Some 3,000 doggedly determined members at Brookdale Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY, kept the faith for two-and-a half years and in January won back their healthcare coverage under the 1199SEIU National Benefit Fund (NBF). Members also won reinstatement under other 1199SEIU funds, including the 1199SEIU Child Care Fund and the Training and Upgrading Fund.

“This is more than just a victory for the members at Brookdale. It is a victory for the whole Union,” said RN Adly Casseus. “It really shows us how in unity there is strength. We really did stick together over these two-and-a-half years. We never gave up.”

Brookdale members lost their NBF coverage in May 2011 when Medisys, the hospital’s former operator, fell behind on Fund payments. Members contend that Medisys ran a once-thriving institution into the ground as the company ignored the collective bargaining agreement and made a unilateral decision to abandon the NBF. Medisys adopted an expensive and inferior Blue Cross/Blue Shield plan for Brookdale’s workers.

“It’s was horrible. When people went to the doctor they weren’t treated like 1199ers,” said housekeeping Delegate Maureen Browne. “I had a member who had to pay $1800 for her daughter’s braces. We had members who couldn’t afford to go to the dentist until they saved up and could pay the bill up front. And members with chronic illnesses like diabetes or who needed a nebulizer found it very hard to receive treatment under that Blue Cross plan.”

But Brookdale members weren’t going quietly, and immediately held a three-day sit-in. They took over the hospital’s main lobby to protest their treatment by Medisys and its destructive management of the hospital. In November 2011 - just before Thanksgiving - they held an “Occupy Brookdale” rally to demand the ouster of Medisys, the preservation of vital services at Brookdale, and the restoration of their 1199SEIU benefits.

For 30 months, Brookdale workers picketed, lobbied, held town hall meetings and organized, pressuring legislators to find a new operator for the financially distressed hospital. Last year the efforts paid off. Medisys was out. New York State’s Department of Health brought in restructuring expert Mark Toli to oversee operations at Brookdale. After a year of cooperative work with the membership, 1199ers were reinstated to the 1199SEIU Benefit Funds as of January 1, 2014.

“We never lost sight of our goal or of our objective,” said occupational therapist Yves Roseus. “This is a good example of a Delegate body that might argue about little things, but with big things we always press forward. It was a collective effort. We knew we could make it happen. One of the greatest moments was when I told my 12-year-old son that we’d won and he raised his fist and shouted ‘Yes!’ I honestly didn’t think he even knew what our health benefits were.”