JOBS
1199SEIU’s Job Security Fund helped pharmacist Ralph Munno (top) get a job at Southside Hospital on Long Island after St. Vincent’s Catholic Medical Center in New York City closed. Maria Ramos, left, and Adrienne Croskey, have been working with the JSF to find new jobs since Manhattan’s North General Hospital abruptly closed in July.
From the outset, the Fund’s mission was to help workers with placement assistance, career counseling, résumé writing, and job skills training. partnership with the United Way, which has a long standing relationship with Buffalo’s labor community. The United Way provided members with emergency food vouchers and assistance with rent and energy bills until they could file for unemployment. Workers were directed to local agencies which, in conjunction with the 1199SEIU Training and Upgrading Fund, provided skills training and computer classes. Representatives from Buffaloarea nursing homes that were hiring were invited to 1199SEIU’s offices so members could apply for jobs.
A Helping Hand in
Uncertain Times After a job loss our Job Security Fund or our community partners are there for our displaced members. or many workers a layoff means a handshake, a severance check and an uncertain future, but 1199ers covered under the 1199SEIU Job Security Fund (JSF) aren’t left to face the future alone. There’s a hand to help them get back on their feet. The JSF was created in 1992 during collective bargaining between the Union and the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes—which represents hospitals and nursing homes throughout New York City and its suburbs. It was conceived to help workers who were being displaced as a result of changes in the healthcare industry in the 1990’s. From the outset, the Fund’s mission was to help workers with placement assistance, career counseling, résumé writing, and job skills training. Members may also be eligible for a stipend and extension of their benefits under the Fund.
F
11
November/December • Our Life And Times
In today’s economy the JSF may be more important than ever. New York City alone has lost seven hospitals since 2005. Most recently North General Hospital and St. Vincent’s Catholic Medical Center were shuttered, eliminating more than 2,000 jobs. “We’re lucky to have job security as part of our contract,” says Maria Ramos, who was a health information management clerk at North General Hospital for eight years. “Overall it’s been an excellent thing to brush up on my skills and see where I am.” She lost her job when the hospital closed in July and has been taking part in JSF programs for the last three months. She’s interviewed for two jobs and is getting ready for more. “It’s rewarding to know I’m prepared because of the training the JSF gave us,” Ramos says. “It really helped. I knew the answers when they asked me questions on my interview. I didn’t feel like
a deer in headlights.” Ralph Munno now works as a pharmacist at Southside Hospital in Bayshore, N.Y. He worked at St. Vincent’s for 17 years before it closed. Munno says the JSF worked with him until he found what he needed for his family obligations. “They were so supportive. I didn’t have to stay so long because I took the Southside job,” he says. hile the JSF helps thousands of 1199ers, the vast majority of members aren’t covered under the Fund. Where it’s possible the Union helps get members back into jobs with the help of community partners. In Buffalo, NY over the last three years, four nursing home closures have eliminated 1,000 jobs. Those members weren’t eligible for JSF services. The Union tried to assist displaced workers through a number of efforts, including a
W
oz Hampton was an LPN at Grace Manor in Buffalo for eight years when that institution closed in March 2009. She’s now working at Harbor Health in Buffalo. Hampton, who was also a delegate and chairperson at Grace Manor, helped in the efforts after her institution closed. “We were just trying to make sure that people were signing up for the benefits that they needed and that they got signed up for unemployment,” she says. Hampton was also grateful to receive assistance. “When you’re devoted to a job and then you’re let go, especially the way we were with no vacation and no severance, it’s deplorable and devastating,” says Hampton. “And that someone would reach out, it can almost bring you to tears. Everyone was so lovely in such a time of need.” For more information about the JSF, log onto www.1199seiubenefits.org.
R