1199 Magazine

Approximately 43 nursing home workers at a 142 bed facility in Williamsville have been working without a union contract since December 31, 2022 when their 3-year contract expired. Negotiations for a new union contract began one month before the contract expired. To date management has met with the union only 5 times, which is significantly less than negotiations being held at other nursing facilities. Nursing home workers are represented by 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, the largest healthcare workers union in the country. Read More

A New Orleans’-style funeral march to Governor Hochul’s office will be followed by non-violent civil disobedience to draw attention to the deadly impact of healthcare cuts. Read More

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MIAMI – Caregivers and leaders with 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East met with officials with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services/Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (HHS/CMS) on March 16 to discuss solutions to the dangerous staffing, retention and care crisis in Florida’s nursing homes. Read More

Albany, NY: Thousands of caregivers, still reeling from three years of the pandemic, will descend on the Capitol to call on Gov. Hochul and legislative leadership to reverse healthcare cuts and Close the Medicaid Coverage Cap. Read More

After months of bargaining, taking action, and making our voices heard, nearly 1,000 members have a new contract at Elara that invests in caregivers! Read More

Rochester, NY – 1199SEIU members at The Pearl Nursing Center on Portland Avenue overwhelmingly voted to ratify a 3-year agreement today. Nursing home workers are represented by 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, the largest healthcare workers union. Read More

“The 2023 Florida Legislation has begun, and our powerful organization of healthcare workers will fight to protect patients, caregivers and our communities. Read More

The 1969 Charleston, South Carolina hospitals strike was an early test of 1199’s strategy of joining union power with soul (civil rights) power. It was also an example of the Union’s deft use of its political influence in a hostile environment. Read More

Lillian Bannister became an 1199 member in 1994, when she started as PCA at Our Lady of Mercy in the Bronx. By the time she retired at age 62, she had 27 years of service under her belt. Kadeen Kingston, a new Delegate and Unit Clerk at NewYork Presbyterian Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn was born one year later. Read More

Charlie Hilario has been an 1199 activist for more than two decades, volunteering to take part in the Union’s political campaigns from the very beginning. During his time as a Delegate at NewYork- Presbyterian Hospital’s main campus in Washington Heights, he’s led so many new members through their orientations that he’s lost track of the exact number. Read More

When other children were dreaming of becoming astronauts, doctors or train conductors, Dr. Peniel Joseph had his heart set on being an organizer. That drive came from his mother, Germaine Joseph, who was an 1199 Lab Tech for nearly 40 years at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Manhattan. Dr. Joseph remembers joining his mom on the picket line in elementary school, and that affinity with political activism only grew stronger during his teenage years. Read More

When home care workers at Schofield Residence in Kenmore, New York, celebrated forming a union with 1199SEIU last December, it marked the beginning of a new chapter in home care organizing across the state. When these workers came together near Buffalo to vote ‘Yes’, they became one of the first licensed home health care agencies in Western New York to unionize. Read More

Providing high quality healthcare means being there when it counts – not only at the bedside, but behind the scenes as well. The Union’s Facilities members play a vital role, even though many patients who pass through a hospital’s hallways may never come across them. Read More

1199 members joined the Caring Across Maryland coalition of workers and healthcare advocates as they unveiled a package of bills for state lawmakers aimed at improving conditions for caregivers. The legislation would increase wages and provide greater oversight of nursing home acquisitions. Read More

1199SEIU members in Rochester held their 42nd Annual Martin Luther King Celebration at Strong Memorial Hospital on January 17. Members came together to celebrate the legacy of Dr. King with music, dance, and poetry. Read More

On January 18, nearly 200 Massachusetts members united in-person and virtually for a statewide 1199 delegate and leader assembly. They came together to celebrate recent victories, identify and prioritize the challenges they face and to develop a shared vision for 2023. Together, the delegates created action plans to build the union in each of their workplaces and approved policy priorities to tackle low wages and inadequate staffing across the board. Read More

For three decades the 1199SEIU Child Care Funds and the Child Care Corporation have provided quality services to over 400,000 children and families of both Union members and the community at large. The Care for Kids Awards Gala on December 6 at the Lighthouse in Chelsea Piers was the first time since 2019 that members, officers and supporters were able to celebrate in person together since the pandemic began. Read More

New York City contracts with nonprofits to provide billions of dollars’ worth of critical social services to New Yorkers in need. But according to a recent study by the New School, roughly two-thirds of all full-time human services workers had earnings in 2019 which fell below the city’s near-poverty threshold Read More

1199ers in Massachusetts unveil 2023-2024 legislative priorities that address short-staffing and wages, plus endorse priorities led by partner organizations that invest in our communities. Read More