1. Albany Lobby Day. A February lobby day brought hundreds of 1199ers to New York State’s capital to meet with lawmakers and urge them to push back on attacks on Medicaid and our publicly funded healthcare system.
2. Stop the Cuts Rally. Close to 10,000 members of 1199 marched and rallied in Albany on March 19 to protect Medicaid and Medicare from the Trump tax cuts for the wealthy.
3. Maryland’s Fight for $15. 1199ers were instrumental in passing a $15 minimum wage in Maryland in 2019. Members marched, lobbied, rallied, and testified to get the bill passed.
4. Pride! Throughout most of the Northeast, June is LGBTQ Pride Month, and 1199ers showed their determination to defend and celebrate the LGBTQ community. 1199ers participated in numerous Pride events, including parades in Boston, NYC, and Albany.
5. Swearing In Our Officers & Delegates & 60 Years Since the 1959 Strike. At the June 17 swearing-in of officers and delegates in New York City, members sported an updated version of the vintage 1199 hats worn during the historic 1959 strike, which established the Union in New York City’s voluntary hospitals.
6. The 1199 Training Fund’s 50th Anniversary. 1199’s Training and Employment Funds celebrated their 50th birthday in 2019. The big 5-0 was marked with a special commemoration at the annual TEF Recognition Ceremony, held on June 11 in New York City.
7. New Jersey’s Fight to Win Safe Staffing. New Jersey nursing home workers demonstrated in Trenton on May 6 to demand the passage of a safe-staffing bill that has been stalled in New Jersey’s Assembly for nearly a year. The bill would create minimum staffing ratios for the 40,000 CNAs working across New Jersey.
8. Climate Marches. 1199ers were among the millions around the world who took part in the Sept. 20 Global Climate March.
9. West Indian Day Parade. 1199ers showed up and showed out for the annual West Indian Day Parade in Brooklyn, NY, on Sept. 2. The parade draws close to 2 million revelers annually. The event is just one of a host of cultural parades and celebrations 1199ers participate in across the Union throughout the year.
10. 2020 Campaign Kickoff Forum. 1199ers from across the regions gathered at Union headquarters Sept. 16 to learn about and discuss 1199’s platform for 2020 and to hear from several presidential candidates, including Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, and Pete Buttigieg. The event was an opportunity to mobilize members and fine-tune 1199’s platform, which was devised from ongoing surveys and member conversations.
11. GOTV. 1199ers fanned out across the regions to help working-family-friendly candidates win in every region, at every level of government. 1199’s Weekend Warriors played a key role in the historic win in Virginia, where for the first time in more than a decade, Democrats control both houses and key local offices.
12. PCA Contract / Contract Wins. 1199ers continued to flex their muscles at the bargaining table, winning exemplary contracts and fighting off management’s attempts at givebacks. Significant victories include agreements at Georgetown University and Columbia University’s Morningside Campus, as well as a major contract win for Personal Care Attendants in Massachusetts that significantly increases wages, maintains certification opportunities, expands time off, and provides an opportunity to create an employee assistance program.
13. New Organizing Victories. More that 2,500 healthcare workers voted to join 1199 in 2019, including some 1,276 at NYU Winthrop Hospital on Long Island, NY and 800 at Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River, MA.
