1199 Magazine

Members and community allies, led by 1199SEIU President George Gresham, stopped traffic during rush hour in an act of non-violent civil disobedience in front of the Governor Kathy Hochul’s New York City office on March 29th. They held tombstones illustrating what is at stake if the state fails to inject much-needed dollars into healthcare provision in the FY2024 budget. Read More

The time for a reckoning has come. In the early days of the pandemic, when hundreds or thousands of members were going into work—many of them literally risking death for themselves and their family members each day—everyone was focused on the job at hand of saving as many people as possible. Read More

Buffalo, NY – Healthcare workers, providers, and consumers continue to lobby elected leaders for increases to healthcare funding in the late state’s budget, and city mayors are likewise calling upon the Governor to support Upstate NY’s health needs. They are calling for Medicaid rate increases for hospitals and nursing homes of 10% and 20%, respectively, detailing the dire financial situation that many healthcare providers find themselves in, after three years of a pandemic which devastated the healthcare workforce and has significantly increased the need for community health services. Mayors from the following cities sent letters urging Governor Hochul to invest in healthcare in the state’s budget: Read More

More than 1,500 members of 1199SEIU, the nation’s largest healthcare union, have voted overwhelmingly to ratify a contract that will improve the lives of the workers, their families and patients, and will also help to recruit and retain staff Read More

Statement of 1199SEIU President George Gresham, on the passing of Harry Belafonte: Read More

Buffalo, New York—Budget negotiations are entering their fourth week past the April 1st deadline and healthcare workers across New York State are continuing an unprecedented string of actions to focus attention to New York’s healthcare crisis that would further deteriorate if Medicaid isn’t funded adequately in the state budget. Workers are also calling for a reversal of major cuts to funding for safety-net hospitals and homecare workers’ wages contained in the Governor’s budget proposal. Read More

2022-2025 Union Contract with Kaleida Health Read More

We made it to the end of Maryland’s legislative session! Many of the bills that 1199 supported passed the state legislature and will soon be signed by Governor Wes Moore. Read More

MIAMI –Caregivers and leaders from 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East will host a virtual panel with Florida State Representative Michele Rayner (HD-70) and other officials on April 20 to discuss solutions to the dangerous staffing, retention and care crisis in the state’s nursing homes and hospitals. Read More

Buffalo, NY - More than 200 nursing home workers at four rural facilities in Western New York avoided a week-long strike after they reached a 2-year agreement this month. In a near unanimous vote, caregivers at 4 rural nursing homes ratified their new 2-year contract with Personal Healthcare. In February, caregivers held an informational picket to draw attention to short staffing, lack of fair wages and poor health insurance coverage. In March, 97% voted in favor of a week-long strike after months of negotiations without a fair contract. Union nursing home workers are represented by 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, the largest healthcare workers union in the country. Read More

The 1199SEIU office in Miramar opened its doors to members and their families looking for assistance with applications for TPS or Temporary Protected Status and the Biden Administration’s parole program. Both programs provide temporary protections for migrants from designated countries that are experiencing armed conflict, environmental disaster or other hardships or humanitarian crises. Read More

The ratification vote on Friday, April 14, was the culmination of months of negotiating that began in September 2022. Technical workers at St. Anthony Community Hospital voted to become 1199SEIU members in September 2021. The following July, the service workers at St. Anthony, Schervier Pavilion and Mount Alverno Assisted Living Center joined them. Negotiations were held together, resulting in one contract for all 240 healthcare workers. Read More

WHO: 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, 1199SEIU Training & Employment Funds, Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES, County of Monroe Industrial Agency (COMIDA), Rochester Employment Opportunity Center (REOC), 1199SEIU Healthcare Education Project, Strong Memorial Hospital/University at Rochester Medical Center, New York State Assemblymember Demond Meeks, Monroe County Executive Adam Bello, and City of Rochester Mayor Malik Evans, Program Participants. Read More

MIAMI – April is national Care Workers Recognition Month, recognizing the dedication and importance of essential caregivers, such as nursing home workers, across the country. Read More

There has been a purple wave of 1199SEIU healthcare workers converging at the Florida State Capitol building during the 2023 legislative session. Hospital staff and nursing home workers have met with dozens of state lawmakers to encourage them to support and implement effective solutions in Florida healthcare facilities that will respect workers (wages scales and agency pay standards), offer worker liability protections, pay staff (increased floor and ceiling wages) and include safe staffing levels (with quality incentives for employers). Healthcare workers are advocating for the following: Read More

Thousands of Healthcare Workers will rally statewide Wednesday to Protest Governor Hochul’s Proposed Budget Read More

Healthcare workers in cities and towns across New York will bang on pots and pans in front of their institutions and hold rallies to raise the alarm that Gov. Hochul’s proposed budget neglects NY’s healthcare needs. 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

Read More

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