For hundreds of 1199ers, Jan. 20 is the anniversary of one of the most important days of their lives. These 1199ers were present 12 years ago for the inauguration of the first African American president in our nation. Read More

We are less than two weeks into 2021, and our nation is at a dangerous crossroads. The road behind us is littered with violent acts of insurrection. The path ahead is uncertain, as mobs plan more riots as Inauguration Day approaches. Read More

As you know, healthcare workers are at an increased risk of contracting the virus and unknowingly passing it along. We know it has been especially challenging to protect yourself and your family as flu season and the surge in the ongoing pandemic have collided, creating the potential for a “twindemic” that threatens to pressure our already stressed healthcare system. Read More

As promised, 1199SEIU is doing all we can to provide education and resources to keep our membership informed and updated about COVID-19, vaccinations, and the guidelines and protocols necessary to keep us safe and healthy. Read More

Just as healthcare workers have fought in the current pandemic to heal America, they also face the work of healing themselves. Every day, healthcare workers bear witness to severe illness and mass death while simultaneously tending to dozens of patients requiring previously unseen levels of care. At the same time, they are also fighting to protect themselves and their families from the novel coronavirus, and too often, they must heal themselves and/or family members after infection. Add to that health care’s pre-existing structural problems: susceptibility to worker burnout, and an already marginalized workforce that is overwhelmingly Black, Brown, and female. Read More

As New York State’s Buffalo Niagara Region comes up against a second wave of the coronavirus, the area’s Catholic Health (CH) hospital system is relying on a strong foundation of preparedness and lessons learned during February’s COVID-19 outbreak. Read More

In what is arguably the most consequential presidential election in American history, 1199ers overcame the challenges of a global pandemic and helped Joe Biden and Kamala Harris beat Donald Trump. Now, members are setting about the work of undoing the damage done by four years of Donald Trump while at the same time battling COVID’s second wave. Read More

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed two bills on Oct. 23 ordering historic reforms to the Garden State’s long-term care industry. The laws are the culmination of a years-long battle to improve conditions for New Jersey’s long-term care workers and the residents for whom they care. 1199ers have been at the forefront of the struggle, so the day was one of pride and emotion. Read More

After a protracted struggle that spanned over a year and through the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, workers at NYU Winthrop University Medical Center in Mineola, NY, have their first collective bargaining agreement as members of 1199SEIU. Read More

Cathy Mahar, a first assistant surgery RN at Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Buffalo since 1987, grew up with the Golden Rule, and it’s one of the reasons she became a nurse. “I wanted to take care of others, and people who are sick,” she says. Mahar’s parents were her biggest supporters, encouraging her into the profession. She credits her high school ROTC program with encouraging her toward the education and discipline she needed to become a nurse Read More

1199SEIU member Genevieve E. Smith has been named to a new SEIU Healthcare Worker COVID Advisory Committee that will advise the Biden Administration’s COVID Task Force. The Committee will ensure that the experiences and perspectives of healthcare workers are included in the Biden administration’s COVID response: they will make recommendations and virtually meet with Task Force members as they plan the continuing battle against COVID-19. Read More

Registered Nurses New York Presbyterian-Queens in Flushing held an informational picket Nov. 9 to demand that management settle a new contract that protects their healthcare and retirement benefits and provides higher wages. Read More

Today we welcome more than 100 new members at White Plains Hospital into the 1199SEIU family. They are joining hundreds of fellow members in the Hudson Valley, who have already negotiated some of the best pay and benefits in the country. Read More

Workers at Humboldt House, a rehabilitation and nursing center in Buffalo, NY, in October settled a new contract that includes significant wage increases, enlarges the existing 10-year longevity step, and adds an additional longevity step at 30 years of service. Read More

The New York City Labor Chorus has kicked off its rehearsals on Zoom in preparation for performances celebrating its 30th Anniversary. Though no in-person rehearsals are planned until there is a vaccine for COVID19, the Labor Chorus is hard at work on its repertoire and planning a virtual anniversary celebration Read More

1199SEIU members at four Buffalo area nursing homes owned by the McGuire Group last September ratified a new, one-and-a-half year collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that includes wage increases of 4%, a first time shift differential for third shift, and increased starting wages for all departments (including additional increases based on years of service) Read More

In the midst of the greatest public health crisis in a century, no group of workers has been more needed and more quickly rose to the challenge than the frontline healthcare workers in hospitals, nursing homes and home care. The country owes you a debt of gratitude. Read More

With any luck, as you read this, moving trucks are on their way to Washington, DC. Read More

As promised, 1199SEIU is doing all we can to provide education and resources to keep our membership informed and updated about COVID-19, vaccinations, and the guidelines and protocols necessary to keep us safe and healthy. Read More

While Florida has been a hot spot of the COVID-19 pandemic that has ravaged our communities and economy for nine months, the hardworking members of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East have served on the front lines, bravely fighting to save lives despite the dangers of contracting the disease and endangering themselves and their loved ones. Sadly, many have become ill, and some have died. Read More