PROTECTING FREEDOMS
4 Displaying Pride Members demonstrate that the best way to bridge racial and cultural divides is to celebrate together with pride.
5 The President’s Column The Stakes are High this November.
6 Around the Regions Miami Members Win Strong Contract; In Memoriam; New Members Join 1199SEIU; 1199ers Celebrate Juneteenth Together; Upstate Workers Win Deal, Averting Strike; Home Care Members Secure First Contract.
9 Mobilizing Our Members 1199ers come together to kick off the 2024 election movement.
11 Raising the Money Celebrating the Political Action Fund competition winners.
12 Retiree Profile Ruby Joseph's 60 years of activism.
14 The Purple Wave
‘We are the swing vote,’ 1199ers chant in Washington, D.C. as they joined a nationwide coalition to mobilize low-waged, infrequent voters.
17 Family Planning Voters in Florida have the chance to reinstate reproductive rights in November. 1199ers have joined the campaign.
20 Did You Forget Your 1199SEIU Federal Credit Union Account? Money in abandoned accounts is scheduled to be turned over to New York State.
22 The Right Side of History 1199ers have long championed the cause of peace and justice around the world.
@1199seiu www.1199seiu.org
Cover: Virginia Kondas, an 1199 Advanced Practice RN at UHealth Tower hospital in Miami, speaks out about reproductive freedom.
Editorial: A Question of Character
Members are ready to throw all their weight behind Vice President Kamala Harris.
“A week is a long time in politics” the old saying goes. That adage rarely seemed more appropriate than it did in late July as the 2024 presidential election season entered its final stretch.
All the divisions, doubt, and uncertainty which had been plaguing the Democratic Party suddenly vanished on July 21, when President Joe Biden made his statesmanlike decision to back away from the 2024 race for the good of the country.
In doing so, he made questions of character central to the decision facing the American public on November 5. By standing down from the contest for the most powerful job in the world, President Biden demonstrated a selflessness rarely seen in public life.
When Kamala Harris seamlessly stepped up to the top of the ticket, her candidacy further heightened the contrast between the two political parties. The Democrats were fielding a vigorous former prosecutor while the Republicans were running a convicted felon.
And just when we thought the extremists currently in charge of the Republican Party couldn’t get any nastier, they doubled down. But the racist and sexist remarks made against Vice-President Harris by both the Republican presidential candidate and his running mate ended up backfiring.
The majority of Americans now seem eager to return to a time when elected representatives worked to bring the country together and concentrated on making life easier for its citizens. That’s why Harris added Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to the ticket. He has a record of cutting taxes for working families and providing free school meals for schoolchildren. He also signed a law to provide paid family and medical leave to Minnesotan families.
No longer are Americans prepared to allow extremist policies to be rammed through the corridors of power unchecked. For instance, roughly two-thirds of Americans believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases. But thanks to the Supreme Court—now dominated by extremist appointees—access to abortion is currently restricted in 27 states.
1199 Members in Florida have joined a statewide campaign to restore reproductive freedom by putting a constitutional amendment on their ballot in November (See Family Planning p. 17).
Across all our regions, 1199ers are also paying close attention to pocketbook issues, as inflation has put a strain on family budgets since the pandemic. Thousands joined the Poor People’s March in Washington D.C. in late June (see The Purple Wave, p. 14) to press for more income equality.
1199 Magazine
July-August 2024
Vol. 42 No.4
ISSN 2474-7009
Published by 1199SEIU, United Healthcare Workers East 498 Seventh Ave, New York, NY 10018 (212) 582-1890
www.1199seiu.org
president
George Gresham
secretary treasurer
Milly Silva senior executive
Yvonne Armstrong
Veronica TurnerBiggs
Jacqueline Alleyne
Lisa Brown
Roger Cummerbatch
Tim Foley
Adekemi Gray
Todd Hobler
Patricia Marthone
Brian Morse
Roxey Nelson
Rona Shapiro
Gregory Speller
Daine Williams
Nadine Williamson
editor
Sarah Wilson
Maiarelli Studio
director of photography
Kim Wessels
contributors
Aaron Blye
April Ezzell
Jenna Jackson
JJ Johnson
Desiree Taylor
The majority of Americans now seem eager to return to a time when elected representatives worked to bring the country together and concentrated on making life easier for its citizens.
Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey points out that while monthly inflation has slowed with the help of Democrats’ passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, working families are still living with artificially high prices. At its peak, from July 2020 through July 2022, inflation rose by 14 percent. Corporate profits, however, rose by 75 percent over those two years—five times as fast as inflation.
It’s no secret that the billionaire class wants to maintain this unfair status quo and are pouring money into a campaign to unseat Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey and silence his opposition to the corporate “greedflation” he’s correctly identified.
But members are equally ready to fight back against economic inequality. No amount of money is going to get in the way of 1199ers on the move. The Weekend Warriors program is already in full swing (see Mobilizing our Members, p. 9) and we will not rest until every last vote is counted.
1199 Magazine is published six times a year—January/ February, March/ April, May/June, July/ August, September/ October, November/ December—for $15.00 per year by 1199SEIU, United Healthcare Workers E. 498 Seventh Ave, New York, NY 10018
Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and at additional mailing offices.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to 1199 Magazine, 498 Seventh Ave, New York, NY 10018
Hanna Barczyk
Displaying Pride
Members demonstrate that the best way to bridge racial and cultural divides is to celebrate together with pride.
Johanna Jimenez, a member from NYU, marches in NYC pride.
Michael Velez, an 1199 Paralegal at the Legal Aid Society (center) and Jose Sotomayor, Senior Lead
Jennifer Justiniano, an 1199 Receptionist Clerk from Jamaica Hospital brought her family.
Boricuan solidarity and pride was on full display at the National Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City on June 9, billed as America’s largest cultural celebration.
Michael Velez, an 1199 Paralegal at the Legal Aid Society, said: “I’m super proud to be a Puerto Rican, a Nuyorican, and I just had to come out today to celebrate the parade, but also Legal Aid and 1199, the biggest healthcare union in the nation.” Velez was joined by fellow Paralegal Bryant Bell and Jose Sotomayor, an 1199 PCA at Callen-Lorde health center.
Dianne Dixon, an 1199 Patient Service Associate at Brookdale Hospital in Brooklyn, said she attended the parade in support of her brothers and sisters because “we are one people, and we want to come together and be unified.”
“Today, we are celebrating life!” she said.
In Buffalo on June 2, Union members also marched proudly alongside the Justice Bloc to lift up the LGBTQIA+ community and kicking off Pride month.
“I had a fantastic time,” Delores Lanier, Equipment Coordinator at Kaleida Health’s Buffalo General Medical Center said. “It was my first time participating in the parade and it was phenomenal.”
On June 30, New York City 1199ers joined “The March,” which began in 1970 on the first anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising—the demonstration that sparked the modern gay rights movement. Sporting the same banner declaring, “All Welcome Here,” 1199ers came together to uplift marginalized voices and advocate for working conditions and contracts that protect our LGBTQIA+ healthcare workers.
Members in Rochester, NY, also took part in their city’s annual Pride Parade on July 20.
Call Center PCA at Callen Lorde at the Puerto Rican Day Parade.
by George Gresham
The Stakes are High
But we stand ready to fight for what’s right.
Trump is a clear and present danger. But he is beatable! Republicans lost the popular vote in seven of the last eight presidential elections.
First things first: Kamala Harris is going to be the next President of the United States. And we 1199ers are going to help make that happen.
Joe Biden has been the most pro-worker, pro-union President in a century, and deserves our gratitude. Even in the weeks before he ended his campaign, he hammered corporate greed. He promised to make the rich pay more taxes. He pushed for the expansion of Social Security and called for eliminating medical debt. He started drawing up plans for Supreme Court reform and promised rent-control caps to deal with the high cost of housing nationwide. Kamala Harris will continue this platform to protect working-class people and allow us to secure our families. It may be hard to remember now, but back in 2019 when she was a Senator, Harris was a supporter of Medicare for All. We can help her return to that pledge.
Now, we beat Trump. As a former Senator, attorney general, and prosecutor, Kamala Harris is more than up to the task of prosecuting the case of why a twice-impeached, 34-times convicted felon—the person who instigated the assault on our nation’s Capital on January 6, 2021—and who was also found liable for sexual assault—has no place anywhere near the Oval Office. As a Black and Asian woman, Kamala Harris will continue to shatter glass ceilings and inspire a new generation of Americans.
Too many people in this country feel ignored by our political system. They feel insulted that politicians don’t care to understand what is going on in their lives. Sixty percent of our people live paycheck-to-paycheck. Life expectancy for working-class people is 10 years shorter than it is for the rich. We
want a government that represents us, and not corporate America.
And Trump? His “Project 2025” platform calls for banning unions for public service workers; firing civil service workers and replacing them with anti-union Trump loyalists; letting bosses eliminate unions mid-contract; letting companies stop paying overtime, and allowing states to opt out of federal overtime and minimum wage laws; and eliminating child labor protections.
As we know, the corrupt Trump Supreme Court demolished the decades-long Roe v. Wade decision protecting bodily autonomy for women. Harris can do one interview and speech after another where she reminds female voters that Trump is a sexual predator and that he and his team would ban abortions, even for rape victims.
At the Republican National Convention, delegates were given signs to wave that demanded “Mass Deportations Now.” There are, at a conservative estimate, eleven million undocumented immigrants in the United States today. Under a new Trump administration, were it to make a serious attempt to round up and deport eleven million people— there is no possible scenario that doesn’t look like an authoritarian nightmare. Stephen Miller, Trump’s top aide on immigration, has said he plans to bring in the National Guard, state and local police and, if necessary, a private red-state army. This deportation force would go house-to-house and business-to-business rounding up millions of immigrants, expelling them to tent camps along the southern border, and then use the United States Air Force to transport them back to their countries of origin. Undeniably, Trump is a clear
and present danger. But he is beatable! Republicans lost the popular vote in seven of the last eight presidential elections. Put another way, they’ve only won the popular vote once in the past 36 years.
Let’s do the math: Polls tell us that 69 percent of Americans support legal abortion. Ninety percent of the country wants stronger gun control laws. Seventy-two percent of us believe the Climate Crisis is real and that we must act now. Seventy-one percent of all Americans approve of labor unions. Nearly 80 percent of us insist the rich must pay more in taxes. Seventy-six percent of us want to see the federal minimum wage more than doubled to $17 an hour. Almost 75 percent of Americans support a cap on rents and the building of more affordable homes. Eighty percent of the American public demands a mandatory retirement age and/or term limits on all Supreme Court Justices. Seventy percent of us are demanding a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
As we 1199ers know, we don’t win unless we fight. In poker, at the end of the game, there is sometimes something called “table stakes.” Every player pushes all the money they have into the pot for one last hand. That’s where we stand with this election. Everything we hold dear—our jobs, our union, our children’s futures, our health, our environment, our retirement security—everything is at stake.
Kamala Harris is going to be the next President of the United States—and we are going to help make that so. With 450,000 members from the Canadian border to the Gulf Coast, we will mount the most massive voter turnout operation ever put together, to continue to advance the most pro-worker agenda in U.S. history.
The President’s
Column
Around the Regions
Miami Members Win Strong Contract
The overwhelming majority of healthcare workers at UHealth Tower, formerly the University of Miami Hospital, have agreed on a new contract which includes ratification bonuses, annual wage increases, a higher minimum wage and shift differentials—and other provisions designed to improve staffing and retention.
“I got a huge pay increase because our new contract requires that all my years of experience are counted,” 1199 CNA Natacha Milford said. “This extra money is really appreciated because it will help me cope with increasing housing costs and living expenses.”
“Nurses, certified nursing assistants, and housekeepers—everyone is happy,” Food Services worker Adith Joseph said.
“They are thrilled to get wage increases including a higher minimum wage,” she added. “Some staff who have not yet joined with their coworkers to unite through 1199SEIU say they want to join because they see how powerful we
In Memoriam
“It is not just about wages, it is quality of work, fairness, time off and work conditions that improve your workday.
Our union makes a big difference, the voices sticking together, it helps. One union one voice.”
– Dionne Ferguson, RN and Case Manager
are when we stand together.”
Members celebrate at UHealth Tower in Miami.
Miguel Cruz, of Phelps Hospital in New York
1199SEIU members were shocked and heartbroken by the senseless killing on August 2 of one of our union family, Miguel Cruz, a member at Phelps Hospital in Sleepy Hollow, New York. Cruz, a hardworking and devoted father was killed by a stray bullet in a drive-by shooting outside of his Bronx apartment.
As his family navigates through this unimaginable loss, a GoFundMe page has been set up to help support his daughters.
Members were also mourning the untimely loss of Shakei Gadson, a Union Delegate at Mount Sinai Morningside for nearly 15 years. Gadson who succumbed to a sudden heart attack at just 45 years old, leaves behind a wife and children.
Joseph is one of many workers at UHealth Tower who are members of 1199SEIU—the largest union representing healthcare workers in Florida.
Among the highlights of the new contract is a provision that calls for the creation of a jobs committee – a group that includes 1199SEIU members and management. This
committee will address recruitment, retention, use of agency workers, and wage equity issues.
“It is not just about wages, it is quality of work, fairness, time off, and work conditions that improve your workday, said RN and Case Manager Dionne Ferguson. “Our union makes a big difference, the voices sticking together, it helps. One union one voice.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help support Miguel Cruz's daughters. Please scan here to support:
New Members Join 1199SEIU
On June 27, the Physician Assistants at Mount Sinai Queens voted overwhelmingly to form a union with 1199SEIU, joining fellow PAs in New York City hospitals who have also organized collectively in recent years.
“When we looked around at other professionals in the healthcare field in New York City, we could see that those with 1199 contracts had better pay and conditions than we did—not to mention job security. It was time for a change, so we came together and formed a union of our own,” said Johanna Olaya, a Physician Assistant activist at Mount Sinai Queens.
Between June 18 and July 9, hundreds of workers in the Hudson Valley voted to join 1199 at five different multi-speciality medical facilities owned by Optum. They include Fishkill Merritt; Fishkill Westage; Hudson Valley; Putnam Hospital; and Mount Kisco. To date, more than 635 Optum workers have voted to join 1199 in ten different elections.
“When we looked around at other professionals in the healthcare field in New York City, we could see that those with 1199 contracts had better pay and conditions than we did — not to mention job security. It was time for a change, so we came together and formed a union of our own”
– Johanna Olaya, Physician Assistant at Mount Sinai Queens.
(L to R) 1199 PAs Hemangi Patel, Johanna Olaya and Alexa Anastasio celebrate victory.
Members in Buffalo mark Juneteenth.
Rochester 1199ers come together.
1199ers Celebrate Juneteenth Together
John Mannion, the 1199-endorsed candidate for New York’s 22nd Congressional District, joined union members in Syracuse for their Juneteenth parade.
1199ers in Rochester and Potsdam also gathered together to commemorate the holiday, which marks the abolition of slavery on June 19, 1865.
"Juneteenth is a celebration of our freedom—and we are still fighting for equality," said Lavonne, a Patient Care Aide at Buffalo General Medical Center.
UPSTATE NEW YORK
NEW YORK CITY
Around the Regions
Home care members secure first contract
Home care providers at Community Care Home Health Services in both Upstate and Long Island, New York, have overwhelmingly voted to ratify their very first union contract. The 1,600 new members who agreed to the three-year deal won seven paid holidays each year. When workers provide care for consumers on three selected public holidays, they will receive time-anda-half. On the remaining holidays, including Juneteenth, they will be paid $3 above their regular rate. The agreement also includes an optional 401k retirement plan and bereavement leave.
“This is a good first contract as homecare workers,” said Toni Felton, an 1199 Certified Home Health Aide from Rochester. “We did our homework and asked the key questions to find out what our members needed—and went after it. We secured some good things including pay raises and holidays. For many, it may be their first time being involved in a union.”
The contract includes a full grievance and arbitration procedure allowing the Union to bring grievances on behalf of workers for violations of the agreement and to challenge disciplinary actions.
Home Care members celebrate their first contract.
Upstate Workers Win Deal, Averting Strike
Nursing home workers at one of the last non-profit facilities in Western New York averted a two-day strike on July 30, after reaching an 18-month agreement just hours before they were set to hit the picket line. Caregivers at Weinberg Campus, located in Getzville, NY, near Buffalo, planned to protest a poorly managed facility, unpaid benefits, low wages, and staffing levels.
“I’m happy with the contract, but I know that there is still work to be done,” said Nell Robinson, an 1199 LPN.
The deal ratified on August 2, includes wage increases based on years of service; 10-step wage scale; pension increases; shift differential; and Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a paid holiday. Depending on seniority, members will also receive retroactive pay amounting to 2.25 percent and 2.75 percent of their wage increase going back to November 1, 2023.
The bargaining unit at Weinberg Campus includes Food Service Workers, Maintenance Workers, Cooks, Environmental Service Workers, Housekeeping, Certified Nurse Assistants, Licensed Practical Nurses, Personal Care Aides, Clerical Workers, Home Health Aides, and Community Home Health Aides.
“I’m happy with the contract, but I know that there is still work to be done”
– Nell Robinson, 1199 Licensed Practical Nurse
MOBILIZING OUR MEMBERS
1199ers come together to kick off the 2024 election movement.
More than a thousand members from across the 1199 regions gathered in New York City on June 24, for the first in-person Joint Delegate Assembly since the pandemic.
Recognizing the Union’s power as a political force nationally, several high-profile elected officials came to address the Delegate body.
Congress Member Ayanna Pressley, who represents Massachusetts’ 7th District, gave a particularly inspiring speech.
“The movement that you are leading, Delegates, is a movement that centers our shared humanity and labors in love for our collective freedoms,” she said. “It is the relationship you build with each other and with your community. We are in the business of lifting each other up, before, during and after an election cycle. Building power not only at the ballot box, but in our jobs and in our communities.”
“We
are in the business of lifting each other up, before, during and after an election cycle. Building power not only at the ballot box, but in our jobs and in our communities.”
– Ayanna Pressley, Congresswoman, Massachusetts’ 7th District
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer from New York, along with New Jersey Congress Member Andy Kim—who 1199 members endorsed in his run for Senate—both spoke about the need to mobilize an army of voters in November to defeat those who would turn back the clock on our rights.
Union members need a federal government made up of representatives who work to ensure that working families can thrive, by shoring up funding for well-paying
Delegates show their enthusiasm.
“If the Republicans take control in November, they have promised to cut Medicaid funding to pay for tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations. Not only will we not be able to win more Medicaid funding in New York State, we will be facing cuts.”
– Dianne Dixon, Patient Service Associate, Brookdale Hospital
jobs, healthcare, housing and transportation. The billionaires and their corporations need to be made to pay their fair share.
From across all 1199’s regions, members spoke about the challenges they face in their workplaces and their communities.
Virginia Kondas, an 1199 Advanced Practice RN at UHealth Tower hospital in Miami, pointed out that Florida had recently outlawed abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.
“This has put politicians in charge of very intimate healthcare decisions,” she said.
But members in Florida have worked hard to put a referendum on the ballot in November to reverse the terrible decisions made by politicians in Tallahassee, she added.
Dianne Dixon, an 1199 Patient Service Associate at Brookdale Hospital in Brooklyn, spoke about the high levels of stress many of her patients faced.
“They don’t know if they can pay for their medical treatment, they don’t know if they can keep a roof over their heads,” she said. “And as healthcare workers, we have to put aside our own stress to try to be there for them in that moment.”
Medicaid and Medicare funding levels are currently set both in Washington and the individual states.
“If the Republicans take control in November,” Dixon warned, “they have promised to cut Medicaid funding to pay for tax breaks for the wealthy and
Members from every 1199 region gather in NYC to prepare for the election.
corporations. Not only will we not be able to win more Medicaid funding in New York State, we will be facing cuts. And that means layoffs for us, and worse care for our communities.”
Sandra Abegg, an 1199 Respiratory Therapist at the Northern Manor nursing home in Nanuet, NY, spoke about the impact of short staffing.
“I have had to work 26-hour shifts, and 11 of those hours entirely on my own. I can make it through, but I know the residents are not getting what they need.”
President Joe Biden used his Executive powers to set minimum staffing standards in nursing homes for the first time, Abegg noted. “Now Republicans in Congress—working with the for-profit nursing home industry— are trying to block that rule and prohibit the president from supporting nursing home workers and residents,” she said.
Dixon, who has worked in many local elections, knocking on doors to get out the vote for candidates that Union members have endorsed said, “I have seen the difference we can make. I know we can elect people who truly have the interests of our communities at heart if we talk to people one on one.”
Raising the Money
When Charles Williams, an 1199 PCA at the Buffalo General Medical Center was asked to introduce the Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer at the Delegate Assembly, he didn’t know that he’d also won a top prize.
It was only later that he learned that he’d convinced the largest number of his fellow members to begin or upgrade their contributions to the Political Action Fund. He’s now planning a trip to California along with another 1199er who works at the same hospital.
Contributions to this fund, known as PAC, are used to build a healthcare workers movement to protect workers� rights and counteract wealthy special interests. Every dollar that members contribute goes straight towards supporting the issues and candidates that 1199SEIU members have endorsed.
Williams, who has worked at Buffalo General for 34 years, explained that for him politics is not really about Democrats and Republicans like many people think. It is about issues that have a direct impact on members’ communities. “For instance, they were threatening to close the Women and Children’s Hospital here in Buffalo,” he said. “The Union helped to collect 4,000 signatures and a few years later the Oishei Children’s Hospital was built in its place.”
In Florida, Debra Williams, who works as a Dietary Aide at Tamarac Rehabilitation and Health Center near Fort Lau-
derdale, also focused on local issues. She was one of the top three competition winners, and was awarded a smart watch.
She reminded her co-workers of political victories that affected them directly. For instance, Temporary Protected Status (TPS)—which Republicans want to remove—is hugely important for Florida members who have Haitian family members. This humanitarian provision allows them to seek safety in the United States. “If we don’t travel to Tallahassee to let our elected representatives know what we need face-to-face, we will not be heard,” explained Williams, “Our PAC dollars allow us to make these trips.”
In Syracuse, NY, Desma Williams, an 1199 Delegate and CNA at the Central Park Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, was also awarded a smart watch. She said she was never interested in politics or unions growing up. “But when I was dealing with struggles that we have to face at work, I had to speak out about things that are not right.” This passion for justice for herself and her co-workers was the first step to becoming a Delegate.
“Just like in the shop when I tell members that it is not the Union that creates change, but all of us coming together,” It is the same thing on the national stage, she added, “Members have to work to get the right people elected, and then it is up to us and our movement to hold them accountable.”
here to sign up for Weekend Warriors to help elect representatives who share our values.
(L to R) Charles Williams from Buffalo, NY, Debra Williams from Florida and Desma Williams, from Syracuse, NY were the three top winners of the PAC competition.
Retiree Profile: Ruby Joseph
After 60 years on the job, Joseph’s career began before many members were born.
Funny, feisty, fearless – those are a few words to describe recent retiree Ruby Jean Joseph Graham, Unit Secretary at Montefiore Hospital. Joseph worked at Montefiore for 60 years and has been a union delegate for 50 of those 60 years, sharing her passion, leadership, and life experiences with her fellow members and staff. Growing up in Snow Hill, North Carolina, Joseph moved to New York at 18 with a family in tow. “I had to move from the South where there wasn’t a lot of opportunities for black people and traveled North as a mother of three” she says. She left a difficult situation and stayed with extended family.
It was her uncle that got her involved in healthcare. “He was a supervisor in housekeeping at Montefiore and got her a housekeeping job in 1964 as a Housekeeping Aide. From there she worked as a Nurse Aide and then a Unit Secretary, a position she kept until retirement. About the position, “I love being able to train people and keep the doctors in check, because they need it,” she chuckles, “I worked with all of them, especially when changes happened on the floor, and I helped them to adjust to that.” One big adjustment? When more female doctors were hired. “I made rounds [with the surgeons] and said they had to work with the new doctors, that they had to see and
RUBY
JOSEPH Retiree, Unit Secretary at Montefiore Hospital
treat them like everyone else. I made sure to set them straight on that,” Joseph says.
Making sure everyone is respected and treated fairly is central to how Joseph operates. “I learned, the way I want to be treated, that’s the way you treat people. I’ve always had respect for and admired people, and when they disrespected me, I put them in check – just because you’re a doctor or a nurse doesn't mean you can disrespect me. I respect myself and I think you should do the same thing,” Joseph says.
That philosophy stems from her big family and a painful history. “I have ten siblings, seven girls and three boys and I’m the oldest! I’m used to having control and keeping people in line,” Joseph laughs. “My brother and I were often called the rebels – we weren’t afraid of anything, even though we lived in the South in the 60’s and saw so much racial injustice.” [During that time], when we went to work our name was ‘n-word’ and then when we would come home it was our actual names, I couldn’t get used to it. I asked my mother about it, and I saw her drop her head and say, ‘try to do the best you can with it, cause that’s the way it is now.’ But I knew something wasn’t right about that,” Joseph says. She’s used that tenacity inside the hospital and it’s what made her become a Union Delegate.
“I had an incident in 1974 where my manager and supervisor at the time tried to frame me saying I made a medication error on my transcription,” she remembers. “I didn’t do that and had proof that I wrote it correctly, and the supervisor had put up a nurse to say that I did. When that happened, I asked, ‘how can I get in a position to stop people from doing these things or to help people who these things are happening to?’ The response was become a Union Delegate, so I ran and won and for 10 years I never lost a [grievance] case!”
Throughout her time in Montefiore and with 1199, Joseph has been a part of historic events. “I heard Dr. Martin Luther King speak several times at 1199 and I made it my business to get a front row seat,” she says. “Coming from the South [sitting in] the back was not made for me!” Joseph has seen five 1199 presidents – from Leon Davis to George Gresham and knows them well. “I got to know Leon exceptionally well, him and Doris Turner. George was an X-ray student at Montefiore when I met him. I told him when he was Secretary Treasurer that one day you’re gonna be sitting in that chair [as president], just you wait. When it happened, I got a call from him and folks at Montefiore wanted to call me a witch woman because I predicted it!” One of
“I heard Dr. Martin Luther King speak several times at 1199 and I made it my business to get a front row seat. Coming from the South [sitting in] the back was not made for me!”
her biggest accomplishments was raising the weekly wage at Montefiore to $100. “I remember ‘Dance in the street for $100 a week’ in 1968. When I started, my paycheck was $32 a week in 1964, and I was excited then! So, when we won $100, I had everyone form a circle around Montefiore to dance in the street for two hours; it was a celebration,” she says.
Joseph has always been about getting involved, from political activism and demonstrations, to strikes and rallies to make sure her and other’s voices are heard, especially now in the current political climate. “Their plan is to send this country backwards and all the rights we’ve fought to won will be stripped if he becomes the president again. That level of hatred during his tenure, a lot of it resonated with me, I started to see the return of the racism that I grew up with,” Joseph says. That’s why it’s important to be involved and vote. “The first time I went to vote was on a mule and wagon and they turned us around and said we couldn’t vote and now I can see the same thing coming back.” Joseph is excited about the possibility of a woman becoming President. “I firmly believe that it’s about whoever is qualified to do the job, but I am excited about women in power. I was excited about Obama and now am excited about Kamala Harris,” she says.
Ruby Joseph at her retirement party at Montefiore Hospital.
Joseph shares a moment with the 1199 President, George Gresham, who said: “I don’t remember a time when Miss Ruby wasn’t out there in the fight.”
THE PURPLE
‘We are the swing vote,’ 1199ers chant in Washington, D.C. as they joined a nationwide coalition to mobilize low-waged, infrequent voters.
Poverty is the fourth-leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the Poor People’s Campaign. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Thousands of Union members travelled to the nation’s capital on June 29, to highlight the needs of more than 135 million low-income people across the country—and to fight for change. The assembly called by Rev. Dr. William Barber marked the launch of an outreach program to 15 million infrequent voters ahead of the presidential election in November.
William Cail, an 1199 PCA from Massachusetts, was one of many who shared their personal stories at the podium in front of thousands of fellow activists.
“I was on the streets on my own from the time I was four, and in the foster care system from
the time I was eight, until I was 17,” he said. “My family situation was so tough, that I knew I was better off on the streets than at home. I know what it is like to sleep outside, to not know where my next meal is coming from. We are here to ensure that others do not have to know how that feels. I am determined to do everything in my power to give my beautiful daughters a future where poverty no longer exists.”
Working as a Union PCA for 20 years, Cail was able to lift himself out of poverty and start a family. He was in Washington, D.C. for the first time with his three youngest daughters.
Keon Reid, an 1199 CNA, who works at Morningside Nursing and Rehab in the Bronx, also explained why she joined the assembly.
“I was in Albany a few
months ago to fight for Medicaid Equity,” she said. “I’m in Washington now to make sure that the right people get inside the White House, so that Medicaid will not get cut. We need enough funds to provide appropriate care for our residents—and to get paid appropriately for the work that we are providing—and for our families.”
A little more than six decades after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his legendary “I Have a Dream” speech in the nation’s capital, it sometimes feels like we are regressing from the fundamental truth that all people are equal and deserve equal treatment and respect, said Cynthia Medavarapu, an 1199 Critical Care RN, who works at the University of Maryland Laurel Medical Center.
“I am determined to do everything in my power to give my beautiful daughters a future where poverty no longer exists.”
– William Cail, 1199 PCA from Massachusetts
Members from every 1199 region rally in Washington D.C.
“We must elect officials that seek to unify us instead of divide our nation. We are in this fight together.”
– Cynthia Medavarapu, an 1199 Critical Care RN at the University of Maryland Laurel Medical Center
Members from every 1199 region rally in Washington D.C.
“We have still not recovered from the devastation and confusion of COVID-19,” she said. “Hundreds and thousands of people died. The healthcare industry, which was short-staffed before the pandemic, is now even more stretched. Nobody wants to come back and work in healthcare – from doctors, nurses, dietary, environmental services. Healthcare is a right. The only way we can affect change is fighting together and voting.”
That’s why Medavarapu was there standing up in front of thousands of fellow Union members. The election in November is so important, she added.
“We must elect officials that seek to unify us instead of divide our nation,” she said. “We are in this fight together. So, let us carry our momentum forward to the coming election. Vote!”
Family Planning
Voters in Florida have the chance to reinstate reproductive rights in November. 1199ers have joined the campaign.
The right to be allowed to plan their own families, based on individual circumstances, is something which working people have cherished ever since the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision in 1973 first granted a constitutional right to abortion.
History teaches us that when the legal right to abortion is eliminated or severely restricted, it does not reduce the overall number of pregnancies being terminated. Instead, illegal and unsafe procedures increase –particularly amongst women who cannot afford to travel across the country to access the healthcare they need.
Since 2022, when the landmark Supreme Court decision was overturned, 21 states have moved to ban abortion or restrict the procedure earlier in pregnancy than the standard set by the Court nearly half a century ago.
Florida is one of those states. Since May 1 of this year, abortion became illegal after six weeks in the Sunshine State. Many women
Deb Montgomery, an 1199 RN Delegate and Lactation Consultant at Florida Palms West Hospital.
don’t even realize that they are pregnant at six weeks. This means that as well as forcing families to take on more children than they can handle; the new legislation places an enormous burden on healthcare providers in Florida.
Deb Montgomery, an 1199 RN Delegate and International BoardCertified Lactation Consultant, sees a lot of new mothers at HCA Florida Palms West Hospital where she works. She is also works in the NICU.
“I expect we will soon start to see women coming into the emergency room because they have developed septicemia after a backstreet abortion,” she says. “The problem I have with politicians saying ‘let’s save babies,’ is they never think about who is going to take care of those babies. They are not pro-life; they are pro-birth. It is the lower income people who cannot afford to travel who will suffer the most.”
Virginia is currently the nearest place to Florida where legal abortion is still accessible. It is roughly 800 miles away.
Tamika Jones, an 1199 Delegate and Unit Secretary at the nearby HCA Good Samaritan Hospital in West Palm Beach agrees. She plans to knock on doors for the “Yes on 4” campaign which aims to convince Floridians to remove the 6-week limit on abortion by voting for an amendment to the state’s constitution on November 5, preserving the right to the procedure before fetal viability—
Scan the QR code to support the Yes on 4 campaign to ensure that the people of Florida have the freedom to make their own personal health care decisions without interference from politicians.
estimated to be roughly 24 weeks.
“I think the 6-week ban sucks,” Jones says. “Mind your business. We’ve got bigger things to worry about. I have a daughter who is 26, and I think about her.”
Jones stresses it is important to vote—period.
“If you don’t vote, you have no right to complain. People have died for the right to vote. We don’t want a repeat of 2016,” she says.
Virginia Kondas, an 1199 Advanced Practice RN at UHealth Tower hospital in Miami agrees.
“As it is right now, the 6-week ban is very restrictive,” she says. “I feel like they are interfering with decisions that should be made between a woman and her healthcare provider.”
Not only that, Kondas says, the 6-week ban also puts a tremendous strain on those working in the ER, which is already a high stress environment.
“We are all trained to stabilize a patient in an emergency situation,” she explains. “If a woman comes in with serious complications in her pregnancy, a doctor may have to make a split-second decision to abort the fetus to save the mother’s life. On top of all of that stress, they have to worry about legal repercussions because of the law that is in place [restricting abortion] goes against what emergency room providers are there to do, which is to stabilize the patient, and not turn them away. I have read that in some states, some women have been turned
away because of this [abortion] restriction—and that is appalling.”
Kondas also worries about women who might be forced to seek out an illegal, and possibly unsafe abortion, due to their economic circumstances.
“It is something that we need to talk about,” she says. “I’m worried as a practitioner that a woman will come in septic and could go into septic shock very fast. That is life threatening. That is the type of patient that I would see in an intensive care unit.”
Even before the 6-week ban went into effect, staff in the NICU were required to resuscitate any pregnancy at 15 weeks and above, adds fellow 1199er, Montgomery.
“It is very difficult to do that on a baby born at less than 22 weeks in the womb,” she explains. “The vocal cords are not developed enough to allow the doctor to direct the breathing tube into the airway.
“Women know what they can handle. Nobody wakes up in the morning and says they want an abortion. It is a very heart-heavy decision.”
Montgomery forecasts a looming crisis brought on by Florida’s 6-week abortion ban if it is not effectively overturned this November.
Roughly nine months from now, I predict that we will see a little baby boom and more children will end up going into the already overloaded foster care system or being born into families with mothers who know they cannot
Tamika Jones, an 1199
Delegate and Unit Secretary at the Good Samaritan Hospital in West Palm Beach.
Virginia Kondas, an 1199 Advanced Practice RN at UHealth Tower in Miami.
“I think the 6-week ban sucks. Mind your business. We’ve got bigger things to worry about. I have a daughter who is 26, and I think about her.”
– Tamika Jones, an 1199 Unit Secretary at HCA Good Samaritan Hospital in West Palm Beach
handle them,” she says.
“I guarantee that if the child or grandchild of one of these politicians found themselves with an unwanted pregnancy, they would find a way to get them an abortion,” she says. “The current legislation does not stop abortion. It just makes it much more dangerous for those on a lowincome who are forced to resort to backstreet providers. Floridians who are planning to vote against Amendment 4 in November think they are voting to save babies. It is not about that. Voting “Yes” is about saving women.”
Did You Forget Your 1199SEIU Federal Credit Union Account?
Money in abandoned accounts is scheduled to be turned over to New York State.
Are you a member of the 1199SEIU Federal Credit Union? It’s vital to keep your share accounts with the credit union active. New York State law requires that all financial institutions report any account that is considered dormant or inactive, and turn them over as abandoned property. Any account that has been without activity for three years is considered inactive.
We are required by law to publish this list of dormant account holders. A report of these unclaimed funds will also be sent to the New York State Comptroller.
Listed persons appear to be entitled to these funds. The full list is on file and available for public inspection at the 1199SEIU Federal Credit Union, located on the 2nd floor of at 498 Seventh Avenue in Manhattan.
Held amounts of funds will be paid to proven, entitled parties by the 1199SEIU Federal Credit Union through October 31, 2024. Remaining unclaimed funds will be turned over to the New York State Comptroller’s Office on or before November 10, 2024. For more information visit the 1199SEIU Federal Credit Union, or call (212) 957-1055.
Anita Abrams
354B Bristol St. Brooklyn, NY 11212
Marie R. Accely 10445 197th St. Saint Albans, NY 11412
Esther M. Adeniji 1586 Canarise Road Brooklyn, NY 11236
Clara N. Agha 161-38 118th Ave. Jamaica, NY 11434
Maureen Nkiruka Akuzie 3211 Healy Avenue Far Rockaway, NY 11691
Beverley P. Alexander 15412 118th Ave., Jamaica, NY 11434 Aree Allen 30 Monroe St. Apt. AF8 New York, NY 10002
Yvonne Allen 10838 171st Pl. #1Fl Jamaica, NY 11433
Yvette Sandra Maurer Arbeeny 520 Senator Street Brooklyn, NY 11220
Johnson Asante
448 21st St. Irvington, NJ 07111
Noreen Babb 13528 129th St. PH South Ozone Park, NY 11420
Noemi Baez 122 E 104th Street #2D New York, NY 10029
Yokasty Baez-Jimenez 608 W 192nd St. Apt. 3E New York, NY 10040
Mavis L. Barnaman 912 E 45th St. PH Brooklyn, NY 11203
Mellessia Patricia Barneswhyte 9134 195th St. Apt. 3A Hollis, NY 11423
Nodica Belfon Bethel 1575 E 98th St. Brooklyn, NY 11236
Lavina Bell 111-70 179th St. Jamaica, NY 11433
Judy Catherine Bibawy 336 21st Street Brooklyn, NY 11215
Mary Ann R. Binas-Sol 3960 54th Street Apt. 3P Woodside, NY 11377
Learline M. Blake 80 Woodruff Ave., Apt. 6F Brooklyn, NY 11226
Cristina Y. Blanco 675 Lincoln Ave., Apt. 13l Brooklyn, NY 11208
Fednel Boliere 8841 Francis Lewis Blvd Queens Village, NY 11427
Dawn P. Brown 1813 Linden Blvd Brooklyn, NY 11207
Thelma R. Brown 3005 Seagirt Blvd. Far Rockaway, NY 11691
Will M. Brown 1720 Bedford Ave., #6-F Brooklyn, NY 11225
Nuria Bryant 161 Buffalo Avenue, Apt. C2 Brooklyn, NY 11213
Christine Amelia Bryce 1802 Old Mayland Ct. Henrico, VA 23294
Dominique Cann 24008 149th Avenue Rosedale, NY 11422
Arleen Canton 4384 Matilda Ave., 2nd Fl. Bronx, NY 10466
Karen N. CarringtonGreene
1000 Park Place #2 Brooklyn, NY 11213
Maribel Castillo Guerrero 2820 Bailey Ave., Apt. 11B Bronx, NY 10463
Myrlande Castillon 485 Pinebrook Avenue West Hempstead, NY 11552
Akisa O. Charles 1272 E 36th St. Apt. D6 Brooklyn, NY 11234
Julie A. Ciccolini 67 Woodhull St. Apt. 2L Brooklyn, NY 11231
Maria Y. Clerge 139 Studley St. Brentwood, NY 11717
Patsy Isolyn Creary 522 Stewart Ave. New Hyde Park, NY 11040
Pilar Cuello 412 E. 182nd St. Bronx, NY 10457
Collin Dalrymple 579 Kosciuszko Street Apt. 1, Brooklyn, NY 11221
Rosa Maria Daniels 1447 Troy Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11203
Yemi C. Davies 917 Euclid Ave., Apt. 2 Brooklyn, NY 11208
Barbara Christine Dawkins 4016 Baychester Avenue Box 3, Bronx, NY 10466
Maria Marta De Ortiz 469 Pine St. # 2 Brooklyn, NY 11208
Angelita P. De Peralta 44-27 Ketcham St. Elmhurst, NY 11373
Marcea E. Dixon 731 Hinsdale St. Apt. 1R Brooklyn, NY 11207
John A. Doe
310 W. 43rd St. 2nd Fl. New York, NY 10036
Jeremiah Dotson 2264 Davidson Avenue Apt. 1A, Bronx, NY 10453
Nattanya K. Drakes 1677 Saint Johns Pl. Apt. 3C Brooklyn, NY 11233
Agatha Duke P.O. Box 9011384 Far Rockaway, NY 11690
Andrea E. Edwards 155-15 North Conduit Ave. #5-O, Jamaica, NY 11434
Marie A. Eugene 238-43 116 Ave. 1st Fl. Elmont, NY 11003
Richard Felix
499 E 188th St. 8C Bronx, NY 10458
Elaine M. Flynn P.O. Box 120937 Brooklyn, NY 11212
Vivian Frimpomaa 1850 Lafayette Avenue Apt. 8H, Bronx, NY 10473
Myrlie O. Gabeau 7 Cabot Avenue Elmsford, NY 10523
Elena F. Garcia 56 Christie Avenue Apt. 2 Clinton, NJ 07011
Olivia Hall 1421 Schenectady Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11203
Shenetta R. Harley
401 W. 152nd Street #GB New York, NY 10031
Juliette M. Henry 103 Marguerite Ave. Elmont, NY 11003
Rose C. Henry P.O. Box 7485 Hicksville, NY 11802
Alba Hernandez 84-40 153rd Ave., #LE Howard Beach, NY 11414
Denise M. Hines 19206 110th Road Saint Albans, NY 11412
Carlene I. Hosang 17242 Brocher Rd. Apt. 2H Jamaica, NY 11434
Rosini D. Humes 275 E 201st Street Apt. 5E Bronx, NY 10458
Carol E. Ivery 17105 119 Avenue, Apt. 1 Queens, NY 11434
Marlene Jackson P.O. Box 15 Albrightsville, PA 18210
Marguerite Y. Jensen 604 Marcy Avenue Staten Island, NY 10309
Joan-Ann R. Johnson 404 East 91st Street Brooklyn, NY 11212
Francesca Jospeh 575 New Jersey Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11207
Nazir A. Khan 45 Chestnut Street Brooklyn, NY 11208
Steven N. Kramer 641 W 169th Street New York, NY 10032
Juan Lacen
36 Cerona Place Apt. 213 Newburgh, NY 12550
Ann Mariea Lawrence 94-20 210th Street Queens Village, NY 11428
Sonia Lawrence 2741 Pearsall Avenue Bronx, NY 10469
Judith Leconte 653 E 85th Street Brooklyn, NY 11236
Yvonne A. LennonDarling 687 E 221st Street #2 Bronx, NY 10467
Kareem A. Leslie 1515 Remsen Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11236
Sophia P. Llewellyn 11882 Metropolitan Ave. Apt. 3A Kew Gardens, NY 11415
Bernadette Pierre Louis 1430 East 103 Street Brooklyn, NY 11236
Evelyne Jean Louis 194-09 109 Avenue
St. Albans, NY 11412
Alicia Lugo 2545 Valentine Avenue #4J Bronx, NY 10458
Vivienne D. Manning 17022 130th Avenue Apt. 9G Queens NY 11434
Sandra J. Manuel 2104 Carrington Road Lynchburg, VA 24501
Simone T. Mcintosh Mclean 137 Highland Blvd Brooklyn, NY 11207
Durant G. Mckie 114-46 Sutphin Blvd. PH Jamaica, NY 11434
Rocky S. Mcleod 495 N. Gannon Avenue Staten Island, NY 10314
Marie-Yves Medor 971 East 34th Street Apt. D4, Brooklyn, NY 11210
Guillermina Mejia 1246 Shakespeare Ave. #C Bronx, NY 10452
Marie M. MichaudAugustin 9832 57th Avenue Apt. 14C Corona, NY 11368
Carl Mitchell 1014 East 215 Street Bronx, NY 10469
Mary Moffett-Etienne 31 Washington Avenue Deer Park, NY 11729
Niurka M. Montero 125 Brinkerhoff Street Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660
Marlene M. Murray
3005 Olinville Avenue Apt. 2, Bronx, NY 10467
Jasinthia M. Nicholson 1442 Stuyvesant Avenue Trenton, NJ 08618
Reginald G. Noble 207 Fireside Court Lehigh Acres, FL 33936
Cynthia E. Nunes 13719 172nd St. Jamaica, NY 11434
Marie Y. Obin 1176 Ocean Avenue Apt. 1C Brooklyn, NY 11230
Chibuzo Onwuamaegbu 10542 Flatlands 9th St. Brooklyn, NY 11236
Maria Antonia Paris 108 Katrine Lane Lake Katrine, NY 12449
Maud Parisien 2 Robert Place, 2nd Fl. Irvington, NJ 07111
Divina R. Pascual 46 A Horseneck Rd Montville, NJ 07045
Ana J. Peralta 456 Dekalb Avenue Apt. 7H Brooklyn, NY 11205
Solange F. Pierre 127 Acorn Avenue Central Islip, NY 11722
Michael D. Poole 2541 7th Avenue New York, NY 10039
Gail L. Pressley 177 W Avenue, Unit 2 Stamford, CT 06902
Lyliane Prophete 8 Ford Drive South Massapequa, NY 11758
Eunice A. Quashie Lavie
1870 Lafayette Ave., Apt. 1G Bronx, NY 10473
Ann Quashie-Phillips 1144 E 99th St. Fl. 2 Brooklyn, NY 11236
Jo I. Ramsey 615 Warburton Avenue Yonkers, NY 10701
Pharmacists early in the Union’s history
Ghislaine Remarais 7701 Lindbergh Blvd. Apt. 704 Philadelphia, PA 19153
Margaret Rhoden 622 E. 94th Street Brooklyn, NY 11236
Daneille K. Rhule 1192 Ocean Ave., Apt. 2A Brooklyn, NY 11230
Maria C. Rivera 319 Revere Avenue Bronx, NY 10465
Etneuse Saint Preux 1125 E. 58th St. #1 Brooklyn, NY 11234
Richard Sanchez 41-15 Vernon Blvd., Apt. 1B Long Island City, NY 11101
Angela Santiago 9903 212th St. #2B Queens Village, NY 11429
Fritze B. Saunders 4332 Hillingdon Bnd Apt. 207 Chesapeake, VA 23321
David Lawrence
Shaughnessy 582 39th Street Brooklyn, NY 11232
Richard L. Singh Jr. 20235 Foothill Avenue Apt. B78 Hollis, NY 11423
Claudia Rosemarie Smith 601 Snediker Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11207
Maura Elizabeth Solano 581 Timpson Place, Apt. 5L Bronx, NY 10455
Arlene My St. Laurent
46 Ridgefield Avenue South Salem, NY 10590
Maurice A. Stona 13230 159th Street Jamaica, NY 11434
Carolle St. Preux
353 Linden Blvd. Apt. 5B Brooklyn, NY 11203
Susan Thomas 145 Irving Avenue Floral Park, NY 11001
Williebell Thomas 11494 178th Place Jamaica, NY 11434
Saw Titu 1518 Kemble Street #2 Floor Utica, NY 13501
Nancy Torres 23 Kelvin Avenue Staten Island, NY 10306
Fataiya Tunstall 70 Hawthorne Avenue Apt C325 Yonkers, NY 10701
Marie M. Voltus 41 Division Avenue Westbury, NY 11590
Latasha Debra Waller 8 Martin Street Massapequa, NY 11758
Maxine Washington 53 Waterbury Lane Westbury, NY 11590
Andrea A. Watson 684 E. 81st Street Brooklyn, NY 11236
Evette Weeks 1217 E 85th Street Brooklyn, NY 11236
Leona White 574 Wyona Street Brooklyn, NY 11207
Althea Williamson 55 Rutgers Street Apt. 8E New York, NY 10002
Judith Sophia Williamsonwright 135-03 223rd Street 2nd Fl. Laurelton, NY 11413
Delores Wilson 142-16 174th Street Jamaica, NY 11434
Hermin V. Young 642 East 222nd Street Bronx, NY 10467
CVS added to 1199 Pharmacy plans
New health benefits ID cards were mailed to members in June following the Benefit Funds’ prescription benefits provider change to CVS Caremark on July 1. The change adds CVS to the Benefit Funds’ list of in-network pharmacies. Using this card, members can now fill shortterm prescriptions at CVS pharmacies as well as Rite Aid, Walgreens, Duane Reade, along with many independent providers.
To fill long-term prescriptions for maintenance medications, members can access the Benefit Funds’ 90Day Rx Solution program by asking their doctors to write and submit their prescriptions for a three-month supply with three refills (a year’s supply in total) directly to CVS Caremark Mail Service Pharmacy, which will mail the medications to the member’s home.Alternately, members can order and pick up their long-term prescriptions at any CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens, Duane Reade store.
Members can visit Caremark.com/StartNow to create online accounts on CVS Caremark, where they can view the 1199 Preferred Drug List, the 1199 Network Pharmacy List and manage their prescriptions.
In 1965, months before the escalation of the war in Vietnam and Indochina, hundreds of 1199ers financed an ad in The New York Times calling for an end to the hostilities.
The stance was unpopular in many circles, but it was consistent with 1199’s opposition to unjust wars and its commitment to solidarity. Just as racial equality was a guiding principle of the Union, so were peace and justice. In subsequent years, other unions followed suit.
In the 1980s, members joined forces with other unions including the autoworkers, longshoremen, AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees) and UAW (United Auto Workers) District 65 to build support against South African apartheid.
Some three thousand 1199ers joined an April 25, 1987 Washington, D.C. rally to protest then-President Ronald Reagan’s policies in South Africa, as well as Central America. In all, some 100,000 marchers participated in the action. This despite calls from the AFL-CIO leadership to boycott the protest.
SIDE RIGHT THE HISTORY OF
In 1990, 1199 President Dennis Rivera joined a delegation that traveled to South Africa to mark the historic release of anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela from prison.
In 1996, Beth Israel RN and delegate Marilyn Albert volunteered for six months to work with sister South African union— NEHAWU—the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union. She wrote three reports, published in 1199 News, sharing her experiences and drawing lessons for 1199ers.
Throughout 2001, 1199ers took part in protests to halt the U.S. Navy shelling of the Puerto Rican island of Vieques. The actions included hundreds of 1199ers
and supporters marching in the New York City Puerto Rican Day parade under the banner “Paz Para Vieques” (“Peace for Vieques”).
For some 60 years, the US Navy had used Vieques as a training ground for war, pounding the island with bombs, napalm, depleted uranium, and other toxic chemicals and heavy metals.
Later that same year, 1199 President Dennis Rivera, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Rev. Al Sharpton and Jacqueline Jackson—wife of the Rev. Jesse Jackson—were all arrested in Vieques for protesting the ongoing destruction. Rivera and Kennedy both served 30-day jail sentences on the island for their actions.
Those actions were successful, however. Then-President George W. Bush ultimately ended the Navy bombing and maneuvers in 2003. Federal cleanup efforts continue to this day, but substantial work remains as residents of Vieques continue to suffer from diseases caused by widespread contamination.
On Feb. 15, 2003, Union members from every corner of New York State joined hundreds of thousands in Manhattan to oppose a U.S. Invasion of Iraq. Members carried placards that read “Not in Our Name,” “Health Care Yes, Warfare No” and “They’re Selling War. We’re Not Buying.” Similar actions took place in 600 cities around the world, in what was described as the largest protest event in human history.
In 2011, the Union stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the Occupy Wall Street activists who were protesting rampant economic inequality and corporate dominance. The 1199 leadership saw the movement as a landmark in the fight for justice.
“I was very moved when
1199ers have long championed the cause of peace and justice around the world.
199ers join Occupy Wall Street protests in 2011.
Members march in NYC, opposing the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.
1199SEIU mobilized for the Nov. 17, rally at Foley Square and helped lead the march over the Brooklyn Bridge” said Mike Haire, an 1199 delegate at Staten Island’s Richmond University Medical Center. “I was proud to see 1199ers, led by President George Gresham, get arrested for their acts of civil disobedience.”
In 2013, Union leaders and staff were again arrested for civil disobedience. The venue was Raleigh, North Carolina, during Moral Monday protests led by Rev. Dr. William J. Barber and the Rev. Liz Theoharis. The campaign, which continues today (see We are the Swing Voters, p. 14), is fashioned after the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. just weeks before his assassination. To date, the movement has mobilized thousands of grassroots events.
1199 retiree Clifton Broady, a resident of Rockingham, N.C., is among the 1199ers who have worked with the campaign. At a 2013 event, Broady condemned North Carolina’s anti-union rightto-work law, stating, “All that means is the workers have no rights.”
In recent years, 1199ers have formed peace and justice committees that help to educate members and influence union policies in support of vital issues, including immigrant rights and the global struggle for climate justice. These are consistent with the Union’s mission to protect and advance the interests of members, their families, communities, and those that they serve.
“They’re Selling War. We’re not Buying.”
1199ers from the Marcus Garvey Crown Heights Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in Brooklyn, NY, feel their power at the Poor People’s March in Washington D.C. See page 14.
