NYC/Long Island

The Basil Paterson Scholarship Program & 1199SEIU’s Homecare Education Fund held their Fourth Annual Basil Paterson Scholarship Fundraiser on April 27 at 1199SEIU’s Cherkasky/Davis Conference Center in New York City. The Paterson Scholarship Fund, a labor/management initiative, was established in 2013 in honor of the late Basil Paterson, the Union’s longtime and beloved friend and attorney who dedicated his life to organized labor, civil rights and social justice. Paterson had many responsibilities at 1199, but he was a particularly staunch advocate for the Union’s homecare workers, fighting to win them respect and dignified wages. Since its inception, the Scholarship bearing his name has provided money for homecare workers to pursue their dreams of higher education. This year’s ceremony welcomed two 2015 awardees, Wilma Mayers and Margaret Atenaga.