Members in Maryland joined other progressive organizations at a rally for health justice outside the state capitol building in Annapolis on February 26. The demands to lawmakers included expanding access to healthcare for to more people without regard to their immigration status, addressing misclassification of home care workers and protecting gender affirming care providers.

Rhonda White, an 1199 Delegate and Certified Medicine Aide at Forest Haven Nursing Home in Baltimore County spoke out for legislation to address the staffing crisis by allocating more money towards wage increases.

She said: “Raising wages will retain healthcare workers and give us better staffing. Essential workers like me, we don’t do the work for the love of the money. We do it because we love our residents. But the prices for everything we need are just going up; bread, water, gas, everything. Money helps us to survive, and we need all the help we can get.”