iSpeak on Delegates

The response to this questions was huge. What follows is a sampling. We have eliminated emails that were unsigned, made personal attacks or that duplicated similar messages from the same institution. -- The Editor

I want to serve the members and learn all I can about our Union. That’s why I’m a Delegate. And if you have a strong Organizer with a positive outlook, recruiting Delegates is easy. The main thing to look for are members that are kind, intelligent and that really car about the welfare of their fellow members. Then you have the makings of a good Delegate.

I have such great respect for our Union. Being a Delegate is like getting schooling for personal growth. As a Delegate, I’ve become a stronger person, and an organizer capable of serving the members. I do the best I can, whenever I can.

Carol Buckley
Home attendant, All Metro Health Care
New York City, NY

I’m a Delegate because we need leaders in the institutions that serve as a go-between for the members and the Union leadership. My responsibility is to help protect my members by enforcing the contract, inform them of Union policies and help them use the benefits we’ve won in the contract. I facilitate communication between the Organizer and the members at work. We need more Delegates that are actually going to be responsible. We should produce a flash card about the responsibilities of Delegates and distribute them to every single member to solicit volunteers.

Armando Velasquez
Porter, Sunrise Nursing Home
Long Island, NY

I want to be able to have a say in the direction our Union is heading. That’s why I’m a Delegate. I also am able to assist my Union brothers and sisters in making sure that they receive all the benefits and protections they are entitled to.

When a member shows interest in the workings of the Union, or feels their voice is not being heard, I encourage them to step up and take a leadership role. That’s how I get Delegates. I look for someone who is trusted and respected by their co-workers.

I would like to be even more active, but find that I am often not encouraged to do so by Union officers and staff. I would like there to be an office at our institution where members could go to get the information they need. It would also help to have a better calendar posted on our web site, or e-mail notification of all scheduled Union activities.

A Delegate should be informed about most aspects of the contract. For those they are unsure of, they should be able to direct the member to the appropriate person. They should also be able to communicate to members at their institution the goings on at the institution and the Union in general. They should be excited and enthusiastic to take a
leadership role in the Union.

Russell Diragi
Clinical assistant (Psych)
Southside Hospital
Long Island

I was a Delegate at North Shore Forest hills Hospital until my Organizer said we could only have one Delegate per department. I felt that was wrong because I was a Delegate for the evening and the other Delegate was in the morning. I was asking tough questions and getting no answers.

Bernard Granum
Security, North Shore Forest Hills Hospital
Queens, NY

I am a Delegate. The bosses at my hospital look out only for themselves, and try to screw the people who really do the work to make the hospital run. I make them play by the rules of the CBA. I don't like people who think they're better than others, who are prejudiced, and who want you to kiss their ass to get anything. That describes 90 percent of the bosses at my facility. And so if I can tweek their noses a little, while making them do the right thing, I'm there.

Have you ever noticed the people who work the hardest, and have the crappiest jobs at any work place are also the lowest paid? A lot of times they're afraid to speak up when they're getting screwed, or don't even realize it. I like to be their voice.

I'm aware that the bosses here won't give us anything out of the kindness of their hearts, and I try to convey that to the rank and file. I like to have a little say about the way I'm treated. And lastly, if I don't do it who will?

John Rusinko
Maintenance mechanic , Catskill Regional Medical center
Swan Lake, NY

Delegates should be assured that their job will not become a living hell for representing their fellow workers. I have heard too many complaints about management making targets out of the Delegates. We need flyers around the hospital telling members how to avoid or defend themselves from these situations.

Oscar Gil
Technician, NYU Medical Center
New York City, NY

I was elected by my peers to be a Delegate because they felt I was an open-minded person who always tries to be fair. To recruit new Delegates, you have to be a good role model and show that it's not only hard work but it is fun. At Brunswick Hospital Center, we look for people who like their job and understand that everyone at the job is important and deserves representation.
 
Education of the Delegates is the most important thing if we want to hold on to them and give them the support they need. And if we want 100 percent participation, we need an
Organizer that is working for and with us.

Sharez Floyd
Clerical worker, Brunswick Hospital Center
Long Island, NY

Maybe the Delegates should be paid like in other non-hospital shops.  I realize that could be bad because then someone may do it for the money and not the real purpose.

Louise Verni
Respiratory therapist, St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital
Cornwall, NY

What you say sounds good. I work at Cape Cod Hospital in the OR. I would like to see the Union help us get the supplies we need to do our jobs--supplies, enough equipment to run all OR rooms, enough regulators for all patients to have oxygen when coming off the OR table. This is what I feel has to be done and right now. No one seems to care to get the things we need to run a safe operating room.

Donna Anderson
Anesthesia tech. asst., Cape Cod Hospital
Hyannis, MA

How can I become a Union Delegate?

Lucas Leung
Lab. tech
NYU Hospital Center
New York City

[Editor’s note: If you—or any other member—are interested in becoming a Delegate, please speak to your Organizer or one of the present Delegate.]

For over 30 years, as a Delegate from the lab at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital, I attended 90 percent of the Delegate Assemblies, poured over the CBA, submitted petitions that improved conditions in my department., and even presented 3rd step grievances. I took the responsibility seriously and was willing to spend many hours preparing to confront the administration, defending our workers.

I declined to run in the last Delegate election. My main reason was that resources that should have been available to fight unfairness in the workplace were diverted for political purposes. Organizers and other 1199 personnel, funded (inappropriately) by members’ dues, were occupied with election activities. The previously timely grievance process stagnated. Without support at the Organizer level, a Delegate cannot schedule hearings or defend workers in an effective way.

To me, the last straw was the point system that treated delegates like children. A good Delegate, like a conscientious worker, cannot be created through bribery. You either have a work ethic or you don’t. Educate and inspire by example. Give the Delegates the tools they need to be effective and you won’t have to resort to gimmicks.

I am still active in the Lab Education Committee, and I often give guidance to my co-workers concerning the CBA. I will support 1199 but not as a Delegate.

Susan Belasco
Medical technologist
Bronx-Lebanon Hospital
The Bronx, New York

[Editor’s note: Political Action is funded by voluntary member contributions—a recommended $5 per month—rather than members’ dues. The Union staff has essentially three primary areas of responsibility—collective bargaining and contract enforcement, growing the Union through new organizing, and political action to secure funding for our institutions and patients. For non-Delegates: the Delegate ‘point system’ is a means of measuring the effectiveness of the Delegates, making them accountable, and rewarding those that are.]

I became a Delegate because I felt that our institution's members did not have ample representation. This is not an easy job and if we want to recruit other Delegates, we need to show them that, if needed, there would be backing from their Organizers, sister and brother Delegates and 300,000 members as well.

When I’m trying to recruit new Delegates, the qualities I look for are honesty, someone not afraid to stand up for the rights of others, and someone that stand outs for their discipline. And what we need to keep our Delegates are good training like we had last fall. But we also need follow up training where topics are reviewed and the Delegates present cases where they used a particular skill learned in the earlier training.

Basically, our responsibility is to look out for the best interests of our members and to make sure that management adheres to the CBA. It is a little like being a legal counsel.

Samuel Sierra
Senior patient service associate, Lutheran Healthcare
Brooklyn, NY

If our Union wants to recruit and build the Delegate body, it has to start by giving the present Delegates the support that they need immediately. Many times a Delegate puts his/her job on the line to conduct Union business on a daily basis. However, when that Delegate tries to get immediate assistance, he/she gets put on hold. This "waiting period" only gives bosses more opportunity to make the Delegate lose credibility with the members. A common feeling among the members is if 1199SEIU does not back the Delegates, they will not back the members. 1199SEIU needs to nurture the base always, no matter how many other projects are going on.

Dilletta Pina
Clerical, Promesa
The Bronx, NY

I am a Radiologic Technologist at Mount Sinai Hospital of Queens. In the past two years the two delegates we had have left with no replacement. We have two gentlemen who are more than willing to accept the positions and I believe they would both be excellent. They are members a long time; one is an Ultra sound tech and the other a Nuclear Med tech. Both would be welcome.

The department itself has no team spirit, has yielded to a divide and conquer tactic from the administration of the department and is in need of Delegates. We have no clue to a lot ot the union rules, some of my education comes from the education committee meetings. 

Maureen Lewis
Radiologic technologist, Mount Sinai Hospital of Queens
Astoria, NY

I need answers to being a good Delegate in representing my workers. I hate the fact that where I am working, I can only defend my co-workers to the best of my knowledge. I want to know the do's and don'ts of a Delegate.

Maxine McLean
Mental health worker
South Ozone Park hospital
Queens, NY

One of the biggest reason for the lack of Delegates is because it is a very thankless job at times.  Members bring you all the problems and they are not willing to go the distance with you.  The members at times have difficulty understanding that being a Delegate is not why you were hired nor is it your job title.

Secondly, it is very difficult trying to obtain answers from the Union leadership in a timely manner. (I don't mean two weeks, if at all, before they get back to you). This type of assistance from The Union staff only hurts the morale of the few Delegates that actually want to get more involved.

Janice Howze
Physician assistant, St. Vincent’s Catholic Medical Center-SI
Staten Island, NY

My reason for being a delegate is to assist others in standing up for their rights. To convince members to become Delegates will mean we can’t make a general appeal; it has to be personal.

New nurses have very little knowledge of their rights so knowledge of the contract is the first thing Delegates need in training. We need printed contracts in a timely manner, and our meetings need to really inform us about important developments.

Yvette King
LPN Team Leader, Schoellkopf Health Center
Niagara Falls, NY

I think that delegates should receive some sort of incentive for doing what is considered a thankless job, involving a personal commitment of both time and energy.

To give us a reduction in union dues, although a start, cannot begin to make up for the hours of frustration and very often dissatisfaction with dealing with management.  There have even been times when I have felt that I am at odds with both management an union personnel.

I am new to the Union, and as far I can see, being a Delegate is a voluntary position without any benefits, just a lot of headaches. Other members have told me as much.  Also, it would help if Delegates would be compensated for travel time or some type of stipend.

Right now I have an issue going on in my office concerning vacation time, I spoke to the Organizer in my area six weeks ago and still no answer. When situations like this happen and nothing gets resolved, members will say, "that is why I won't be a Delegate".  In all fairness, maybe it is just my area. Maybe in other areas there is better communication and working environment. 

Eloisa Rodriguez
MRI/CT tech, Montefiore Medical Park Radiology
The Bronx, NY

I want to stay informed about Union happenings and to empower myself and my members by knowing our contract. That’s why I’m a Delegate.

In recruiting new Delegates, it would help to make more Delegate trainings available, and for Organizers to go to worksites and show the benefits of being a Delegate. These could include testimonials and videos showing successful results obtained by Delegates.

The qualities I look for in recruiting Delegates are activism and a desire to lead. Because the members look to us to lead, to motivate others into action and be the Union's voice on the job.
I think that the incentives we receive—Delegate rewards and the point system—are helpful in keeping us all active and involved.

Melinda Lopez
Paralegal, Legal Aid Society
New York City, NY