The President’s Column

Around the Union

NEW YORK

Kaleida members win 12 percent increases after tough fight

More than 6,300

healthcare workers at the largest private hospital system in Western New York won a new three-year contract in October, which includes wage increases of at least 12 percent and improved RN wage scales to help recruit and retain amid the national shortage. With this contract, Kaleida members will maintain their status as the highest paid healthcare workers in the region.

The agreement covers 1199SEIU and CWA local 1168 members at three major hospitals, two nursing homes and several community-based clinics—and includes annual bonuses of up to $1,500 for some service workers, pension improvements and more than 500 new positions to ensure staffing ratios.

The victory did not come easily. It took eight months of bargaining and member action. Nearly 2,000 members gathered for an informational picket in midAugust and when the member-led bargaining committee still didn’t see movement from management, the committee called for a strike vote. After 96 percent of members voted in favor, a 10-day notice was issued.

With the threat of an allout strike hanging over them, Management came back to the table. An agreement was finally reached on October 2nd, which recognized the significant contribution the members had made throughout the pandemic.

 Members rally outside Kaleida Health – Buffalo General Medical Center in Western New York.

The victory did not come easily. It took eight months of bargaining and member action.

WASHINGTON D.C.

Union nursing home workers meet with Biden administration

Dozens of 1199SEIU

nursing home members from New York and Massachusetts took part in the national Healthcare Heroes Assembly in Washington D.C. in early December. Alongside fellow union activists from across the country, members met with officials from the Biden administration to demand legislation and funding for minimum care standards, increased staffing levels, and measures to hold nursing home corporations accountable for not meeting federal care standards.

Members took time to reflect and pay tribute to those who lost their lives as the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the nation’s nursing homes and workers fought for basic protections for themselves and their residents.

The Assembly also gave union activists from all over the country a chance to connect with each other, share their stories and celebrate their victories.

NEW YORK CITY

Home Care members picket across NYC for promised Federal funds

While the Democrats were in control

of Congress, they were able to pass the American Rescue Plan Act, which included millions of dollars of new funding for Home and Community Based Services (HCBS). Much of this money was intended to improve wages and benefits to help recruit and retain home care workers. There is an enormous and growing shortage of home care workers across to country as the population ages.

Unfortunately, not all home care agencies used this federal money to fund better healthcare coverage and higher wages for their workforces. Throughout the Spring and Autumn, 1199 home care members mounted a series of informational pickets outside these agencies to ensure workers finally receive the pay and respect they deserve—as well as help to support their families, as they continued to work tirelessly to ensure quality care for their patients.

There is an enormous and growing shortage of home care workers across to country as the population ages.

 Home care members picket. the Best Choice agency in the Bronx.

JJ Velazquez attends the Presidential Forum with Joe Biden to discuss criminal justice reform.

WASHINGTON D.C.

Wrongly-convicted son of 1199 officer speaks to President Biden on reform

JJ Velazquez

who spent nearly 24 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit, was invited to speak about criminal justice reform at a forum convened by President Joe Biden and the Now This News media outlet. Velazquez was ultimately granted clemency and released in September 2021, when he was 46-years-old.

“The system is not designed to rehabilitate,” Velazquez told the President. “What I’ve learned from my time in prison is that there are a lot of good people who made bad choices when they were too young to really understand the scope of what life consists of.”

President Biden talked about having increased access to education in federal prisons since he took office and having pardoned 6,500 who were serving federal time for “simple possession” of cannabis.

Velazquez, who spent his incarceration in a state prison, said Biden’s action did not go far enough. “People have to be able to secure employment and housing, because the sad reality is the majority of individuals who are released into society can actually get their hands on a gun or some drugs before they can secure employment or housing,” Velazquez said.

NY Presby members celebrate Trans Awareness Week

Members of the union family gathered at the Children’s Hospital of New York (CHONY), New York Presbyterian campus in Washington Heights on November 17, to celebrate and educate passers-by about issues facing the transgender community. Trans Visibility Week traditionally takes place in the week running up to Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20, a day which memorializes the victims of transphobic violence.

This year’s celebration came at a time of increased fear and uncertainty for trans Americans. On the eve of TDOR, a shooter opened fire at Club Q, an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, CO, killing five people and injuring 25 others. In 2022 alone, over 150 anti-trans bills were introduced in state legislatures across the country, targeting trans youth participation in sports and gender-affirming healthcare.