There are moments in the history of 1199SEIU that remind one that it is more than a union of caregivers fighting to improve the lives of their families and for fairness in the workplace.

If you’ve been following the Republican presidential race, you might think that the only tax breaks in America are for guys named Mitt who get to park their cash in Swiss banks and the Cayman Islands.

On January 16th, Martin Luther King Day, hundreds of Maryland 1199ers rallied with union members and progressives from across the state at the capitol in Annapolis and called on elected leaders to promote legislation that lives up to the vision of Dr. King.

Hundreds of our union brothers and sisters from across Maryland will rally at the state capitol on January 16. We'll call on elected leaders to stand with working families and promote a society that lives up to the vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

On January 5, members of 1199SEIU in Baltimore hosted the Maryland and DC AFL-CIO, as the 300,000-member labor federation announced support for a marriage equality bill proposed by Governor Martin O’Malley for this year’s Maryland legislative session.

Last week was a good week for democracy in the United States. Thousands of grassroots activists, including many 1199SEIU members, converged on Washington for Take Back the Capitol, a weeklong series of actions that brought people power to D.C.

On the first day of December, Baltimore Gas & Electric sponsored the city’s elaborate tree-lighting ceremony, featuring local celebrities, fireworks and thousands of lights strung through the stately Mt. Vernon neighborhood.

Students of the Maryland/DC Training and Upgrading Fund had a very special guest for their recognition ceremony this fall.

Guys with business degrees don’t often hang with horn players from Parliament Funkadelic. So you got a sense that something special was happening at Baltimore’s November 17 Occupy action, where P-Funk musician Rufus Roundtree led a march of the 99% while Loyola MBA John Herron did TV interviews critical of the 1%.

Taren Peterson has been with Maryland General Hospital in Baltimore, MD for five years in various roles including unit cleric and patient technician. She’s currently an ER patient technician and a delegate in her union. She’s also Member Political Organizer with 1199SEIU and leader in the union’s regional Young Workers’ Program.