1199 Magazine

More than 200 nursing home workers at four rural facilities in Western New York are fighting for a fair contract. Their 3-year contract expired December 31, 2022. Union nursing home workers are represented by 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. Read More

“As an organization of healthcare workers dedicated to providing the very best care to our patients, our members are deeply disturbed by the recent South Florida criminal case regarding nursing schools selling fraudulent certifications.” Read More

On January 18, 1199ers joined virtually and in-person to reflect on 2022 to inform their 2023 plan to win higher wages and address inadequate staffing. Read More

1199SEIU workers will join alongside community groups, activists, and performers to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. This year’s keynote speaker is New York State Senator Jeremy A. Cooney. The afternoon of celebration will feature music, poetry, and dance. Workers will also honor the late Bruce Popper, Retired 1199SEIU Vice-President at the event. Read More

Today, 1199SEIU healthcare workers of every stripe—in hospitals and nursing homes, home care, pharmacies, community health clinics and every other caregiving setting—stand proudly with NYSNA nurses. NYSNA members have reached groundbreaking agreements at many of New York’s top hospitals which serve as a model for our state and nation. The remaining NY institutions where workers are on strike today must immediately follow suit. Read More

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“We congratulate NYSNA for the groundbreaking tentative agreements they have achieved at many New York hospitals, and we call on the holdout institutions to follow suit without delay. Read More

Upcoming Massachusetts Trainings and Workshops Read More

The past year has been an especially good one for 1199 home care members in New York State. In February, an arbitrator issued an historic $32 million award covering more than 100,000 current and former 1199SEIU bargaining unit members employed at 42 New York home care agencies. In April, Home Care members in the state won a $3-an-hour increase over minimum wage, amounting to a 20 percent increase. Read More

As the country went into the midterm elections on November 8, the GOP was crowing about an expected “red wave” – counting on voters’ fears around crime and inflation to carry them through. Read More

“I am an entertainer in my soul,” says DJ Ketchup—aka Chaheem Priest, an 1199 Resident Support Worker at Glendale Nursing Home in Schenectady, New York. He’s worked there since 2008, only taking a short hiatus during the height of COVID. Read More

Just one month after marking National Physician Assistants week, a group of 345 Physician Assistants (PAs) at Montefiore Medical Center’s Weiler and Moses campuses voted to join 1199 in November. All the PAs in the Montefiore are now part of the Union family. At the beginning of 2022, the Union welcomed another group of PAs at New York Presbyterian’s Methodist Hospital. As more and more PAs come into the fold, 1199 Magazine caught up with some of them to learn about their valuable contribution to the healthcare system. Read More

More than 6,300 healthcare workers at the largest private hospital system in Western New York won a new three-year contract in October, which includes wage increases of at least 12 percent and improved RN wage scales to help recruit and retain amid the national shortage. With this contract, Kaleida members will maintain their status as the highest paid healthcare workers in the region. Read More

Florida members living and working in the path of Hurricane Ian, which made landfall on September 28, are still reeling from its effects. It was the most deadly hurricane to strike their state since 1935. Read More

In a year when union organizing nationwide saw a dramatic resurgence, thousands of healthcare workers seized the moment to come together with 1199SEIU and build their labor power. At press time, the latest figures from the National Labor Relations Board [NLRB] showed a 53-percent increase in petitions filed for union representation in 2022 compared with the previous year Read More

We dodged disaster in last month’s midterm elections. Despite all the polling and predictions, the GOP “red wave” largely receded and ended up being little more than a dribble. The Republican Party now has far too many members who openly espouse white supremacy, misogyny, contempt for science and for public health to appeal to mainstream voters. Read More

As we say goodbye to 2022 and usher in the New Year, we have many achievements to look back on to make us proud, as well as hopeful. There are promising signs on the horizon for the year ahead. Read More

Rochester, NY – Yesterday, 1199SEIU members at The Pearl Nursing Center on Portland Avenue held an informational picket to call attention to their lack of a fair contract. Nursing home workers are represented by 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. Read More

Buffalo, NY – Last month, union workers at Promesa’s Alba de Vida clinic participated in Labor Management Meetings to address safety planning at the lower west side clinic. That safety planning helped make life-saving changes in their workplace prior to a shooting at the clinic in Buffalo. Read More

Direct care pay has historically remained low due to multiple factors, including under-investment in long-term care services and intersecting legacies of sexism and racism that undervalue caregiving work and those who provide it. Read More