to cast your vote if you are in line at your polling location at 7:00 p.m. • For questions & more info on voting in NJ: Contact the NJ Division of Elections at 1-877-NJ-VOTER (1-877658-6837) or log on www.Elections. NJ.org MARYLAND Polls open from 7:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. • Voter registration deadline by mail or online for the General Election: October 16. • Voter registration deadline in person: November 1. • Early voting from October 25 through November 1, 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. For locations, go to: http://www.elections. state.md.us/voting/early_voting_ sites/2016_Early_Voting_Sites.pdf • Find poll sites for the General Election here: https://voterservices. elections.maryland.gov/votersearch • To vote early or on Election Day at the polls you will only be asked to provide identification at the polling place if you are: voting for the first time in Maryland; you registered to vote by mail on or after January 1, 2003; you have not previously met the identification requirements. • Marylanders may vote by absentee ballot without a reason. You must request an absentee ballot be mailed or faxed by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, October 30. You may vote online using the same form. • Visit https://voterservices. elections.maryland.gov/ OnlineVoterRegistration to request one or download ballot at http://www.elections.state.md.us/ voting/absentee.html • For more information log on to www.elections.state.md.us or call (800) 222-8683.
WASHINGTON D.C. Polls open from 7:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. • Voter registration deadline for the General Election: November 6 at poll site, or by mail or online by October 15. • Absentee ballot request deadline: 15 days before the election. • Absentee ballot return deadline: Received by Board of Elections no later than seven days prior to election. • Early voting from October 22-November 2, including Sundays at One Judiciary Sq. Additional locations beginning on October 29. • Log on to www.dcboee.org or call (202) 639-8916 for more information. FLORIDA Polls open from 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. • Voter registration deadline is 29 days prior to election. • By-mail absentee ballot request deadline: http://dos.myflorida.com/ elections/ • Absentee Ballot return deadline: November 8. • Early voting period varies by county. Contact your county supervisor of elections for early voting dates or go to: http://dos.elections.myflorida.com/ supervisors/ • If you do not bring proper ID, you can still vote on a provisional ballot in your registered precinct. For more Contact the FL Department of State Division of Elections: 850-245-6200 or log on to http://dos.myflorida.com/elections/ 1199 Magazine 21
Did You forget Your 1199SEIU Federal Credit Union Account? Money in abandoned or dormant accounts is scheduled to be turned over to New York State. Dear 1199SEIU Federal Credit Union Members,
Lefort Petit 17210 133rd Ave., Apt 1G, Jamaica, NY 11434
Constance Stewart 117 E 35th St., Brooklyn, NY 11203
It is vital to keep your share account(s) with the credit union active. Under New York State law, financial institutions are required to report to the state comptroller any account that has been dormant or inactive for three years. New York State law also requires all financial institutions to turn over the contents of such accounts as abandoned property. Before doing so financial institutions must publish a notice and list of dormant account holders.
Bernadette Blake P.O. Box 550, Bronx, NY 10475
Loraine Gedeon 148-08 115th St., Jamaica, NY 11436
Roslin Yearwood 312 Legion St., Brooklyn, NY 11212
Francine Ruh 665 Thwaites Pl., Apt. 6E, Bronx, NY 104677905
The following is a list of 1199SEIU Federal Credit Union members who are listed as inactive account holders and appear to be entitled to these funds. The full list is also available for public inspection at the 1199SEIU Federal Credit Union, located on the 2nd floor at 310 W. 43 St. in Manhattan.
Joseph Rock 1165 E. 103rd St., Brooklyn, NY 11236
Held amounts of funds will be paid to proven entitled parties by the 1199SEIU Federal Credit Union through Oct. 31, 2018. Remaining unclaimed funds will be turned over to the New York State Comptroller’s office as of Nov. 10, 2018. For more information, visit the 1199SEIU Federal Credit Union, or call (212) 957-1055. Thank you.
Hazel Watson 166 Beach 61 St., Arvern, NY 11692 Dianne Moore 422 Fernside Pl., Far Rockaway, NY 11691 Noeler Worrell 19 E. 128th St. New York, NY 10035 Melville Wilson P.O. Box 1434, Yonkers, NY 10704-8434
Vanie Fearon-Powell 3958 Dreimer Ave., Bronx, NY 10466
Patricia Saulas 1326 Grand Concourse, Apt. 4B, Bronx, NY 10456 Selina Robinson 145-78 182 St., Springfield Gardens, NY 11413 Anna Leung P.O. Box 1764 Radio City Station, New York, NY 10101
Barbara Brown 133 Norman Rd., Apt. 2-L, Newark, NJ 07106
Arlene Skeete 1710 Carroll St., Apt. B2, Brooklyn, NY 11213
Hector Chabran 172 Bay 31 St., Brooklyn, NY 11214
Charles Mclaughlin 550 Ft. Washington Ave. 3F, New York, NY 10033
Marmel Douglas-Raikes 22 Duryea Pl., Brooklyn, NY 11226 Rosite Fortune 2 Raleigh Pl. 2nd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11226 Carrol Hamilton 130 Glenwood Ave., Apt 33, Yonkers, NY 10703 Pauline Mattison 392 E. 58th St., Brooklyn, NY 11203
Fannie Hanson 676 Putnam Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11221 Giselle Baez 59 Waring Pl., Yonkers, NY 10703 Eugene Duverge 428 E 117th St., Apt. 5B, New York, NY 10035 Patricia Harris 1111 Leland Ave., PH, Bronx NY 10472
July-August 2018
Rosa Azarkevich 2748 Mill Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11234
Rebekah Cadogan 1717 Carroll St, Apt. 33, Brooklyn, NY 11213
Miriam Nicholas 1560 Grand Concourse #511, Bronx, NY 10457
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Lisa Dyer 2939 Grand Concourse, Apt. 3A, Bronx, NY 10468
Nancy Harry 1220 Shakespeare Ave., Apt. 3A-N, Bronx, NY 10452 Patricia Terry 1823 Dellwood Dr., Orangeburg, SC 29115 Byron Kelly 2258 Baylis Ave., Elmont, NY 11003 Nayyar Syed 2276 W 6th St., Brooklyn, NY 11223 Umar Chaudhry 50-48 102 St., Corona, NY 11368 Chenel Browne 17920 142nd Ave., Jamaica, NY 11434 Gloria Dyer 320 East 166th St., Apt. 2A, Bronx, NY 10456 Zelda Matthews 491 Evergreen Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11221 Rachel Kamara 141 Pak Hill Apt. 1-U, Staten Island, NY 10304
Rose Marie Louis Juste 358 Route 306, Monsey, NY 10954 Rachel Rodney 3222 Corsa Ave., Bronx, NY 10469-2807 Dianne Nickie-Moore 115-27 125th St., South Ozone Park, NY 11420 William Reddy 178 Lamoka Ave. Apt.1, Staten Island, NY 10308 Shana Sullivan 18611 Mangin Ave., Saint Albans, NY 11412 Amoy Mcdonald 1256 223rd Ave St Apt 1, Bronx NY 10466 Josephine Mckie 812 Hopkinson Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11212 Patricia Wade 1462 E 103 St., Brooklyn, NY 11236 Alana Ali 8906 Flatlands Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11236 Rodna Sagesse No Address New York, NY 10036 Millicent Small 805 East 46th St., Brooklyn NY 11203 Maxine Dixon 130-03 142 St., Queens NY 11436 Patricia Mensah 471 Osborn St., Brooklyn, NY 11212 Blanca Nunez 510 E 146th St., Apt. 5E, Bronx, NY 10455 Denise Tennant 1249 Rogers Ave, Brooklyn NY 11226 Linda Lespinasse 766 Fern St., Yeadon PA 19050 Jazmin Padilla 81 Stonelea Pl., New Rochelle NY 10801 Suzette Baptiste 821 Herkimer St., Brooklyn NY 11233 Ivania Moronta 106-02 Pinegrove St., Jamaica, NY 11435 Cherry Soleta 1556 Kimball St., Brooklyn, NY 11236 Tabitha Leigertwood 356 Eastern Pkwy, Apt. 4, Brooklyn, NY 11225
Valentina Starodubtseva 2850 Shore Parkway, Apt. 2E, Brooklyn, NY 11235
Omar Farah 71 Blackberry Dr., Stamford, CT 06903-1208
Earnest Bolden 485 Lenox Ave., Apt. 5I, New York, NY 10037
April Vasquez 230 E 102nd St., Apt. 2G, New York, NY 10029-5961
Rosa Garcia 199 Sherman Ave., Apt. 2B, New York, NY 10034
Regidor Dimaano 616 Banner Ave., 1Fl., Brooklyn, NY 112356783
Evelyne Cima 280 E 39th St. Apt. 2, Brooklyn, NY 11203
Lisette Cazeau-Moise 9413 75th St., Ozone Park, NY 11416-1005
Rosangela Alcantara-Javier 2123 Madison Ave., Apt. 2D, New York, NY 10037
Ena Bryant 148-03 225th Street, Rosedale, NY 11413-4100
Denisse Andaluz 3080 Park Ave., Apt. 4F, Bronx, NY 10451 Debby Duhaney 27 Janet Dr., Apt. D, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603 Krystal Thorne 122 Caryl Ave., Apt. 7, Yonkers, NY 10705 Vidalicia Garcia-Rosado 101 Linden St., Apt. 3D, Brooklyn, NY 11221 Crown Carter 1560 Metropolitan Ave., Apt Me, Bronx, NY 10462 Terancia Olivier 259 E 48th St. Brooklyn, NY 11203 Alene Peters 1470 E 46Th St., Brooklyn, NY 11234 Beatrice Alben 1558 Albany Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11210-2019 Clara Brito-Jimenez 109 Henwood Pl., Apt. 2B, Bronx, NY 10453 Fatiha Ramak 2105 E 12th St., Apt. 1D, Brooklyn, NY 11229 Imani Martelly-Masdoumier 360 Main St., Westport, CT 06880 Yvon Pierre-Louis 3408 Beverley Rd., Brooklyn, NY 11203
Randy Stuart 2340 Lodovick Ave., New York, NY 10469 Lidia Peralta 7111 Yellowstone Blvd. Apt. 2B, Forest Hills, NY 11375-3529 Kevon Andall 457 Chauncey St., Apt. 4L, Brooklyn, NY 11233-2426 Maritza Camilo 822 Beck St., Apt. 1S, Bronx, NY 10459-5013 Patricia Lambert 497 E. 94 St., Brooklyn, NY 11212-1643 Marie Romulus 332 Rogers Ave, Apt. D9, Brooklyn, NY 11225-2945 Candeana Welch 268 Sumpter St., Apt. 3F, Brooklyn, NY 112332760 Ayisha Bunch 170 Spring St., Ossining, NY 10562-5506 Tawanna Ward 1011 Washington Ave. Apt. 502, Bronx NY 10456-6640 Nicole Lynch 3301 Foster Ave., Apt. 3D, Brooklyn, NY 11210-6422
Ralph Robinson 426 W 27th St., Apt. 5G, New York, NY 10001
Wendeoly Alcantara 130 W. 142 St., Apt. 3A, New York, NY 100303550
Marie Nolan 69 Somers Ave., Bergenfield, NJ 07621-2607
Rashaun Jackson 4031 Wilder Ave., Bronx, NY 10466-2328
Isaiah Falby 453 White Plains Rd., Bronx, NY 10473-2440
Taquan Gettes 755 Gates Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11221-1767
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Climbing the Ladder of Success Rite Aid Pharmacy Tech Jackie Stanley with her family members after her May graduation from Orange County Community College. Stanley completed her R.N. degree and in July passed her licensing exam. She’s one of thousands of 1199ers who this year completed a training or upgrading program to help advance their careers. See story on page 20.
1199 Magazine 24