Stoughton, Mass. (June 15, 2017) – Dozens of healthcare workers hosted an informational picket outside Blue Hills Health and Rehabilitation Center to raise awareness of wage and staffing issues that are negatively impacting patient care. Read More

WHEN JEFF Jacoby criticizes labor unions as obsolete, he misses a vital point: Organized labor is different today than it was in the 1950s and ’60s (“Sorry, class warriors, but unions aren’t coming back”). Yes, the American workforce is changing. But so are labor unions. Unions represent a diverse workforce in some of our fastest-growing industries. Read More

We, the 56,000 Massachusetts healthcare workers of 1199SEIU and our families, offer this brief written testimony in strong support of An Act Eliminating Mandatory Minimum Sentences Related to Drug Offenses (H.741; H.820; H.989; & S.817). Today is the Juneteenth holiday commemorating the end of U.S. slavery and celebrated by African-American communities across Massachusetts and the nation. Today, June 19, 2017, it is also now widely understood and has been meticulously documented that mandatory minimum sentences — particularly for lower-level drug crimes — have a disproportionate, unfair and harmful impact on African-Americans and other communities of color. It is especially appropriate, therefore, that this Committee is hosting this hearing on this date. Read More

On Monday, June 12, hundreds of 1199 members—including clerical staff, housekeepers, dieticians, social workers, and technicians—braved the heat and held a one-day strike at five Fresenius dialysis centers throughout Brooklyn and the Bronx. They were joined by their nurse colleagues, who are represented by NYSNA. Both unions’ workers voted unanimously to authorize the one-day strike, and have been standing in strength and unity by attending each other’s negotiation sessions and working together for fair contracts. Read More

OUR JOBS, PATIENTS AND FAMILIES OUR UNDER THREAT. Politicians are trying to slash healthcare funding, the industry is rapidly undergoing major changes, non-union jobs are threatening our standards, and many of our employers are facing financial pressures and even closure. Read More

On June 7, 2017 service and maintenance workers voted to join with 1199. This group of workers, which include, housekeepers, laundry aides, cooks and floor techs join the Nursing and Dietary departments who have been 1199 members for ten years. Read More

“The health care plan proposed by the extreme right-wing will wreak havoc on our health care system by cutting hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicaid funding and weakening insurance protections, putting millions of vulnerable Americans at risk of losing coverage. As New Yorkers face this terrifying prospect, Governor Cuomo is taking immediate action to protect access to health insurance for all New Yorkers. .... Read More

"The Trump administration, backed by dirty fuel CEOs, is to abandon the US pledges under the Paris Agreement, which was a vital step towards avoiding a serious public health crisis caused by climate chaos. Read More

For more than 125 years, Union Hospital has been a vital asset for the people of Lynn, and its imminent closing requires all of us to roll up our sleeves and get to work to protect vital healthcare services and save crucial jobs. Read More

On Monday, 1199SEIU members at Brooks Memorial Hospital ratified a new collective bargaining agreement that will increase wages, provide additional training to caregivers, and improve security for workers in their jobs and in retirement. Read More

Today we welcome more than 50 new members from three Hudson River Health Care (HRHCare) community health centers in Long Island into the 1199SEIU family. Read More

Boston, MA (May 24, 2017) – In response to today’s release of the Congressional Budget Office’s analysis of the American Health Care Act, Tyrék D. Lee, Sr., Executive Vice President of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, issued the following statement: Read More

Earlier this month, the House of Representatives irresponsibly passed the American Health Care Act (AHCA) without an impact analysis from the Congressional Budget Office and clearly without consideration of the human cost. Read More

Statement of Milly Silva, Executive Vice President of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, regarding the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) scoring of the American Health Care Act (AHCA). Read More

The Department of Homeland Security granted a critical 6-month extension of Temporary Protected Status, TPS, for the over 58,000 Haitians currently enrolled in the program. This extension is an important victory but it is not enough. Normally, extensions are for 18 months. This crucial program that has served and protected tens of thousands of Haitians who fled devastation on their home island. It is unconscionable for Homeland Security and the White House Administration to seek to end TPS. 1199SEIU healthcare workers know the contributions Haitians living in the U.S. under TPS make not just at work, but to their communities back home. The Trump Administration must take a clear and strong stance to protect our Haitians brothers and sisters by extending TPS for a longer more reasonable amount of time,” said George Gresham, President, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. Read More

Boston, MA (May 22, 2017) – In response to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s announcement today extending Temporary Protected Status for Haitian refugees for six months, Filaine Deronnette, Vice President of Health Systems at 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, issued the following statement: Read More

Today we welcome more than 30 new members from St John’s Riverside Medical Center into the 1199SEIU family. Read More

Dr. Leana Wen has served as Baltimore, Maryland’s City Health Commissioner since January, 2015. Before taking the job she was an emergency room physician, public health professor and activist for domestic and international policy to provide better access to healthcare and life saving pharmaceuticals. Read More

1199SEIU represents tens of thousands of Professional and Technical workers and Registered Nurses. Read More

Monnie Callan has been a union activist for more than half her life. And with a recent celebration marking her 90th birthday, that is certainly saying something. Read More