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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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