1199 Magazine

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Political Preparation: Florida Retirees Gather Ahead of Midterms

Holding the Line

Planned Parenthood members ensuring reproductive rights for all

July-August 2022

Honoring Juneteenth: Continuing the Fight for Racial Justice

Our History: The Union’s Steadfast Commitment to Gender Equality A Journal of 1199SEIU July/August 2022

CONTENTS 11 22

Don’t get scared. Get active.

17 5 The President’s Column The US Supreme Court is no longer fit to uphold democracy.

11 Celebrating Juneteenth Members mark the occasion with political action.

6 Wielding our Power at the Polls Members across the Union are gearing up for consequential midterm elections.

12 Abandoned Property Did you forget your 1199SEIU Federal Credit Union account?

8 Around the Regions Rite Aid members win new three-yearcontract; Puerto Rican Day Parade; Members at for-profit nursing homes stage one-day strikes; Celebrating NYC Pride month in Washington Heights; Columbia Memorial Hospital members meet Senator Gillibrand.

@1199seiu www.1199seiu.org 2

July-August 2022

1199 Magazine July-August 2022 Vol. 40 No.4 ISSN 2474-7009 Published by 1199SEIU, United Healthcare Workers East 498 Seventh Ave, New York, NY 10018 (212) 582-1890 www.1199seiu.org

Editorial: Detecting Hopeful Signs

14 The Work We Do Preserving reproductive rights and gender-affirming care at Planned Parenthood.

17 Summer Camp The living is easy... when it’s summertime, and you’re an 1199 kid!

20 1199 Grows its Strength Union ranks swelled this summer as roughly 1000 new members voted to join.

22 1199’s Long History of Fighting for Reproductive Rights The Union has consistently pushed gender equality up the labor movement’s agenda.

It is clear that we are living in turbulent times. Our national political landscape is rife with deep divisions and the terrible Russian offensive against the Ukrainian people rages on— threatening stability across the globe.

But the frightening news we are witnessing on the national and international stage as the 1199 Magazine goes to press is a long way from capturing the whole story.

While many news outlets are fueling feelings of uncertainty and powerlessness, our Union strength is increasing as more and more workers vote to join our family (see 1199 Grows its Strength p. 20) and existing members continue to fight back successfully.

Tens of thousands of members won an important victory in July when the New York State Department of Health announced a significantly expanded bonus program for healthcare workers. The expansion to include dietary, housekeeping and transport members came after 34,000 members signed a petition calling on NYS to do the right thing. This win comes just a few months after Home Care members won a permanent wage increase after a sustained lobbying campaign in Albany.

This financial recognition of the value of healthcare work across New York State is one the important reasons why 1199 members will be working hard to support Governor Kathy Hochul in her race to retain the Governorship this coming November. Much of our wages and benefits that we negotiate at the bargaining table is dependent on decisions made in Albany. We cannot afford see Governor Hochul lose, particularly after proving herself to be a champion of healthcare workers.

It is not just New York, where members and retirees are gearing up for political action as we approach the midterm elections. Both Massachusetts and Maryland members will be working to ensure that Democratic candidates occupy the governors’ mansions, to both secure a fair deal for healthcare workers and to maintain control of the state-level voting process—to avoid a repetition of the Republican shenanigans that marred the certification of the Joe Biden/Kamala Harris victory in 2020. (See Wielding our Power at the Polls p. 6)

president

George Gresham secretary treasurer

Milly Silva senior executive vice presidents

UNION

Yvonne Armstrong Maria Castaneda Veronica Turner

POWER!

executive vice presidents

Jacqueline Alleyne Lisa Brown Roger Cummerbatch Tim Foley Todd Hobler Patricia Marthone Brian Morse Joyce Neil Roxey Nelson Rona Shapiro Gregory Speller Daine Williams Nadine Williamson editor

Sarah Wilson art direction and design

Maiarelli Studio photographer

Kim Wessels contributors

Regina Heimbruch

On the national level too, we are already seeing signs of hope on the political scene. In Kansas, for example, a ballot initiative that would have allowed the state legislature to impose a total ban on abortion was roundly defeated.

With reproductive rights under attack across the country following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and remove the constitutional right to abortion—the Kansas voters’ verdict was very welcome and could be the first sign of a backlash against the ultraconservative ruling.

While many news outlets are fueling feelings of uncertainty and powerlessness, our Union strength is increasing.

Our union—as well as demonstrating a long history of campaigning for gender equality at the ballot box—has recently seen an influx of workers at Planned Parenthood clinics in both New York and Massachusetts join our ranks. These new members are at the forefront of maintaining access to safe abortions and other needed healthcare services.

Whether it is through voting to join our Union or getting out the vote in important local and national political races, 1199 members can always be counted on to stand up for the rights of working people—and more often than not, to win.

Mindy Berman April Ezzell Regina Heimbruch Jenna Jackson JJ Johnson 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 E. 498 Seventh Ave, New York, NY 10018 Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and at additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to 1199 Magazine, 498 Seventh Ave, New York, NY 10018

1199 Magazine

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Letters 1199’S POWER IN POLITICS: USE IT CORRECTLY olitics has always been my passion and it saddens me how much apathy there is towards voting, especially in local elections.

Whether it’s Union or government elections, if the wrong candidate wins, it has real world consequences.

In 2016 a very destructive and racially divisive man named Donald Trump was elected President of the United States and his cult brainwashed millions of people, using the same tactics practiced by Adolph Hitler and Vladimir Putin.

P

We are still feeling the effects of this man today even though he left office two years ago. The changes he and his party made to the Supreme Court—by putting in power those with a farright extremist agenda—has led to laws on the books for nearly fifty years protecting the right to safe abortion being eliminated. Women are no longer in charge of their own bodies. We are reverting to times when women’s voices are given less weight. The court has also ruled that people should be allowed to carry guns in public for self-defense, at a time when gun violence is at an all time high. So much

Over the past several months, 1199SEIU members across New York have been mobilizing to ensure that the bonuses for healthcare workers approved in the state budget include essential support staff such as housekeeping, dietary and transport workers who were originally left out.

This summer, over 34,000 members took action by signing a petition calling on New York State to do the right thing. This was a powerful showing of the unity and power of 1199 members.

Gov. Hochul and the NY Department of Health recently unveiled a bonus program which significantly expands the number of workers eligible to receive bonuses, with a first payment of up to $1500 for working on the frontlines. Bonuses will be distributed through employers in the coming months, and Union Delegates will keep members updated on the progress.

This victory in Albany comes just a few months after Home Care members won a permanent wage increase from the state. But we still need to recognize that there is much more work to be done to ensure that all healthcare workers receive the respect, recognition, and pay that they truly deserve.

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has been lost. And more rights are at risk.

On the other side of the coin, we at 1199 can substantially influence the political process, if we work together. Just look at our recent success in raising the salaries for home health workers by 20 percent in New York State. Law makers in Albany know that our voices matter, because an 1199 endorsement can make or break them at the polls.

But we will lose that power if our members begin to stay home and take everything we have in place for granted.

There are tough fights ahead. In Florida, for instance, we have Governor

DeSantis, a possible presidential contender, spearheading a campaign to put the LGBTQ community back in the closet with his “Don’t say Gay” law and his tax schedules that punish companies that don’t listen.

We are entering midterm election season and it is so critical to vote and only support candidates our Union endorses. If we all commit to do what’s right for our future we can return this nation to the once loving land it was.

Maurice F. DePalo, Delegate and Executive Council member Montefiore Medical Center

 Scan the the QR code or contact your organizer to join the 1199 contingent.

Curbing the Court The U.S. Supreme Court is no longer fit to uphold democracy.

The President’s Column

by George Gresham

No matter how young or old we are, we Americans have grown up hearing quite a few myths about our democracy that very often proved to be false.

For example, we are led to believe that it is the majority of voters who decide who gets elected to office. In fact, two of the four Presidents in this 21st century were “elected” with a minority of votes, thanks to the slavery-era Electoral College. Or take the Senate, where tens of millions more votes go to Democrats, but currently half of the seats are held

by Republicans. This is because states like Wyoming have two Senators—the exact same number as California, whose population is 50 times bigger.

Another enduring myth has been that the Supreme Court is impartial, that the Justices “only call balls and strikes,” in the words of Chief Justice John Roberts.

Now we come to find out that the majority of the Court—none of them elected, and all appointed for life—seem determined to fix every game in favor of corporate power and white supremacy, and against the democratic will. As the Republican Party has increasingly become a white supremacist, authoritarian institution, it’s become equally clear that the Supreme Court majority has become the far-right party’s judicial arm.

Republicans are a minority party—they won the popular vote only once in the past eight presidential elections. Their near equal representation in Congress is only achieved by a combination of GOP gerrymandering and the unrepresentative nature of the Senate. Republicans have focused on fixing the courts in their favor, too, so that any progressive legislation passed by a Democratic Congress—voting

rights, environmental protection, gun control, etc.—can be ruled “unconstitutional” by an unelected collection of right-wing Justices.

While there may have been brief periods when the Court has ruled to expand voting rights, for most of its history, it has been the upholder of corporate rule and white and male privilege. Of the 117 justices who have served on the court, all but five have been males. Only two Black men, one Black woman and one Latina have served as justices. Every single one of the 17 Chief Justices has been a white man.

The six far-right Justices who make up the Court’s majority claim to be “originalists,” that is to say that they interpret the Constitution as the “founding fathers” meant it to be. Of course, the Constitution, nearly two and a half centuries old, was written entirely by white men of property (usually the “property” being slaves), the only ones entitled to vote at the time. The founders also agreed, for taxation purposes, that African slaves would be considered three-fifths of a person, a condition reaffirmed

by Supreme Court rulings until the 14th Amendment after the defeat of the slavocracy in the Civil War. The 14th Amendment giving “equal protection under the law” to all persons, including former slaves, was a defeat for the “originalists” of that era.

The justices come onto the Court with their own ideological biases. They rule in accordance with those biases, not as objective interpreters of centuries old documents. Thus, in a previous era, a Black man or woman was three-fifths of a person, whereas today embryos are considered full persons—as are corporations.

In 2000 the court intervened in the Presidential election to

“In a previous era, a Black man or woman was three-fifths of a person, whereas today embryos are considered full persons—as are corporations.”

ensure a Republican victory. With the Democrat Al Gore leading the Republican George W. Bush by 540,000 votes, the Court voted 5-4 to give the election to Bush, canceling a recount underway in Florida that would have settled the matter justly. One of today’s nine Justices—Clarence Thomas—was on the Court and ruled for Bush.

And three of Bush’s lawyers— John Roberts, Brett Kavanagh and Amy Coney Barrett—are also now part of the ultra-rightwing majority on the Court. Kavanagh and Barrett were appointed by Trump, as was Neil Gorsuch, who got the seat that Republicans took by refusing even a hearing for President Obama’s nominee.

The Supreme Court has thus become a kangaroo court, one of the greatest threats to democracy rather than its protector.

Corrective measures—term limits, expanding the Court, impeachment of Justices that perjure themselves by claiming they would not overturn settled precedent like Roe v. Wade before voting to do so—are all available to a Congress, if its members prove to be courageous and committed to justice enough to use them.

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POLITICS

 1199 retiree activist Beryl Gardner (right) and friend enjoy the picnic.

“I just love politics and meeting different people when you knock on their doors to canvas” – Gloria Hewitt, retired NYU member.

10th district, is now challenging Marco Rubio for his seat in the Senate. The race will be tight, but if 1199ers are able to push her over the top, it would have far-reaching consequences. It could be the key to the Democrats holding onto control of the Senate.

Regina Knight, a retired Delegate from Brooklyn Hospital has remained politically active since she moved to Florida. She worked the phones in 2020 to get out the vote for President Joe Biden.

“This time around we have to make sure we keep [Democratic] control of the Senate. I’m tired of Republicans. And we certainly can’t risk Donald Trump getting back into office,” she warned.

Gloria Hewitt has lived in Orlando for the past 24 years after retiring from her job in the dietary division at NYU Medical Center in the mid-90s. “I just love politics and meeting different people when you knock on their doors

Wielding our Power at the Polls Members across the Union are gearing up for consequential midterm elections.

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Retirees in Florida kicked off the election season with their annual picnic in Orlando on June 30th.

It was an opportunity to enjoy food and fellowship, but also to prepare for the important battles ahead as the country heads into the midterm elections in November.

Elected officials who have demonstrated their support for working people in the past stopped by to join the party and hear retirees’ concerns firsthand.

There are roughly 600 Union retirees now living in the Orlando area, many of whom moved to the Sunshine State after decades of caring for others in New York.

The effort to influence the outcome of the midterm elections with phone-banking, canvassing and voter registration drives is unionwide, but Florida will see some of the most consequential races.

Val Demings, who has represented 1199 retirees in Orlando as their U.S. Congresswoman for Florida’s

to canvas,” she said, “I’m always trying to help people understand that their votes count. If we don’t vote, we will lose services that we rely on. I went door-to-door for President Barack Obama and I am ready to do the same for Val Demmings.”

It is not just the Congressional races, which will have a significant effect on issues that matter to members like, affordable healthcare, fair wages, secure housing and equitable education.

In New York, Governor Kathy Hochul will be facing the voters to defend her seat. Because so many decisions regarding healthcare funding that are taken in Albany have a direct effect on the wages and benefit packages that members are able to negotiate at the bargaining table, 1199ers will be working hard to make sure Governor Hochul remains in office.

In Georgia, too, 1199 retirees

will be supporting Stacey Abrams once again as she battles to unseat the sitting Governor who narrowly defeated her in 2018 in a hotlycontested election.

Both Massachusetts and Maryland will see their incumbent Republican Governors step down leaving an opening for 1199-backed Democratic candidates Maura Healey in Massachusetts and Wes Moore in Maryland to win the top elected position in their respective states.

Meanwhile, redistricting in both New York and New Jersey means that more than a dozen seats in the U.S. Congress are in play.

Many of these office holders are already known to 1199 members, who will be doing their best to ensure that candidates with a proven track-record in fighting for working people win their elections.

Visit 1199’s election website 1199votes.org to find out how you can join the movement.

 Regina Knight (middle) celebrates with fellow retirees and Maxwell Frost (left) who is running for the congressional seat that Val Demmings vacated to run for Senate.

1199 Magazine

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Florida Maryland Massachusetts New Jersey New York Washington, D.C.

Around the Union

NEW YORK & NEW JERSEY

Rite Aid members win new threeyear-contract

 Nursing home members at North Gate Manor in North Tonawanda, NY take strike action.

NEW YORK

Members at for-profit nursing homes stage one-day strikes in July More than 1,000 long term caregivers at nine for-profit nursing homes across Western New York, whose union contracts have expired, held five one-day strikes in July to demand fair wages. Members are fighting for $15 an hour for service workers, higher start rates for new employees, and standardized wage scales based on experience. Outof-town ownership groups need to pay higher wages if they are to retain experienced workers to care for residents, but also to recruit new workers into their critically understaffed facilities.

“I’ve been there nine years and I don’t even make $15 per hour,” said Donna Gregory, Certified Nurse As8

July-August 2022

sistant at Garden Gate in Cheektowaga. “It’s tough and it hurts. It makes me feel that I’m not worth anything, but I stay for my residents because I love what I do,” said Gregory.

Workers say continuity of care from long term caregivers is key.

“In-house people care more for the residents than people coming from outside who don’t know them,” says Kaylyn Carney, Certified Nurse Assistant at Fiddler’s Green in Springville. “The people in here are like my family and I treat them as family. People just don’t know them and come in to just do a job and go home. This is my life, I take care of people for a living.”

The contract campaign originally covered 1,200 workers

at 12 facilities, but Buffalo Center, Ellicott Center, and Newfane Rehabilitation all withdrew oneday strike notices as they reached settlements on wages.

Caregivers at the remaining nine long-term care facilities included four McGuire facilities Autumn View Health Care, Garden Gate, North Gate Health Care, and Seneca Health Care. 1199’ers at Elderwood at Lockport, Elderwood Williamsville, Fiddler’s Green Manor, Gowanda Rehabilitation, Humboldt House also joined the one-day strike line.

As the 1199 Magazine went to press, workers were voting to hold further 5-day strikes, if a settlement cannot be reached.

“I’ve been there nine years and I don’t even make $15 per hour. It’s tough and it hurts. It makes me feel that I’m not worth anything, but I stay for my residents because I love what I do.”

Rite Aid members have ratified another three-year contract after a tough round of negotiations which includes annual three percent raises and a dollar per hour increase in the night differential.

Management came after members healthcare benefits, but 1199ers fought back and protected their affordable insurance. Members were also successful in protecting their 1199SEIU Pension Fund, Training & Upgrading Fund and Child Care Fund in the face of management attempts to take these valuable funds off the table.

“After much deliberation and consideration of all union members, we have reached a reasonable contract with Rite Aid,” said Shilpa Patel, an 1199 Delegate and bargaining committee member, adding: “We have gone above and beyond to be fair and unbiased in our negotiations for the contract.”

Another committee member and Union Delegate, Carlos Villalba, said: “It was a tough fight, but we ended up victorious. We fought against our employer’s unaffordable healthcare proposal and won, and we protected our funds!”

 Rite Aid members celebrate their contract win.

Members joined together with dancers and musicians to march through midtown Manhattan on June 12th celebrating Boricua pride for Puerto Rican Heritage Month.

– Donna Gregory, Certified Nurse Assistant at Garden Gate, Cheektowaga,NY 1199 Magazine

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OUR MEMBERS

Around the Union

1199ers Commemorate Juneteenth with Political Action

NEW YORK

Columbia Memorial Hospital

A group of members from Columbia Memorial Hospital (CMH) met with U.S. Senator Kristen Gillibrand on July 9th and described to her in detail how our staffing crisis is affecting both members and patients.

The Senator was very concerned and pledged to write a letter to CMH urging them to address the staffing crisis. She also agreed to sparking a conversation with surrounding colleges to create a pipeline from schools to work in the hospital.

Immediately following her discussion with members, the Senator met with members of

Members took to the streets in Washington D.C. and Buffalo, NY, to press for change.

the hospital’s board, who became defensive when she brought up the staffing crisis.

On June 22nd members held a Candlelight Vigil to highlight the crisis at the hospital which was

Celebrating NYC Pride month in Washington Heights

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attended by community members and politicians. Local politicians including the Mayor of Hudson, Kamal Johnson, and the Hudson Common Council, have been extremely supportive.

 U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (fourth from left) shows solidarity with Columbia Memorial Hospital members.

To celebrate the LGPTQ+ community during NYC Pride month members at NewYorkPresbyterian hospital and Columbia University Medical Center held an outdoor luncheon in the park near the two institutions in Washington Heights on June 15th.

The event was well-attended by members in a celebratory mood. Cynthia Miller, a Certified Surgical Technologist at NY Presbyterian said, “If you want a talk about a group of people that know how to have fun, it’s the LGBT community. It’s Pride Month, so it is a good time to recognize that all people need to be to be celebrated.”

Shirley Rhymer, at Pharmacy Tech at NY Presbyterian was wearing multicolored socks in solidarity: “It is good to take time out to celebrate. But let’s also remember to be in solidarity all the time. It is like Black History Month. We’re black 365 days of the year.”

199SEIU members have always stood at the forefront of the most important movements for justice, equity, and peace. In the weekend before the new Juneteenth Federal holiday, 1199ers from around the Union were making their voices heard. In many shops, members have also negotiated a paid holiday for Juneteenth, the day which commemorates the end of chattel slavery in the United States.

In the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., hundreds of members took part in the Moral March on Washington on June 18th with the national Poor People’s Campaign, as part of a massive gathering of low-wage workers to demand policies that address poverty and inequity.

“We have come out today because no matter what we do—if we work two jobs, or even three jobs—everybody is still struggling.

So, there is something wrong with the system,” explained Craig Moore a Delegate who works in the Dietary department at NYU/ Long Island Community Hospital in Patchogue, NY. “With 1199, the boss pays for my benefits,” he added, “But there are people out there that don’t have that. I’m out here today because we want the top one per cent to understand that we’re going to

“With 1199, the boss pays for my benefits. But there are people out there that don’t have that. I’m out here today because we want the top one per cent to understand that we’re going to go after them to get our fair share.”

– Craig Moore, a Union Delegate at NYU/ Long Island Community Hospital in Patchogue, NY.

 Verbie Prophet, Personal Care Attendant, at the parade in Buffalo, NY. 1199 Magazine

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Money in abandoned or dormant accounts is scheduled to be turned over to New York State.

Did You Forget Your 1199SEIU Federal Credit Union Account?

 Members from all around the Union in D.C. for the Moral March on Washington.

“We need to learn to appreciate one another and instead of living in hate, we need to live in love.”

– Lynette Robinson, Home Care worker

stick together moving forward and we’re going to go after them to get our fair share.”

On the same day that 1199ers were marching in the nation’s capital, members in Buffalo, NY, were taking part in the nation’s second largest Juneteenth parade in their home city.

“The Juneteenth celebration from a historical standpoint means so much,” said Home Care worker Lynette Robinson, adding: “To care for people during this 12

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historical time means so much to me that I must be a part of it.

“It's also important because of the shootings that happened in Buffalo and across the country.

People need to learn how to respect and appreciate other cultures, other jobs, other types of food and everything. We need to learn to appreciate one another and instead of living in hate, we need to live in love,” said Robinson, referencing the racist massacre of 10 innocent shoppers at a grocery store in Buffalo, NY, on May 14.

Are you a member of the 1199SEIU Federal Credit Union?

It’s vital to keep your share accounts with the 1199SEIU Federal Credit Union active.

New York State law requires all financial institutions to report any account that is considered dormant or inactive to be turned over as abandoned property.

Any account that has been without activity for three years is considered inactive. We are required by law to publish this list of dormant account holders.

A report of these unclaimed funds will also be sent to the New York State Comptroller.

Listed persons appear to be entitled to these funds. The full list is on file and available for public inspection at the 1199SEIU Federal Credit Union, located on the 2nd floor at 498 Seventh Avenue in Manhattan.

Held amounts of funds will be paid to proven, entitled parties by the 1199SEIU Federal Credit Union through October 31, 2022.

Remaining unclaimed funds will be turned over to the New York State Comptroller’s Office on or before November 10, 2022.

For more information visit the 1199SEIU Federal Credit Union or call (212) 957-1055.

Sydges Burke 4540 Monticello Ave., Bronx, NY 10466

Civilus Joseph 756 E 84th St, Brooklyn, NY, 11236

Hilburn L. Oliver 2508 Mott Ave., Far Rockaway, NY, 11691

Lorena M. Allen 792 Belmont Ave., Apt. 1, Brooklyn, NY, 11208

Daphney Almonord 1121 E 58th St., 2nd Fl, Brooklyn, NY, 112349

Mary Alves 68 St Paul Pl. Apt.C2, Brooklyn, NY, 11226

Aileen M. Austin 75 Lee Ave., Apt.3C, Yonkers, NY, 10705

Barry Lampkins P.O. Box 764, New York, NY, 10029

Danneille K. Bogle 44 E 57th St., Brooklyn, NY, 11203

Bridgette E. Guy-Mcfarlane 1014 Bay 32nd St, Far Rockaway, NY, 11691

Marie C. Moise 1497 Carroll Street #54, Brooklyn, NY, 11220

Ines Escobar 102-12 86th Rd, Richmond Hill, NY, 11418

Jennifer Morin P.O. Box 656, Spring Valley, NY, 10977

Jeanine A. Dubison 6120 Grand Central Pkwy, Forest Hills, NY, 11375

Marie A. Whitehall 1363 E 94th St., Fl. 2, Brooklyn, NY, 11236

Cynthia Hayle 4506 Carpenter Ave., Bronx, NY, 10470

Doris Butts, 1165 E 54th Street Apt.2Y, Brooklyn, NY, 11234

Julie Y. Alexandre 1743 East 51st St., Brooklyn, NY, 11234-3803

Ivyline Dias 329 S 9 Ave., Mount Vernon, NY, 10550

Rose Patricia Regis 1356 E 53rd St, Brooklyn, NY, 11234

Victor M. Jurado 32 Landscape Ave., Yonkers, NY, 10705

Umar Chaudhry 50-48 102 Street, Corona, NY, 11368

Denise L. Tennant 1249 Rogers Ave., Brooklyn, NY, 11226

Sylvia J. Townsend 27 N Columbus Ave., Apt.3C, Mount Vernon, NY, 10553

Lorenza G. Santana 1804 Harrison Ave., Apt.5D, Bronx, NY, 10453

Donna Palmer 1115 Collage Ave., Apt.1F, Bronx, NY, 10456

Desmond Hyatt 3640 De Reimer Ave., Bronx, NY, 10466

Antonieta M. Rubina 130 Touraine Ave., Port Cheseter, NY, 10573

Jeffrey K. Jean 8824 Merrick Blvd Apt.2E, Jamaica, NY, 11432

Brent T. Lessey 451 Hegeman Ave., Brooklyn, NY, 11207

Isaac Nortey 3247 Park Side Pl., Unit 3C, Bronx, NY, 10467

Frankie L. Smith 8-62 Schroders Street, Yonkers, NY, 10701

Jacqueline A. Phillip 1046 Evergreen Ave., Bronx, NY, 10472

Bernice Opoku 114 W. 183rd Street Apt#6B, Bronx, NY, 10453-1146

Marie Josiane Felix 327 Linden Place, Westbury, NY, 11590

Yvonne Griffin 1201 Pennsylvania Ave., 2C, Brooklyn, NY, 11239

Betty Akuffo 5 Cabot Ave., Elmsford, NY, 10523

Elsie Y. Barnes 2444 97th Street, East Elmhurst, NY, 11369

Mathilde Louissaint 3041 Ave. W, Apt. 5C, Brooklyn, NY, 11229-5573

Donna P. Babb Jack 1016 E. 104 Street, Brooklyn, NY, 11236

Sonya M. Davis 130-04 244th Street, Rosedale, NY, 11422

Veronica P. Grosevnor 275 Rockaway Pkwy Apt.3F, Brooklyn, NY, 11212

Denise White 130-50 224 Street, Laurelton, NY, 11413

Flavia Francis 317 Utica Ave., Brooklyn, NY, 11213

Oswald H. Samuel 2029 2nd Ave., Apt.4E, New York, NY, 10029

Marie P. Mondesir 111-03 196 Street, St. Albans, NY, 11412

Rita Vazquez 1016 50th St., Apt. 2E, Brooklyn, NY, 11219

Nana Ama D. Robinson 40 W Mosholu Pkwy Apt.12B, Bronx, NY, 10468

Vera L. Smith 127 North Clinton Ave., Bayshore, NY, 11706

Jersey Lewis 8 East 4th Street, Mt. Vernon, NY, 10550

Angela Irizarry 1420 Gateway Blvd., Apt.6F, Far Rockaway, NY, 11691

Ethridge Allen 576 Eastern Pkwy, Apt.5H, Brooklyn, NY, 11225

Maria A. Fernandez 89-34 241 Street, Bellerose, NY, 11420

Dianne Nickie-Moore 115-27 125th Street, South Ozone Park, NY, 11420

Emma Jaime 100 Dreiser Loop, Apt.10J, Bronx, NY, 10475

Jean D. Jean-Francois 274 Arcadia Ave., Uniondale, NY, 11553

Pamella Nelson 1265 Fteley Ave., #1st Fl., Bronx, NY, 10472

Pamela Jay Moran Route 2, Box 524, Garrison, NY, 10524

Jemma Romain 58 Rogers Ave., Brooklyn, NY, 11216

Marie E. Jocelyn 181 Palmetto St., Apt. 3R, Brooklyn, NY, 11221

Joseph W. Waldron 215 Quincy St, Brooklyn, NY, 11216

Marie Michele Chery 34 Demarest Ave., West Nyack, NY, 10994

Colleen J. Blythe 1429 E 98th St., Brooklyn, NY, 11236

Alejandrina Nunez 37-30 100 Street 2fl, Corona, NY, 11368

Sherry C. Tifeld 224-01 Hullside Ave., Queens, NY, 11427

Eugene Winifred Lashley 40 Richman Plaza Apt.36G, Bronx, NY, 10453

Terancia Y. Olivier 259 E 48th St, Brooklyn, NY, 11203

Maxine Peterson 2556B Frederick Doug Blvd, New York, NY, 10030

Kim Joseph 181 Buttrick Ave., Apt. 6B, Bronx, NY, 10456

Roselene Belizaire 2105 Foster Ave., Apt.1, Brooklyn, NY, 11210

Jacqueline Bayley 216 Rockaway Ave., Apt.6L, Brooklyn, NY, 11233

Eugene Nixon 75 E 190th St., Apt.6G, Bronx, NY, 10468

Bryan O. Greenidge 3812 Church Ave., Apt.2B, Brooklyn, NY, 11203

Maria Del Carmen Kumagay 64 East 120th Street #1, New York, NY, 10035

Miriam Millan 258 W 117th St., Apt. 44E, New York, NY, 10026

Kevon Andall 457 Chauncey St., Apt. 4L, Brooklyn, NY, 11233

Valarie A. Shepherd-Brimo 4172 Edson Ave., Bronx, NY, 10466

Yvonne Lewis 127 Watkins Street #2, Brooklyn, NY, 11212

Jimmy A. Burke 108-01 160th St, Jamaica, NY, 11433

Ingrid Cummings 226 Cornelia St, Brooklyn, NY, 11221

Gladyse Bernard 136 Nassau Ave., PH, Freeport, NY, 11520

Joan D. Lewis 580 East 88th Street, Brooklyn, NY, 11236

Keisha J. Murphy 11920 227th St, Cambria Heights, NY, 11411

Manuel Rodriguez 3739 87th St., Fl 2, Jackson Heights, NY, 11372

Wendy P. Lorde 240-35 Edgewood Street, Queens, NY, 11422

Urcillyn Andrea Mcphail 1463 East 84 Street, Brooklyn, NY, 11236

Mirtha A. Maldonado 252 Hosmer Ave., Apt. 1, Bronx, NY, 10465

Hazel Williams 4724 Foster Ave., Brooklyn, NY, 11203

Marie L. Marcellus 141 Camdike Street, Valley Stream, NY, 11580 Alexandra E. Luna 40 Moore Ave., Apt. 5M, Mount Kisco, NY, 10549 Olivia Taneisha Patterson 3041 Holland Ave., #56N, Bronx, NY, 10467 Michelle M. Lessey 10 Commerce Blvd, Amityville, NY, 11701 Princess Reid 25554 149th Ave., Rosedale, NY, 11422 Jacqueline R. Thomas Groce 342 Columbus Ave., West Harrison, NY, 10604 Joanne Hernandez 3666 Amboy Rd, Staten Island, NY, 10308 Marc E. Alston 235 Cypress Ave., Apt.3C, Bronx, NY, 10454 Maisset Catherinne de La Cruz Luna 2685 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY, 10468

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THE WORK WE DO

2.Lily Dalke, a Certified Midwife at the Planned Parenthood Manhattan Health Center, said: “Midwives are the original abortion providers.

It’s challenging to protect our values— compassionate, holistic, person-centered care—in a healthcare industry rooted in racism, misogyny, and making money. But while management is looking at the bottom line every day, I’m looking at the faces of my clients.

“When I feel scared, I remember

THE WORK WE DO PRESERVING REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

that while conservative lawmakers can try to deny reality and ignore science, at the end of the day, facts are facts.

People are not going to stop needing abortion care. We had big problems with access to abortion care even before Roe v. Wade was overturned, even here in New York State.

This change throws all those problems into the spotlight. Sometimes things have to get really bad before they get better.”

3. Leonela Pena (Right) has been a

Healthcare Assistant at the Queens clinic for the past five years.

“We are very shortstaffed. Sometimes patients are waiting for more than an hour to be seen, and they take it out on us. I feel good now that we have a union, so we can fight together.”

On the Supreme Court abortion decision, she added: “Everyone should have the right to do what they want with their own body. Many people get pregnant through rape or have a health condition.”

4. Mayra Morales, who recently joined the Queens cinic as a Healthcare Assistant, said: “When I heard about the Roe v. Wade decision, it felt personal.

If I had not had that option [to access safe abortion services] when I needed it, my life would have been very different.”

Morales is currently receiving training to support patients who need medical abortions.

On being a Union member, she says: “I like that we have a voice. It helps to make a difference in our dayto-day.”

“When I heard about the Roe v.

Wade decision, it felt personal.

If I had not had that option [to access safe abortion services] when I needed it, my life would have been very different.”

– Mayra Morales, Healthcare Assistant

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Following the Supreme Court ruling this summer to reverse the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and remove the constitutional right to abortion, states like New York are already seeing a significant influx of people who live elsewhere and need to terminate their pregnancies safely.

Staff at Planned Parenthood of Greater New York (PPGNY)— who voted to form a union with 1199SEIU shortly before the pandemic broke out in August 2019 and went on to fight for and win their first contract during the height of the lockdown — are now once again on the frontlines, preserving much-needed reproductive rights and gender affirming care.

As the legal framework safeguarding access to safe abortion and trans-inclusive health care is being dramatically eroded in many states across the country, the work of PPGNY members and their commitment to it, is more important than ever.

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July-August 2022

1. Lissette Flores who joined the Diane L. Max Health Center in Queens (part of PPGNY) as a Healthcare Assistant, said she heard the news of the Roe v. Wade decision from a patient. “Ever since the pandemic, I don’t watch the news. I have kids and it is too nerve-wracking. We had a lot of patients who came in that week who were scared. [Safe abortion care] was a right that they took away from all of us.”

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OUR BENEFITS

THE WORK WE DO

“Being in the union, has helped to connect with other Planned Parenthood clinics across the country and share our experiences [around gender affirming care] and offer support.”

– Bree Ferrin, Nurse Practitioner

... when it’s summertime, and you’re an 1199 kid!

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5. Luar Adonis Wolf, is a Patient Navigator focusing on people who arrive at the Queens center in need of trans and nonbinary healthcare.

They said: “We have definitely been seeing an influx of people seeking genderaffirming care. Many people already know what is safe and what is not. Attacks on trans rights are coming from the same place as attacks on abortion rights.”

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July-August 2022

The Living is Easy

Bree Ferrin (right) works closely with Wolf as a Nurse Practitioner in the Queens clinic. She agrees with them that “the trans community has built up their own knowledge base” about what treatments and drugs work best in gender-affirming care and what are the potential side effects.

Similar to the way in which abortions were carried out illegally and often unsafely,

before Roe v. Wade, the trans community has often had to resort to transition care without the support of traditional healthcare providers.

“Being in the union,” added Ferrin, “has helped us to connect with other Planned Parenthood clinics across the country and share our experiences and offer support.”

Since 1965, when the Anne Shore Camp program began, 1199ers’ children who are between the ages of nine and 15 have been enjoying up to four weeks breaks at sleepaway camps throughout the Northeast.

The outdoor camp program is administered by the 1199SEIU Child Care Corporation and has traditionally served between 850 and 900 kids annually.

During the height of the pandemic, the program had to scale back. But this summer, it is almost back up to speed, accommodating more than 700 Union kids at 20 camps with activities ranging from athletics to fine arts and technology, and, of course, outdoor activities. There are also programs for teenaged, disabled and special needs campers.

This July, 1199 Magazine visited the Hands In 4 Youth (Camp Vacamas) in West Milford, NJ, a sleepaway camp that sits on 250 acres of land and provides a wide range of summer activities as well as day camps and after school programs throughout the year.

Janneris Geraldo, Director of Programs, has worked at Hands In 4 Youth for the past

Kasi Sammy slips and slides.

6. Kelly Eustache is a Healthcare Assistant who has worked at the DLM center in Queens for the past seven years and took part in the campaign to form a union with 1199SEIU. “It was something that we needed here and I’m glad we have it,” she said. On the recent Supreme Court decision to remove the Constitutional right to abortion from those who can get pregnant, she added: “Everyone should have the right to choose.”

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OUR MEMBERS

 Xavier Becerra (left) and Paapa Mireku get ready to hike.  Jasmine (right) and Erica Johnson, 15-yearold twins.

“ I know all the counselors here and they all know me, it’s like family.”

– Jasmine Johnson, 15  (L-R) Gessie St. Jaques (10), Denise Lema (11), Nemiah Laponte (11)

17 years, and is excited to have the camp back almost at full speed. “When the pandemic hit, it was hard. What worked for us is that since the majority of our activities are outside, we constantly have them out and moving around.

We were able to keep our day camp open, and in 2021, we had our sleepaway camp return. And in all that time, we haven’t had any [COVID-19] cases, which is great.”

While 1199 Magazine visited the camp, many of the teen campers were preparing to hike and canoe 33 miles of the Appalachian trail—a five-day activity. “I’m nervous because I’m not sure what to expect, but I think it’ll be fun,” says Jasmine Johnson, 15, who has attended the camp every year since she was seven. “I know all the counselors here and they all know me, it’s like family.” Her younger sister by seven minutes, Erica Johnson, also attends and will go on the hike. “I’m not looking forward to all the walking, but I am excited about the canoeing.”

Ulises Becera, 15, talked about the preparation for the hike: “I’ve learned a lot of skills here; I’ve gotten better at swimming.”

When asked what’s her favorite part of camp, Gessie St. Jacques, 10, didn’t hesitate, “Crafts! I love the bracelets we got to make.” Her friend, Denise Lema, 11, is more practical, “I like learning about which bugs are harmful or not; like there’s two spiders out here, the wolf spider is dangerous so watch out for those.” Another camper, Nemiah Laponte, 11, talked 18

July-August 2022

about learning skills and new experiences, “We got to do “floating lunch” [eating lunch on a boat]. And I learned how to build my own fire and cook food and how to make a shelter. It’s really fun!”

The program is open to children of eligible members covered under the National Benefit Fund and the Greater New York Child Care Fund.

The 1199SEIU Child Care Corporation offers opportunities for parents to learn about summer camp, including a Virtual Camp Fair each fall and Virtual Parent Seminar each winter.

 (L-R) 15-yearold friends Ulises Becerra and Jack Farrell

For more information, call 212-564-2220 ext. 3460, or email: AnneShoreCampProgram @1199funds.org

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OUR UNION

OUR UNION

 Planned Parenthood members in Boston, MA. (standing L-R): Beret Otero, Danielle Gelfand, Lauren D'Addario, Payal Kumar.

(Kneeling): Noor Balbaky.

Wilma Vasquez, a Patient Care Assistant, said: “By forming our union, all of our efforts can finally be seen, and our voices can be heard. We all have an important to role in our hospital, and when we have a real seat at the table, we can only improve the care we provide for our patients.”

Monitor Tech, Theresa Newton, added: “Every day, we work to ensure our patients have a clean and safe environment to heal. Together in our union, we can ensure we are cared for too, by having an equal say in decisions affecting our work, benefits, and pay.”

1199 Grows its Strength

“It feels more important than ever now that the Roe v.

Wade decision [which previously guaranteed the right to abortion in the U.S.] has been overturned.”

Union ranks swelled this summer as roughly 1,000 new members voted to join.

Roughly one thousand new members voted to join the 1199SEIU family this summer with landmark wins in both Massachusetts and New York.

In July, nearly 200 workers at four Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts (PPLM) clinics in Boston, Worcester, Marlborough, Springfield and the Telehealth unit, voted to join the Union. It was the latest victory in a growing movement of Planned Parenthood workers organizing to protect good jobs and improve access to reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare.

Payal Kumar, who manages health equity at PPLM, said it was really important for them to be involved in the unionizing effort to help ensure that frontline staff were respected, and that management did not hold a monopoly on decision-making.

“It feels more important 20

July-August 2022

than ever now that the Roe v.

Wade decision [which previously guaranteed the right to abortion in the U.S.] has been overturned.

We are also seeing an alarming number of attacks on trans rights around the country, including restricting access to such mainstream treatments as HRT [hormone replacement therapy],” said Kumar.

Their role at PPLM involves finding ways that the organization can make access to healthcare more equitable. They said that the new members hope to negotiate a contract which ensures more time with each patient, which will go a long way to improving the clinicians’ ability to build trust and treat appropriately.

The organizing victory at PPLM came just one month after more than 800 nurses and service workers at Phelps Hospital in

Sleepy Hollow, NY, voted to form a union with 1199.

“Hospital management is out of touch with us, the caregivers who keep our hospital running every day,” said RN John Anthony Malizia, following the win, adding: “Now, with our union, we have a voice and a seat at the table. That means Northwell can't ignore us anymore.”

– Payal Kumar, Health Equity Manager at PPLM

 Payal Kumar, Health Equity Manager at PPLM.

Celebrating Strength, Building Power Newly-elected Union officers are sworn in alongside thousands of 1199SEIU delegates.

Some 2,000 new Union delegates took their oath of office on June 14th alongside the newly elected 1199SEIU leadership team, being sworn in at a ceremony in midtown Manhattan.

1199SEIU President George Gresham officially began his sixth three-year term, as Secretary Treasurer Milly Silva took her new office for the first time, becoming the highest-ranking Latina in the Union’s history.

President Gresham saluted the assembled delegates for bringing us through the pandemic: “You worked through the most frightening of times, you came to work fighting this invisible enemy and we thank you for the sacrifices that you made. Not everyone can be a healthcare worker, now more than ever I give honor to you.”

Secretary Treasurer Silva added: “It’s the honor of my lifetime to be a part of [1199’s] leadership team. I learned very quickly that it’s members first, members first, members first. I’m truly humbled to stand here and I’ll do this work to the best of my ability for the next three years. Our delegates are the heart of this Union because without you nothing can get done.”

Delegates from every 1199 region took part in the ceremony.

“I’ve been a neonatal care nurse for 23 years and my patients and families are my motivation,” said Juliette Negron, an RN from New York City. “Every day, when I see

“It’s the honor of my lifetime to be a part of the leadership team.

Our delegates are the heart of this Union because without you nothing can get done.”

– Milly Silva, 1199SEIU Secretary Treasurer

their courage and strength it inspires me to work harder for them and for all our members.”

Janice Guzman, a Personal Care Attendant from Massachusetts added: “I became a union delegate because I know I can be a voice for the 58,000 members in MA. I’ve heard stories of Home Care and low wage workers who are struggling every day to put food on the table.

We have the power of the union, and we need to continue to step up.”

Longtime Delegate Margaret

Boyce who works as a CNA in New Jersey said: “1199 to me is like a family. Together we have won the best [health]care anyone can imagine, and we will continue to fight for the best benefits for everyone. We know that we can count on each other and have each other’s back.”

 Milly Silva (foreground) being sworn in as 1199’s new Secretary Treasurer alongside fellow officers.

Special guest speakers at the event included Bishop William Barber, NYC Mayor Eric Adams, NYS Attorney General Tish James, 1199SEIU President Dennis Rivera (1989-2007), SEIU President Mary Kay Henry, and SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Gerry Hudson.

Steadfast ally of 1199 working people, NYS Attorney General Leticia James told the gathering: “Thank you for all of your incredible sacrifices especially through the last two years, when others were at home, you showed up, you were there, you kept New York going. If anyone comes after 1199, they have to come after me!”

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OUR HISTORY

1199’s Long History of Fighting for Reproductive Rights The Union has consistently pushed gender equality up the labor movement’s agenda.

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July-August 2022

OUR HISTORY

Among the early leaders who supported 1199’s organizing campaigns was Eleanor Roosevelt, the widow of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and a political activist, diplomat, lecturer, journalist and staunch supporter of women’s, labor and civil rights. She stood side-byside with1199 in every campaign until her death in 1962.

Another major supporter of 1199 was the late Thurgood Marshall, the first AfricanAmerican supreme court justice.

He said at an 1199 event during the 1959 hospital organizing drive, “Your effort to organize the voluntary hospital workers could well be one of the most important organizing campaigns this city has ever seen. More power to you.”

When 1199 ventured into the organizing of hospital workers in 1959, the Union’s leaders and members, who were overwhelmingly white males at the time, nevertheless understood the need to address issues that were paramount to women workers.

1199 is often credited with effectively combining union power with soul power, that is, marrying union rights with civil rights and racial equality. But its success could not have come without also addressing the issue of gender equality.

Among the Union’s guiding principles as enumerated in its constitution are: “to maintain, preserve and extend the democratic processes and institutions of our country; to advance, defend and protect civil liberties and civil rights; to eliminate all forms of discrimination and racism; and to aid in the adoption of legislation in the best interests of its members and the people generally.” Those principles have guided the ongoing fight to uplift and extend women’s rights.

It was Marshall who, as NAACP chief counsel, argued the landmark Brown v. Board of Education that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal because they violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

This decision formed the basis for the extension of rights based on race, gender, age, sexual orientation. Such rulings include: the 1965 Griswold v. Connecticut judgment, which paved the way for legalizing widespread contraceptive use: the 1967 Loving v. Virginia decision on interracial marriage, and the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling which led to marriage equality.

Each of these decisions has been enthusiastically celebrated by 1199 leadership and members.

By the 1970s, the Union had grown to be one of the largest in the city. Its contract gains were second to none, and it was hailed as among the most progressive and active in the nation. When it decided to organize in the South and beyond, the Union chose as its national chairperson, Coretta Scott King, the widow of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

An activist in her own right, Scott-King assisted in many organizing drives. She identified as a feminist and was a staunch opponent of homophobia. She referred to herself as a sister 1199er, praising the strength and skill of its female leaders and members. She said in 1973, “Women, if the soul of the nation is to be saved, I believe you must become its soul.”

In that same year the Roe v.

Wade ruling struck a mighty blow to our nation’s long history of reproductive control rooted in slavery and misogyny. After the ruling, 1199’s benefits program began funding abortions.

1199ers were increasingly sought out by progressive organizations. For example, 1199ers in great numbers attended the organizing meetings and the 1974 founding convention of the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW).

The first chair of New York City CLUW was 1199er Judy Berek.

Both in and outside the labor movement, 1199 also helped steer many women’s issues onto the wider labor’s agenda.

The 1199SEIU Training and Upgrading and Child Care programs were hailed as

“Women, if the soul of the nation is to be saved, I believe you must become its soul.”

– Coretta Scott King in 1973

national models whose benefits dramatically raised the status of women within the workplace and in the greater society.

Few unions have done as much to promote the health and wellbeing of women in our society.

The Union’s current President, George Gresham reaffirmed that commitment as the new of the Supreme Court’s shameful decision to overturn Roe v. Wade came in. He did not hesitate to echo the Union’s long history of supporting gender equality and reproductive rights, pledging that: “1199 SEIU stands firmly behind the right to choose and we will continue to fight tooth and nail to preserve this most basic freedom.”

The Union’s unparalleled track record is testament to its ability to understand and act on those concerns.

Coretta Scott King, the widow of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (right) pictured with Bella Abzug (left), a former U.S. Representative and leader in the women’s movement.  Thurgood Marshall, the former supreme court justice (middle) with Mexican American actor Ricardo Montalbán (left) and former 1199SEIU President Leon Davis (right).

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Gessie St. Jacques, 10, shows off the bracelet she made at the Hands In 4 Youth (Camp Vacamas) in West Milford, NJ, a sleepaway camp that works with the 1199SEIU Childcare Fund.

See page 17.

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