We Are Family Immigrant members given path to citizenship.
1199SEIU has always been a Union devoted to moving its members from the margins to the mainstream. The Union was founded in 1932 by New York City drugstore workers, many of them Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. In 1958, these workers took on the daunting task of organizing hospital workers who at the time made as little as $32 for a 48hour work-week. That successful campaign brought thousands of poor, mostly women of color out of the shadow of poverty into the sunlight of a living wage and first-class benefits. Since then, the Union has developed programs to help members on the job and in their homes and communities. 1199SEIU has always fought to ensure that all workers are treated with dignity and respect regardless of their place of birth or legal status. To that end, the 1199SEIU Citizenship Program offers counseling, workshops, classes and application assistance to help immigrant members gain U.S. citizenship. “When I took the citizenship oath last July, it was one of the happiest times in my life,” says Zhana Rakhman, a home attendant for Stella Orton Home Care Agency in Staten Island, New York. Rakhman emigrated in 2005 from Belarus in Eastern Europe to Staten Island with her husband and then 12-year-old daughter. “We won green cards and I had a friend in Staten Island who encouraged us to come,” Rakhman says. “At first, my daughter, Alena, was homesick and wanted to return, but that has changed. Now she has lots of friends. She’s a freshman in college and only wants to speak English.” Rakhman did not waste time beginning the citizenship process. She took English courses at her local public library and joined the 1199SEIU Citizenship Program, where she
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May/June • Our Life And Times
took advantage of the workshops and classes. She and her husband, Viktar, a mechanic, recently bought a co-op apartment. “There is so much to do and enjoy,” she says. “I am very happy to be here. I love walking in Manhattan. During my time off, I go to museums and shows. I’ve even been to Carnegie Hall.” Alvin Allen, a unit secretary at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx, arrived in New York in 1990 from St. Mary’s parish in Jamaica. His passion was music, so citizenship was not uppermost in his mind, he recalls. “Becoming a citizen was something I eventually wanted to do,” he says. “But I never took the initiative. I did per diem work at the hospital before I joined the Union. After that, I finally had full rights in the Union, so why not have full rights in the country, I thought. “My wife started pushing me and I picked up a flier at work from the Citizenship Program. I joined the program and it is one of the best things I’ve ever done. The program was excellent. I found that I was given any help that I needed.” Allen and Rakhman were among the members who participated in the Union’s January celebration for its new citizens. Allen also sang at the event a year earlier. He’s written a reggae song entitled “I Got My Citizenship.” “I encourage all 1199ers who aren’t citizens to look into the program,” he says. “In that way, you’ll be able to experience the best this country has to offer.” Rakhman and Allen both say that they are looking forward to this year’s presidential election. “I was an Obama supporter in 2008, but I couldn’t vote for him,” Allen says. “I’m looking forward to voting for him this year.”
“You’ll be able to experience the best this country has to offer.” – Alvin Allen, Montefiore Medical Center unit secretary Above: Alvin Allen with wife, Nije Togba. Below: Zhana Rakhman, Stella Orton Agency home attendant