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.
“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.”
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.
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.
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.
“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.
Upcoming Massachusetts Trainings and Workshops
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.
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.