Healthcare workers are our most valuable resource in addressing COVID-19, and keeping healthcare workers safe must be our top priority. 1199SEIU, the nation’s largest healthcare workers’ union, has been working tirelessly with our members and partners to make sure our healthcare workers have what they need to do their job well and under the best conditions possible. Learn more here about how workers can protect themselves and how you can stand with workers on the frontlines of this crisis.
We are in desperate need of resources to stop the spread of COVID-19 and the toll it continues to take. Healthcare workers can't do it alone. The federal government must do its part. Without providing access to lifesaving personal protective equipment (PPE) and crisis pay to cover essential bills, childcare, and transportation to work, healthcare workers are being forced to choose between caring for their patients and caring for their families.
Remembering 1199's History
When 1199 won a major New York League contract victory in June 1998, workers understood that they had been emboldened by their increased strength. A key reason for that strength was the recent merger with Local 144.
The unions’ parallel histories made them a natural fit. Both unions began healthcare organizing in the late 1950s. 1199’s members were mainly white male drugstore workers and 144 consisted of mainly white hotel workers.
Both unions took on the challenge of organizing previously forgotten and ill-treated workers of color. The unions occasionally competed bitterly for the same workers. The merger helped to remove those rivalries.
Read more: www.1199seiu.org/nycli/remembering-1199s-history-how-local-144-strengthened-1199
“If the hospital does advocate for premium pay, it would show that all the praise of the past 16 months weren’t just empty gestures,” 1199 Delegate Chris Johnson said. “As we can see, this is still an extremely busy time and the pandemic is far from over.”
Mass General Brigham why do you oppose premium pay for your workforce?
"When asked about the hospital’s stance on premium pay for workers, communications specialist Marissa Lefebvre directed The Times to MassGeneral Brigham communications director Bridget Perry, who did not immediately respond."
Hospital workers picket for premium pay - The Martha's Vineyard Times
www.mvtimes.com
A group of six Martha’s Vineyard Hospital (MVH) and Windemere Nursing and Rehabilitation Center employees stood in front of the hospital Thursday with signs advocating for premium pay for frontline hospital workers. Guidance from Congress and President Joe Biden for distribution of American Rescue...This is what 1199 political activism looks like in Florida. CNA member, Deborah Grier spoke at an event in St Petersburg, FL, last night about the need to ensure federal money from the American Rescue Plan is used for local grants that will stabilize our healthcare system and workers. Thanks to St. Pete mayor Rick Kriseman for ensuring working families have a voice in this process.
