Letters & Social Media
RETIREE AGREES: IT’S TIME FOR MEDICARE FOR ALL hen I received my July/August issue of the 1199 Magazine, I was overjoyed to see President Gresham’s column advocating for Medicare for All and supporting Congressman John Conyers’ national single payer legislation, HR 676. Healthcare workers have a unique perspective and much to teach the nation. They know that good conditions for caregivers are crucial to patient care, for even the most excellent nurse can be overworked to the point of incompetence. Healthcare workers can teach us something else—that the economic pressures on a patient can defeat the best care plan. A caregiver once told me of a patient in the ICU who had survived her surgery, was recovering, yet was in tears. “Please just let me die,” said the patient, “or this will bankrupt my family.” Tragically, far too many patients face costs they cannot pay. That indignity will be stripped away when we pass the improved Medicare for All legislation that President Gresham advocates. The U.S. is the only wealthy nation that does not provide universal health care. Our country spends $10,000 per person per year for health care. Other industrialized countries spend an average of less than $5,000. That might be OK if our care were twice as good, but outcomes in the US are deplorable for the wealthiest country. We live 4 years less than Italians; our infant mortality rate is worse than Slovenia’s; more mothers in the U.S. die in childbirth than mothers in Turkey. We still have 30 million people without insurance coverage, and a third of those who have insurance go without care because of the cost. We can and must do better. Rep. Conyers first proposed a Martin Luther King, Jr. national holiday shortly after Dr. King was assassinated. That holiday became law 15 years after a movement rose up to make it happen. It’s time now for a courageous movement to assert the will of the people and make HR 676, Expanded and Improved Medicare for All, the law of the land. I worked for 18 years building 1199 in Pennsylvania, and I’m delighted that 1199 can play a leading role in this transformation to a healthcare system that takes care of all of us. The hands that heal the patients can now lift up the nation to pass HR 676. We have the capacity and the wealth to bring the best care to all. It’s time to make it happen. Congressman Conyers first introduced HR 676 into the Congress in 2003. The 15 years is almost up.
W
Kay Tillow, Retiree Louisville, Kentucky 4
September-October 2017
Join us in supporting our members and their families throughout the Caribbean, Florida and Texas. Consider donating today! 1199SEIU.org/DisasterReliefFund
VICTORY! Because we stood united, we won for our patients and our communities! http://www. politico.com/story/2017/09/26/obamacare-repeal-failure-republican-senate-243148 #GrahamCassidy
1199seiuRainout? No way! Check out these future leaders of 1199 on their way to Haledon, NJ to kick off today’s #labordayparade! #laborday #togetherwerise #fightfor15 #murphy4nj
We Won! Technical workers at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, Massachusetts have voted to join 1199SEIU. Congratulations to the 100 workers, including medical lab technicians, CV techs and respiratory therapists, who we are proud to welcome to our union family!
With the 2017 - 2018 school year quickly approaching, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East held a back pack giveaway event at their Baltimore and New Carrollton headquarters for union members with school age children. Thanks to the contributions from the AIDS Health Foundation, Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke, Councilman Leon Pinkett, Delegate Brooke Liermann, and Senator Joan Carter Conway, 1199SEIU was able to provide over 300 children with back packs filled with school supplies.