Member Democracy in Action

When new 1199SEIU leadership took office last June, they pledged to usher in a new era marked by transparency, accountability, and member power. With that commitment in mind, President Yvonne Armstrong and Secretary-Treasurer Veronica Turner-Biggs have been traveling across the Union’s regions on a Listening Tour to speak with members face to face and hear their concerns and ideas firsthand.

Over the summer, members in Florida, Upstate, Massachusetts, Downstate, and Long Island met with the new leaders. In October, it was the turn of the Hudson Valley and Capital Region.

In the first week of December, President Armstrong and Secretary-Treasurer Turner-Biggs traveled to Maryland and Washington, DC, continuing their outreach to members across the Union.

Cynthia Medavarapu, an RN at the University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center in Laurel, Maryland, welcomed the visit and praised the opportunity for direct engagement. “I would like to commend the executive leadership for their face-to-face introduction to delegates in their home base,” she said. “The crowd was tough, but they handled the questions well, which spoke volumes to me.”

Medavarapu also emphasized the importance of strengthening member participation in the region. “If Maryland 1199 membership is over seven thousand, then we have more work to do to increase the number of delegates here,” she said. “With the alarming behavior of the current US President, it is more important than ever to build one voice to fight back.”

Still to come are visits to New Jersey, as well as meetings with home care members and retirees. The insights gathered on the road will help shape a unionwide plan of work—a roadmap for the next chapter of the Union—that delegates will vote to ratify early next year.