1199ers come together to kick off the 2024 election movement.

More than a thousand members from across the 1199 regions gathered in New York City on June 24, for the first in-person Joint Delegate Assembly since the pandemic.

Recognizing the Union’s power as a political force nationally, several high-profile elected officials came to address the Delegate body.

Congress Member Ayanna Pressley, who represents Massachusetts’ 7th District, gave a particularly inspiring speech.

“The movement that you are leading, Delegates, is a movement that centers our shared humanity and labors in love for our collective freedoms,” she said. “It is the relationship you build with each other and with your community. We are in the business of lifting each other up, before, during and after an election cycle. Building power not only at the ballot box, but in our jobs and in our communities.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer from New York, along with New Jersey Congress Member Andy Kim—who 1199 members endorsed in his run for Senate—both spoke about the need to mobilize an army of voters in November to defeat those who would turn back the clock on our rights.

Union members need a federal government made up of representatives who work to ensure that working families can thrive, by shoring up funding for well-paying corporations. Not only will we not be able to win more Medicaid funding in New York State, we will be facing cuts. And that means layoffs for us, and worse care for our communities.”

Sandra Abegg, an 1199 Respiratory Therapist at the Northern Manor nursing home in Nanuet, NY, spoke about the impact of short staffing.

“I have had to work 26-hour shifts, and 11 of those hours entirely on my own. I can make it through, but I know the residents are not getting what they need.”

President Joe Biden used his Executive powers to set minimum staffing standards in nursing homes for the first time, Abegg noted. “Now Republicans in Congress—working with the for-profit nursing home industry— are trying to block that rule and prohibit the president from supporting nursing home workers and residents,” she said.

Dixon, who has worked in many local elections, knocking on doors to get out the vote for candidates that Union members have endorsed said, “I have seen the difference we can make. I know we can elect people who truly have the interests of our communities at heart if we talk to people one on one.”