New Study Outlines Path to Safeguard Quality Patient Care and Healthcare Jobs in Lynn

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.

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.

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:

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

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

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.

2022-2025 Union Contract with Kaleida Health

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.

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.

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.