1
Members treat Ukrainian soldiers in Staten Island
Breast cancer awareness: Members tell their stories
Work We Do: Technical staff at NYPQ welcomed to our Union A Journal of 1199SEIU November-December 2023
ANNOUNCEMENT OF SEIU CONVENTION DELEGATE ELECTION SEE INSERT
November - December 2023
CONTENTS
Telling our stories is crucial to advancing worker-friendly policies.
17
12 4 Beating Breast Cancer Members raise awareness about the importance of early detection in saving lives
22 cover : First row (L-R): Members march on Albany; Home care members lobby for minimum wage increases; March for Jobs and Freedom in Washington D.C. Second row (L-R): 1199 RNs from Buffalo attending the SEIU Nurse Alliance Conference; Mercy Hospital contract victory; Fenway Health members, Quincy, MA Third row clockwise from left: Harry Belafonte, the pioneering artist, social justice campaigner and healthcare champion who passed away in April; League members celebrate raises; Group and Greater Nursing join in; Hamilton Park Nursing Home, LI, contract ratification.
@1199seiu www.1199seiu.org 2
November - December 2023
1199 Magazine November-December 2023 Vol. 41 No.6 ISSN 2474-7009 Published by 1199SEIU, United Healthcare Workers East 498 Seventh Ave, New York, NY 10018 (212) 582-1890 www.1199seiu.org
Editorial: Being Heard
5 The President’s Column Fighting for Healthcare Fairness 6 Around the Regions Capital region strike vote leads to tentative agreement; Florida RN Lifts Patients Spirits with Crochet; Celebrating Panamanian Day; Home Health Aides in Buffalo Win Historic Agreement; Long Island Community Blood Drive.
9 The Work We Do: NYPQ Our newest radiologic members at NewYork Presbyterian Queens recently signed their first contract, bringing them the gold standard wages and benefits associated with institutions belonging to the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes. 12 The Home Front Members rehabilitate Ukrainian soldiers in Staten Island. 14 Putting the Pieces Together After a lifetime of public service in her job, a Hudson Valley member recognizes the value of political action.
16 Solving the Skills Shortage The Union seeks to improve members’ skills to fill much needed healthcare roles. 17 A Look Back at 2023 1199 members celebrated dramatic contract and political victories in 2023. Here is a small sampling of what we have won. 22 Moving Mountains Together Diverse voices are crucial to Union democracy.
As we chalk up the wins for 2023, in politics and contract negotiations, it is safe to say that the labor movement has had a bumper year. All over the country, workers stood up to powerful bosses from writers and actors in Hollywood to the automotive industry to Starbucks baristas. In our Union, members in New York saw 18 percent wage increases over the next three years in newly negotiated contracts that will directly impact roughly a quarter of 1199’s membership. Healthcare workers employed in institutions belonging to the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes won these increases for roughly 90,000 workers when they reopened their contract agreement in March. This win gave another 33,000 nursing home members the boost they needed to reopen their own contracts with the Greater New York and “Group of 65” homes and lock down the same 18 percent raises in June. But it is crucial to remember that these victories would not have been possible without the political groundwork that our members engaged in throughout the year. To ensure that our elected representatives continue to allocate enough money to underpin the running costs in the wide variety of settings in which we work, we need to constantly remind them of the value of what we do. As healthcare workers, the best way to get through to the politicians who determine funding priorities, is by visiting them face-to-face and telling them our own stories of how we care for the most vulnerable members of society every single day. That’s why thousands of 1199ers boarded busses to the New York State capital in March to make our collective voices heard and share our first-hand accounts, when the state’s funding priorities were being hotly contested during the state budget negotiations. <See A Look Back at 2023, p. 17> As we begin to gear up for the for the Presidential and Congressional elections in 2024, we need hone these skills of communicating our workerfriendly message in a way that moves not only elected officials, but the voters who put them in office. In conversations with our fellow members who may be undecided, as well as when we canvass registered voters on their doorsteps, we
president
George Gresham secretary treasurer
Milly Silva senior executive vice presidents
Yvonne Armstrong Maria Castaneda Veronica TurnerBiggs 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 director of photography
Kim Wessels contributors
April Ezzell Jenna Jackson JJ Johnson Desiree Taylor
Annabelle Heckler
As healthcare workers, the best way to get through to politicians is by telling them our own stories of how we care for the most vulnerable members of society every single day.
need to explain why worker-friendly policies end up benefitting us all. For instance, voters may hold a variety of views about whether and in what circumstances they would consider terminating a pregnancy. But since the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to abortion in 2022, voters in six states have approved legislation to once again ensure the right to safe abortion. In Florida, 1199ers have joined this fight and are lending their voices to a campaign to put abortion rights on the 2024 general election ballot. <See Reproductive Rights, p. 14> We have joined this campaign because it is low-income women who have limited access to healthcare in the first place, who are also unlikely to have the means to travel to another state. 1199 will always lend our weight to a campaign that ensures all people, regardless of income, have access to the healthcare they need and deserve.
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
3
O U R H E A LT H
“Be aware of changes in your own body and take action. Use your resources. This is one of the reasons why our comprehensive Union health insurance is so important.” – Lissette Marin, Patient Financial Advisor at Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Beating Breast Cancer
Members raise awareness about the importance of early detection in saving lives According to the American Cancer Society, for most types of cancer, Black people have the highest death rate and shortest survival of any racial group in the United States. When it comes to breast cancer, Black women are 41 percent more likely to die from breast cancer than white women. That statistic is even more striking because fewer Black women are diagnosed with breast cancer than white women in the first place. To raise awareness about this deadly disease—and the importance of early detection in improving outcomes—1199 survivors took part in a “Think Pink, Think Cure” event on October 20, at the Union headquarters. Lissette Marin, an 1199 Patient Financial Advisor, who works at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, attended the event with her daughter to bring awareness about what it means to be a survivor. 44
July-August November - 2023 December 2023
Lissette Marin and her daughter, Daniela Peraza, attend the event. Ayana Jones tells her story.
“I was feeling sore on my left side, and I noticed a lump in my breast. When I went for a sonogram and mammogram, I was diagnosed with stage two cancer,” she says. Marin was diagnosed during the height of the Covid pandemic, but her breast surgeon made sure to keep an operating room available so that she could undergo a lumpectomy after six months of chemotherapy. “Early detection is crucial,” says Marin, who is currently cancer-free after undergoing radiation following her surgery. “Be aware of changes in your own body and take action. Use your resources. This is one of the reasons why our comprehensive Union health insurance is so important.” Ayana Jones works as a paid caregiver for her sister who has Down's Syndrome. Her grandmother used to be a nurse and thought she might have a fracture when she first started feeling pain.
She went to the ER at New York Presbyterian Methodist Hospital in Manhattan where they initially told her it was a pulled muscle. Doctors eventually determined that there were cancer cells inside her milk ducts. “It was still early, pre-stage two, but it was aggressive,” says Jones. She was also diagnosed during the pandemic. “No one could come with me when I did chemotherapy for 20 weeks,” says Jones, who ultimately underwent a double mastectomy. Medical techniques are developing all the time, and survival rates are improving. Shirley Rhymer, an 1199 Pharmacy Technician at New York Presbyterian Hospital, says her grandmother passed away from breast cancer in her early 40s when her mother was just 15-years-old. But her aunt had a better outcome. Says Rhymer, “She beat breast cancer in her early 70s after having a double mastectomy.”
Fighting for Healthcare Fairness The President’s Column
Medicaid reimbursement policy is a racial justice issue.
by George Gresham
We 1199ers know as well as anyone that the healthcare system in our country is broken. Broken into so many different parts that it is more accurate to say that we don’t really have a healthcare system. If you break your leg and go to the hospital in Canada, Costa Rica or France—they ask your name, assign a medical team to fix you, and send you home when you’re good to go. In the United States, you go to the hospital, they first ask you about your insurance—Medicare, Medicaid, private, whatever—and ask to see your card. In Canada, Costa Rica or France (or many other countries) there are no cards. There is no “insurance.” Everybody is covered by social insurance (the government.) Now that’s a healthcare system. In our country, healthcare has become a consumer item — not a birthright. And the healthcare “market” is dominated by private insurance. Those with wealth can obviously obtain what they pay for. But for working-class and poor people, it’s a different story. Medicare is a federal program that pays the hospital bills (and other healthcare costs) for those who have reached the age of Social Security eligibility. Medicaid dollars go to pay for the healthcare needs of our poor and elderly. Our home healthcare industry is nearly entirely paid for with Medicaid dollars, which are shared by the federal and state governments. Our nursing homes also rely on Medicaid for 75 to 80 percent of their revenues. Depending on their patient population—that is, the finances of their patient population— hospitals are also dependent on Medicare and Medicaid dollars for
anywhere from 25 to 80 percent of their revenue. The “system”, such as it is, is clearly skewed to favor wealth like every other aspect of life in these United States. But because Medicaid is run by the states, it is also politically determined. Medicaid rates are determined by what states want to pay. More than a dozen states, dominated by rightwing Republican governors and legislatures, have hugely restricted Medicaid programs limited to those in dire poverty and/or severe disabilities such as blindness. Others, like Florida, subcontract Medicaid to private insurers who market it as “Medicaid managed care.” It goes without saying that for private insurers—profit, not care—is the primary goal. Most American workers cannot afford private insurance out of pocket. It is very costly and often of poor quality. Employersponsored plans often aren’t much better, unless the workers have a union. Big hospitals, like academic medical centers and their satellites, are in a position to negotiate rates with insurers. But smaller community-based “safety-net” hospitals cannot. They primarily serve poorer communities and are dependent on Medicaid reimbursements. Medicaid is the largest public health insurance provider in the United States. As such, Medicaid policy has significant implications for the health of people with low incomes. Medicaid reimbursement policy is a racial justice issue: low payment rates reduce access to quality care and contribute to poor health outcomes for Medicaid patients, many of whom are
Most American workers cannot afford private insurance. It is costly. If they have it at all, it is through their unions, or as government employees. people of color. A 2022 report by the prestigious Commonwealth Fund underscores that Medicaid reimbursement rates are, indeed, a racial justice issue. The thing is, Medicaid rates are determined by what the states are willing to pay. In New York, for example, Medicaid reimbursement rates are 30 percent below private insurances. And when Medicaid rates are too low, doctors don’t want to accept patients. So, it becomes an issue of access. This is the contradiction between capitalism and healthcare shown in bold relief. Medicaid is chronically underfunded. States—even those not hostile to Medicaid—have many competing priorities. Which is why every year, we 1199ers have to campaign for adequate funding. When we mobilize in our state capitals every spring, we are there to protect the communities we serve, and in which most of us live. So, once again, we 1199ers will be campaigning, organizing, lobbying and marching to force our states to do the right thing— bring Medicaid up to speed so that our patients (and our family members) get the healthcare they need and deserve. Until our country finally gets it together to have a rational, modern and compassionate healthcare system, e.g., Medicare for All, it’s up to us to carry the fight to the powers that be. Let’s go do it.
1199 Magazine
5
Florida Maryland Massachusetts New Jersey New York Washington, D.C.
Around the Regions
“I’m relieved that our health insurance is secure and that the cost is locked in for the next three years.” –Andrea Fagan
1199 Pharmacy Technician, Megan Lauria, pickets the institution. UPSTATE NEW YORK
Capital region strike vote leads to tentative agreement After months of protracted bargaining, 1199 members at Nathan Littauer Hospital and Nursing Home in Gloversville, NY, voted to strike. But negotiations throughout the night finally led to a tentative agreement, which averted the planned strike action, and a new contract was ratified on November 22. 6
November - December 2023
Health insurance was a priority for the members who depend on their comprehensive 1199SEIU National Benefit Fund health insurance. The reasoning was two-fold; healthcare workers, especially, must be healthy to do their jobs, and also, in these times of staff shortages, healthcare institutions cannot recruit
and maintain workers without providing comprehensive and affordable health insurance. “We said from the get-go that our goal was a contract that would help retain and recruit qualified healthcare workers and we achieved that. All healthcare workers need comprehensive health benefits, a stable pension and good wages, which allows us to take care of our families at the same time we care for others. That’s a win-win for the entire community,” said Rachel Ortega, a Sterile Processing Tech and member of the union Negotiating Committee. The agreement reached not only preserves the members’ National Benefit Fund, but also, locks in health insurance premiums for the duration of the 3-year contract. Members will also receive a ratification bonus, and annual across the board wage increases throughout the duration of the 3-year contract. “I’m relieved that our health insurance is secure and that the cost is locked in for the next three years. I love the work I do, but honestly, I would have had no choice other than to leave Nathan Littauer, if management had not agreed to protect our health benefits,” said Andrea Fagan, a Physical Therapy Assistant at the Nursing Home and also a committee member. The bargaining unit includes 305 hospital and nursing home workers who are technical and service employees; licensed practical nurses; certified nursing assistants; environmental services, dietary, and food service workers; orderlies; maintenance mechanics; laboratory, pharmacy, clinical, respiratory, diagnostic imaging and surgical technicians, engineering staff and others.
FLORIDA
Florida RN Lifts Patients Spirits with Crochet Registered Nurse Tonya Moore not only provides quality care to patients in UHealth Tower’s 11 South oncology department, but she also crochets hats, blankets and scarves for those who could use a thoughtful gift to help lift up their spirits. “I am a talker, so I get to know my patients well. I see a lot of them are struggling and alone, so I like to create something special for them, so they know someone cares,” said Moore, who works at the Florida facility formerly known as University of
Miami Hospital. Moore understands their pain and suffering of patients battling serious illness because her 34-year-old daughter named Dominque had Lupus. After a stay at the hospital a few years ago, she died from COVID. “I crocheted lots of items for Dominque to keep her warm since the hospital was often cold. I am still grieving her loss.” Moore says crocheting helps her heal. She also finds some comfort in her home garden that
she dedicated to her late daughter. Moore’s love for crocheting came from her grandmother. She has fond memories of her grandmother telling her to pick one of her handmade crocheted gifts out of a goodie bag every time she visited. “When I see someone wearing a hat or scarf I created, and they’re beaming, it’s so rewarding to know that I brightened their day. It’s a gesture that says someone cares and you’re not alone in your fight to survive.”
“When I see someone wearing a hat or scarf I created, and they’re beaming, it’s so rewarding to know that I brightened their day.” – Tonya Moore, Registered Nurse
NEW YORK
Celebrating Panamanian Day 1199ers came together on a rainy Saturday morning in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, for the Panamanian Day Parade on October 7, celebrating the nation's independence on the last weekend of Hispanic Heritage Month. 1199SEIU President George Gresham was in attendance as Parade Ambassador. 1199 Magazine
7
Around the Regions
“It makes me feel validated, appreciated, hopeful, and excited to see how the working atmosphere changes with some stressors removed, or lessened at least”. –Tracy Smith, Home Health Aide
Christine Matthews, an 1199er from South Shore University Hospital, gives blood.
UPSTATE NEW YORK
Home Health Aides in Buffalo Win Historic Agreement In the first of its kind, home health aides win historic 3-year agreement with Schofield Residence near Buffalo. Home Health Aides will win union protections, increased wages, health insurance, paid time off, paid family leave, pay for in-service, layoff and recall language, dignity respect language and more. Home care workers will also receive shift dif-
NEW YORK
Long Island Community Blood Drive 8
November - December 2023
ferential and weekend differential as well as a paid uniform allowance each year. This victory sets a precedent for newly organized home care workers who are joining 1199SEIU to win job protections and support for the work they do to keep their clients living and thriving in their own homes. “The new contract at Schofield solidifies scheduled pay increases and PTO (for full and part time
employees) among others. This will allow me to stay part time and be able to better provide for my family while making sure I'm available when they need me without losing pay. It makes me feel validated, appreciated, hopeful, and excited to see how the working atmosphere changes with some stressors removed, or lessened at least,” said Tracy Smith, Home Health Aide.
Every two seconds of every day, someone needs blood. It cannot be manufactured outside the body and has a limited shelf life, so the supply must be constantly replenished. With the goal of saving lives in mind, 1199ers came together in Bay Shore Long Island on November 21 for the 1199SEIU Community Blood Drive in honor of the former 1199SEIU President, Leon Davis whose birthday fell on the same day.
The Work We Do: NYPQ The country marked National Radiologic Technology Week November 5-11, and what better way to celebrate these crucial caregivers than to welcome them into the Union family. The 1199 Magazine caught up with a few of our newest technical members at NewYork Presbyterian Queens (NYPQ), who recently signed their first contract, bringing them the gold standard wages and benefits associated with institutions belonging to the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes.
1
1. “When I looked at the health benefits we get through joining 1199, it was a no brainer,” said 1199 Radiation Therapist Richard Grant. He joined the first contract bargaining committee once the vote was taken to join 1199. “The Union makes the workplace less intimidating,” says Grant, who also operates specialized radiation equipment for cancer patients and has worked at NYPQ for two decades. "It is good to know there are people to lobby on your behalf and advocate to protect your rights. I think 1199 helps workers to perform at a higher level because we can speak our minds about best practices without worrying about retaliation. I would like to become a Delegate. I have now seen how the Union operates to make sure that workers get what they deserve, and I want to be a part of that.” 1199 Magazine
9
The Work We Do: NYPQ
“There’s no way around it: You have to fight for your rights — and the union is the only way to get what you’re due.” – Geraldine Sullivan
2. “I have always wanted to be in the union. Both my parents were union members, so I knew what it meant,” says Geraldine Sullivan, an 1199 Ultrasound Tech who has worked at NYPQ for 33 years. “We were always fairly well taken care of here. But there’s no way around it: You have to fight for your rights — and the union is the only way to get what you’re due.” Sullivan’s area of expertise is detecting abnormalities inside different areas of the body, like the liver, abdomen, breasts, and prostate, as well as ectopic pregnancies. “It is not a
mundane job,” she says. “It is always different every day.” 3. “The technology in this field is always evolving,” says Alfred Sales, a Senior Radiology Technologist. “When I started out 33 years ago, we used to process the X-ray films using developers and fixers. Nowadays, it is all digital.” One of the most rewarding aspects of his work, according to Sales, is precepting students from local colleges who come to the hospital to learn on the job. 4. The first attempt to unionize the technical staff
at NYPQ, according to 1199 Phlebotomist Latrecia Whittingham, came about five years ago because of poor hospital leadership. “What changed people’s minds this time,” she says, “was that we were about to face healthcare premiums next year. A family plan would have cost more than $700 a month.” After 21 years on the job, Whittingham is still passionate about the work. “I love interacting with the patients,” she adds. “Sometimes, they don’t have visitors and they need a little encouragement. A little bit of talk goes a long way in terms of emotional well-being.”
2
2
3
4
5. Karen Smith always knew the benefits of 1199 membership. But it wasn’t until recently, that she was able to bring her co-workers in the Emergency Department along with her. “It wasn’t my intention to lead when we began to negotiate our first contract,” she says. “But I’m a little more outspoken, and I wanted to finally get things started.” Smith, who has worked as an ED Technician for 14 years, hopes to use her new union education benefits to study for a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
5
10
6
November - December 2023
6. “I like to help put people at their ease and make them feel as comfortable as possible,” says Erika Rivera, an 1199 Ultrasound Tech, “Patients are generally most afraid of breast ultrasound. I try to help them relax and view it as a routine test to rule out abnormalities. “People tell me I am gentle. The procedure is very dependent on technique and making sure the patient is properly treated.” 1199 Magazine
11
OUR MEMBERS
Rebecca Gonzalez, left, and Melissa Collins monitor progress.
1199 Physical Therapist Rebecca Gonzalez, who’s worked at SIUH for 23 years. Leone agrees, “A lot of these men aren’t professional soldiers, they were conscripts or volunteers. Like a year ago, they were a dentist with a wife and kids, and now they’re a thousand miles away from their family because they got injured in a war that came out of nowhere, and the only thing they want to do is go back to fight. It’s mind-boggling that they were just “Joe Blow” on the street and now they’re GI Joe – you don’t realize how fast your life can change.”
Home Front
The
Members rehabilitate Ukrainian soldiers in Staten Island. When the war broke out in Ukraine almost two years ago, Russia targeted hospitals, clinics, and other health care facilities, leaving Ukraine struggling to care for civilians, wounded soldiers, and impacting the health needs of the nation as a whole. Northwell Health, though its Center for Global Health (CGH) stepped in to provide much needed medical supplies and telemedicine platforms to Ukrainian frontline medical providers. In March 2023, through the non-profit Kind Deeds,
12
November - December 2023
Ukrainian soldiers who suffered severe injuries and undergone amputations were brought to Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH) for Critical Rehabilitation. “I’ve always liked working with amputees,” says Peter Leone, a Senior Physical Therapist and Union member who’s been at SIUH for 27 years. “I thought I would be doing [this] after hours on a volunteer basis, but it’s more of an actual program, like [the soldiers] are regular patients and it was a bit of a shock. I didn’t know
what to expect when every patient would be an amputee.” “I knew I was going to learn a lot,” says Melissa Collins, an 1199 Physical Therapy Assistant, whose been at SIUH for eight years. “On the chart it says one thing, but these guys are bench pressing like 125 pounds with a prosthetic leg and I’m stunned.” “It’s inspiring, too, that these men want to get better so they can go back and fight on the frontlines; that’s their goal,” says
So far, SIUH has treated 22 Ukrainian soldiers, helping them have greater mobility and functionality with their prosthetics. It’s had its own set of rewards and challenges. “Some guys have been having issues with the prosthetics,” says Collins. Leone clarifies, “Ukraine does one style of amputation surgery that we don’t do here anymore, so trying to fit a new prosthetic [on that] can be difficult. We’ve had to get revised prosthetics to accommodate it.” Gonzalez adds, “we’ve had surgeons from Ukraine come here to shadow [surgeons] to show different techniques that will make it easier for the soldiers later on, so hopefully, it'll speed up the process [of rehab] for them.” The language barrier is another challenge. “The majority of them speak Ukrainian and not English,” remarks Gonzalez, “so, it’s a lot of gestures and facial expressions.”
science, culture, military, or political spheres of activity. “It was very last-minute and chaotic cause no one knew which day he was coming,” says Gonzalez. “It was a fan girl moment,” says Collins. “I was there with my [patient] and he shook his hand. I couldn’t imagine what it was like for him to meet the President of his country, who came all that way, that was an amazing thing.” It also made them local celebrities. “Staten Island has a high Ukrainian population,” says Gonzalez, “after the visit the outpouring from the community was huge – they wanted to know how they could help.” Leone adds, “It was weird because I would be on the street or in the supermarket and someone would stop me and say, ‘I saw you on TV, I’m Ukrainian, thank you for what you’re doing.’”
“A lot of these men aren’t professional soldiers, they were conscripts or volunteers. Like a year ago, they were a dentist with a wife and kids, and now they’re a thousand miles away from their family and the only thing they want to do is go back to fight.” – Peter Leone, Senior Physical Therapist
L-R: Rebecca Gonzalez, Peter Leone and Melissa Collins share a moment.
During a recent session of the UN General Assembly, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited SIUH to recognize their efforts, met with some of the staff and wounded soldiers, and presented the Ukrainian Order of Merit, an award given to individuals for outstanding achievements in economics, 1199 Magazine
13
POLITICS
Reproductive Rights 1199ers join the fight to keep abortion safe and available to all.
Putting the Pieces
Together After a lifetime of public service in her job, a Hudson Valley, New York member recognizes the value of political action. Yvette Martinez has been serving people in her local community of Port Jervis, in the Hudson Valley, for her entire adult life. But it is only in the past couple of years, that the connections between public service and political office started to come into focus for her. “I’ve been working at Bon Secours Community Hospital as a Mental Health Technician for the past 26 years,” says Martinez. “My job involves making sure our behavioral health patients attend groups—and sometimes running those groups myself. I am the eyes and ears of the clinicians on the ward.” As her work brought her into direct contact with the victims of the opioid crisis, Martinez became increasingly frustrated by the way local officials were dealing with the public health emergency on her doorstep. The local Port Jervis council voted against opening a methadone clinic, for example. “They wanted to keep the problem hush-hush,” says Martinez. Recognizing her growing interest in politics, an 1199 Delegate at Bon Secours recruited Martinez to become a Member Political Organizer (MPO) with the Union. It was a turning point for her. “Until about two years ago, I didn’t like talking about politics,” Martinez says. “But I have learned so much from 1199 and from sitting in on local council meetings.” As an MPO, Martinez was active during the Midterm cam14
November - December 2023
“I learned that our contracts depend on people we put in office. It is about the money [that elected officials control]. When there is no money, there are no raises.” – Yvette Martinez, Mental Health Technician at Bon Secours Hospital in Port Jervis, NY
paigns last year, talking to people at their doorsteps. “I saw the power that 1199 had because of the wins,” she says. “Those who were elected knew that 1199 had helped. I learned that our contracts depend on people we put in office. It is about the money [that elected officials control]. When there is no money, there are no raises.” She also notes that elected representatives advocated for keeping 1199 institutions open when they were under threat of closure. “If you want to talk about holding onto your money and paying lower taxes, talk to Republicans,” Martinez says. “If you’re interested in quality of life, looking after your family – the kind of things that Unions care about that affect everyone – talk to Democrats." Martinez became so engaged with the political process that she decided to run for the Port Jervis City Council on the Democratic slate. “I wanted more diversity of representation for this town,” she says. “Our slate had a mixture of small business owners, healthcare workers, educators and working people.” Unfortunately, two Republicans ran against her. One candidate quit the race after submitting his name, but it was too late to remove him from the ballot. The confusion resulted in Martinez losing the election by a handful of votes. Martinez had actually been involved in politics for years — even before her bid for public office. She just didn’t see it that way. As a long-term hospital employee, Martinez learned the details of the contract, and fellow members often came to her for advice. “But at the time, I didn’t want the responsibility or obligation of being a Union Delegate,” she recalls. “Back then, I really had no use for the Union. I thought it was just for people who got into trouble at work.” But once she became an MPO and started making connections, Martinez decided to become a Delegate, too. “All my weekends lately have been spent in Albany lobbying for increases in home care members’ wages and housing protections for working families. Last December, I went on a lobbying visit to Washington D.C.,” Martinez says. She has not given up on her own political ambitions, either. “I have been serving people my whole life, and it’s time to seek a bigger platform to make change,” she says. “Everything we have, people fought for at one time.”
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year and removed the constitutional right to abortion, poll after poll has demonstrated the unpopularity of the judgement. Most Americans seem to believe that the decision about whether or not to terminate a pregnancy is not something the state should weigh in on. Last year, six states included abortion-related measures on the ballot. Each poll resulted in victories for abortion-rights advocates, including those in more conservative states such as Kansas and Kentucky. In the most recent victory in Ohio in early November, campaigners appealed to voters innate conservatism about government overreach rather than focusing squarely on women’s rights. The strategy seemed to appeal to the widest group of voters. In Florida, 1199ers are taking part in a campaign to put reproductive rights on the 2024 general election ballot. If the initiative goes ahead, it would give Floridians the chance to vote down a potential 6-week abortion ban that is looming on the horizon in the sunshine state. At press time, there were more than 600,000 signatures on a petition for the constitutional amendment championed by Floridians Protecting Freedom. Deborah Montgomery, an 1199 RN and lactation consultant who lives in Palm Beach said her fellow nurses, doctors and caregivers were overwhelmingly against this extremist overreach by the state. “That is why 1199SEIU, the largest union of caregivers in the state, is strongly supporting the ballot initiative. In addition to our members canvassing neighborhoods, operating phone and text banks, and other volunteer actions, our Union will make a $250,000 contribution to gather petition signatures and votes,” Montgomery told the Palm Beach Post. “Like the vast majority of Floridians, and academic non-partisan studies prove this, our caregivers feel deeply that reproductive healthcare matters should be private, personal rights ― not for the state to intrude. We know that the decision to have an abortion is always delicate, difficult and usually necessary. It’s no place for cynical politicians or uninformed bureaucrats to flagrantly trample,” she added. Laws that outlaw abortion most hurt women and communities who need the most compassion and support. Low-income women, already challenged by lack of access to affordable healthcare, are not able to afford to travel to another state that provides proper reproductive and abortion rights. 1199 Magazine
15
OUR UNION
Members join employers, labor leaders and elected officials at the National Apprenticeship Week event
Solving the Skills Shortage The Union seeks to improve members’ skills to fill much needed healthcare roles. The 1199SEIU Training and Employment Fund has been running industry-vetted registered apprentice programs for almost a decade to enable members to upgrade their skills and move into high-demand occupations. Since the pandemic, as chronic workforce shortages have become critical in many of the hospitals and nursing homes where 1199ers are employed, the Union is seeking political support to expand this highly successful apprenticeship program. On November 14th, as part of National Apprenticeship Week, the Union sponsored an event for employers, labor leaders and elected officials in Uniondale, Long Island to discuss how apprenticeships can address the 16
November - December 2023
ongoing shortage of workers in the healthcare industry. “Covid laid bare the ways in which caregivers, predominantly women of color, are often marginalized. Apprenticeships are one way to redress some of these inequities while also addressing workforce shortages in healthcare. Registered Apprenticeships are paid roles that allow diverse groups of workers to earn progressive wages in good union jobs as their skills increase,” said Milly Silva, 1199SEIU Secretary-Treasurer. Koralia Toumazatos started out in Food and Nutrition and then became an 1199 Unit Clerk in the emergency room at Syosset Hospital, Northwell Health. Through the Registered
“By providing workers a way to develop their skills in healthcare, we can create a vitally important pipeline of new talent and build a more stable healthcare workforce.” – U.S. Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer
Apprenticeship program, she trained to be a Sterile Processing Tech at the new Bethpage processing facility, which serves Long Island Jewish, Southside, Plainview and Syosset Hospitals. “We prepare everything from cardiac trays to baby delivery equipment,” says Toumazatos, “Paid apprenticeships means you are not having to balance your home life with furthering your education. I also kept all my benefits. Once I passed my state certification exam, I was guaranteed a job and a pay bump. “I love the job. It is always something different. When I go home at the end of the day, I hope that I was able to save someone’s life.” Jennifer Shenk, who worked as an 1199 Personal Care Assistant at Staten Island Hospital South when she began her apprenticeship agrees. “It was one of the best things I ever did. I had been at the hospital for 22 years and felt kind of stuck. Now I work at the same Bethpage processing facility and as well as a 10 percent salary increase, I also improved my healthcare benefits by joining a different wage class.” U.S. Senate Majority Leader and local Senator Chuck Schumer added: “As our healthcare system struggles with major workforce challenges, we know the apprenticeship programs are the one of the most important tools we have to solve this problem. By providing workers a way to develop their skills in healthcare, we can create a vitally important pipeline of new talent and build a more stable healthcare workforce. When coupled with the tremendous work that 1199 does on behalf of its members, these apprenticeships become good paying, vitally important jobs that will help our families and communities across New York.”
A Look Back at
2023 The popularity and power of labor unions continued to surge in 2023, with the annual Gallup poll released on Labor Day showing two-thirds of respondents nationwide (67 percent) now approve of labor unions. From Hollywood writers and actors to UPS workers, automotive workers, Starbucks baristas and more, we have seen not only growing militancy — but also landmark victories. 1199 members, who were already secure in their union power, celebrated dramatic contract and political victories of their own in 2023. Here is a small sampling of what we have won.
1199 Magazine
17
New Organizing
Political Action
Nearly 3,000 more healthcare workers voted to join our Union across hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, and homecare agencies throughout the nation. Home Health and Personal Care Aides who work at the Community Care Health Services agency all across New York State— from Buffalo to Long Island and many places in between—made the commitment to join 1199, swelling the ranks of our union family by more than 1,600 in June. Forty-nine EMTs and Paramedics at American Medical Response of New York in Mount Vernon voted unanimously to unite with their fellow 1199SEIU EMT members in September. In October, nearly 450 workers at Fenway Health in Quincy, Massachusetts, joined our Union and became part of the growing movement of healthcare workers organizing to push back against attacks on LGBTQ+ patients.
More than 15,000 Union members from all over New York State filled the streets around Albany’s Capitol building on March 21, to make sure Governor Kathy Hochul knew what was at stake if she didn’t close the funding gaps in her proposed state budget. To drive home the point, 1199ers mounted a non-violent civil disobedience campaign outside her office in Midtown, Manhattan on March 29, with several Union members and officers submitting to arrest. This was all part of a fourmonth-long lobbying campaign, which included weekly trips to Albany by member activists to lobby their representatives. In the end, the governor’s initial proposals were defeated. When the state budget was finally released on April 27, it included significant wage increases for home care workers over the next two years, to reach $19.65 on January 1, 2026—and indexed to inflation thereafter. And it’s not just home care members who won statewide increases—1199ers put their weight behind the Raise Up NY campaign, resulting in Governor Hochul’s May 3 announcement that the state would increase the minimum wage to $16 in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester—and $15 elsewhere—followed by $0.50 annual increases in 2025 and 2026.
Susana Harb, a Home Care member at Community Health Care Services celebrates joining the Union family. 18
November - December 2023
Members and union officers take part in non-violent civil disobedience outside New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s office in Manhattan. 1199 Magazine
19
Contract and Compensation Wins The roughly 90,000 members whose institutions belong to the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes brought management representatives to the table to reopen their contract in March, which had not been due to expire until September 2024. Having witnessed the victory of the New York State Nurses Association, 1199ers knew that management had the means to do the right thing. After a week of talks, the central demand for landmark wage increases of seven, six and five percent over three years was agreed. The following month, more than 57,000 home care workers who submitted claims to the Special Wage Fund, received funds totaling $34 million. A few individual members received $8,000 from the fund, which was set up after 1199 filed a class action grievance to seek compensation
20
November - December 2023
for unpaid wages during 24hour home care shifts and other violations. In June, it was time for nursing home members in New York City, Long Island and Westchester to reopen their contracts with the Greater New York and “Group of 65” nursing homes. They, too, came together to win a tremendous victory, achieving 18 percent raises over three years, which amounts to the highest increases in decades for roughly 33,000 members of 1199SEIU. In Florida, members won a contract covering about 10,000 nurses, CNAs, technicians, dietary aides and other healthcare workers at 19 HCA hospitals after taking part in a nationwide campaign. The new contract will mean significant wage increases for the lowest earners. Another ground-breaking settlement, this time in
Celebrating Diversity Massachusetts, saw the 58,000 Personal Care Attendants (PCA) who are paid directly by the state government to work in home care, ratified a new three-year contract in September which creates a pathway to $25/hour. Caregivers at Mercy Hospital on Long Island who overcame a fierce anti-union campaign to join 1199 in 2017, ratified a new contract in October which included 18-percent wage increases over three years after a four-month battle with management. Home health aides at Schofield Residence near Buffalo, ratified a three-year contract in November, including increased wages, health insurance, paid time off, paid family leave and compensation for in-service training. This victory sets a precedent for newly-organized home care workers who are joining 1199SEIU outside of NYC.
Downstate nursing home member celebrates winning 18 percent raises over three years.
1199ers made up one of the largest contingents at the National Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City on June 11. Then on August 13, members lined Manhattan’s 6th Avenue for the National Dominican Day Parade. On September 2, Union kids pulled together in Brooklyn and showed off their vibrant outfits at the West Indian American Day Carnival Association (WIADCA) Junior Carnival. Two days later, it was adult 1199ers’ turn to display their West Indian American cultural pride in all its glory. The banner of union solidarity flew high on September 9, as 1199ers filled Manhattan’s 5th Avenue alongside striking Writers Guild, UAW and SAG-AFTRA members, as well as victorious UPS members and newly-organized Starbucks Workers United members, for the NYC Labor Day Parade.
A few weeks later, on September 17, members celebrated Black heritage, culture, unity and power at the AfricanAmerican Day Parade in Harlem. On October 7, members rounded out the season with the joyous Panamanian Day Parade.
Members celebrate the National Puerto Rican Day Parade.
1199 Magazine
21
OUR HISTORY
“We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” – Barack Obama
MOVING MOUNTAINS
TOGETHER Diverse voices are crucial to Union democracy.
Just weeks before his death in 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. told a gathering of 1199ers: “You have provided concrete and visible proof that when Black and white workers unite in a democratic organization like Local 1199, they can move mountains.” A decade earlier, 1199 represented a mere 5,000 pharmacy workers. The overwhelming majority were Jewish. Many were children of Eastern European immigrants
Martin Luther King Jr addresses a hall full of 1199ers.
Local 1199 affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations because the CIO practiced industrial unionism, the organizing of all workers in a shop regardless of skill, race, gender or ethnic background.
who fled discrimination and murderous pogroms. The young founders also faced anti-Semitism in their adopted country. Many became pharmacists because medical schools at the time limited the number of Jewish admissions. The Union’s founder and leaders were among left-wing activists of the 1930s who invigorated the labor movement and led the fight for New Deal reforms.
Early in its existence, the Union led a campaign for the hiring of Black pharmacists and the promotion of Black janitors. This greatly enhanced 1199’s reputation in the Black community and helped to cement its reputation as a social justice Union. Leaders also built important ties to the city’s Puerto Rican communities. The Union’s first victory at Montefiore Hospital would not have been possible without the leadership of Latino workers such as Salvatore Cordero and Emerito Cruz, as well as others from the Caribbean. The subsequent hospital organizing campaign was marked by unprecedented unity among the Jewish, Black and Puerto Rican communities. Because health care depends on public dollars and government regulation, 1199ers never abandoned their political and legislative mobilizations. The money raised through 1199SEIU’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Political Action Fund has been a crucial ingredient in those political campaigns. The Union chose to name its PAC after Dr. King because his life exemplified 1199 ideals. Dr. King, who was assassinated on April 4, 1968 while defending the rights of low-paid Memphis sanitation workers, constantly strove to connect the labor and civil rights movements. In the May 1968 commemorative issue of the 1199 magazine, President Leon Davis wrote of Dr. King, “He identified with
22
November - December 2023
the struggles of our members just as we identified with him…. We will build our Union in his image. We will raise high the banner of struggle in the fight against poverty, discrimination, ignorance, hate and war.” An October 1968 article in the Union magazine profiled the work of Vinel JohnsonReid, a retiree from DeWitt Nursing Home in NYC, and Tierra Johnson, a housekeeping delegate from Hopkins. “When they assigned us together, I wondered what I’d have in common with a 23-yearold,” said Johnson-Reid. “But we work well together. I’ve learned a lot from her. What I don’t know she helps me with, and what she doesn’t know I help her with.” In the months after Dr. King’s assassination, 1199 began its national organizing campaign, with his widow, Coretta ScottKing, Dr, as its honorary chair. One of the Union’s earliest victories was in 1969 at Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins Hospital. Annie Henry, an instrument processor at Hopkins, had been there for six months before the victory. She spoke of her experience some 50 years later: “The hospital was like a plantation; you couldn’t even talk to supervisors. I knew that civil rights and union rights were connected, and by combining the two, we could all better ourselves.” Among the best examples of 1199ers using their skills as organizers and political activists was the 2008 national election campaign to elect our nation’s first African American president. Thousands of 1199ers – members and staff – took time off, some for months, to work on what they saw as a crusade. In his Union magazine
Top: Annie Henry, an 1199 instrument processor and union activist at Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins Hospital. Bottom: A young canvasser during the 2008 Barack Obama election.
column, Pres. George Gresham praised the members’ steadfastness and unity. “No Union did more,” he wrote. “We helped to make this campaign into a movement.” During one celebration after Barack Obama’s 2008 victory, members showed that they clearly recognized their importance and strength when they shouted one of President Obama’s rally cries, “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”
1199 Magazine
23
Karen Smith, an Emergency Department Technician at NewYork Presbyterian Queens Hospital, said: “It wasn’t my intention to lead when we began to negotiate our first contract. But I’m a little more outspoken and I wanted to finally get things started.” See page 16.
1199 Magazine
24
