OurLifeAndTimes

AJournalof1199SEIU

November/December 2008

ANEWERAWeWelcome

A NEWERAWeWelcome

Nikita Walters, 12, traveled with his motherand sister from New York City on Election Dayto help get out the vote in Philadelphia.

Contents

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Our Life And Times,November/December 2008,Vol. 26, No. 6 Published by1199SEIU, United HealthcareWorkers East310 West 43rd St.New York, NY 10036Telephone (212) 582-1890www.1199seiu.org

PRESIDENT:George GreshamSECRETARY TREASURER:Maria Castaneda

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENTS:Norma AmsterdamYvonne ArmstrongAngela DoyleMike FadelAida GarciaPatrick GaspardGeorge KennedySteve KramerPatrick LindsayJoyce NeilJohn ReidBruce RichardMike RifkinMilly SilvaNeva ShillingfordEstela Vasquez

EDITOR:J.J. JohnsonSTAFF WRITER:Patricia KenneyPHOTOGRAPHER:Jim TynanPHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANT:Belinda GallegosART DIRECTION & DESIGN:maiarelli studioCOVER PHOTO:Belinda Gallegos

Our Life And Times ispublished 6 times a year by1199SEIU, 310 West 43rd St.,New York, NY 10036.Subscriptions $15 per year.Periodicals postage paid atNew York, NY and additionalmailing offices.ISSN 1090-3089.USPS 000-392.Postmaster: Send addresschanges to Our Life AndTimes, 310 West 43rd St.,New York, NY 10036.

November/December • Our Life And Times

3 50 YEARS ON THE FRONT LINES How1199 became a healthcare union.

4 PRESIDENT’S COLUMN The dawn of a new era.

5 WE MADE A DIFFERENCE 3,000 members and staff were deployed on Election Day.

8 BATTLE BEGINS IN EACH DISTRICT New York State governor proposes Medicaid cuts.

9 NJ CONTRACT AND BUDGET BATTLE LOOMS Publicly financed funding hangs in the balance.

10 MD-D.C. MEMBERS DEFEND WORKPLACES AND COMMUNITIES Region helps save troubled hospital.

11 MASSACHUSETTS PCAs APPROVE CONTRACT Victory bolsters hospital organizing drive.

12 THE WORK WE DO Rite Aid members serve communities.

14 UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE TOPS AGENDA 1199SEIU works on various levels.

15 AROUND THE UNION ‘08 has been a year of major victories.

On the cover: Nikita Waltersis the son of Agnes Johnson,a CNA at Hebrew Home inthe Bronx, N.Y.

p.15

p.5Member Political Organizer Joyce Dukes,a central sterile supply tech at JohnsHopkins Medical Center in Baltimore.

p.9 p.12

Editor’s Note: This is the first of aseries of features that will appear onour website, www.1199seiu.org, andin this magazine marking the 50thanniversary of 1199SEIU becoming ahealthcare workers’ union.

Fifty years ago, full-time workers atMontefiore Hospitalin the Bronx, N.Y.,averaged around$34 a week, oftenqualified forwelfare, had no say

about speed-ups or managementharassment, and had to be readyto drop everything to do weekendrepairs on supervisors’ homes.They were the forgotten workers,typically black and Hispanicwomen ignored by politicians,healthcare officials and nearlyall unions.

All that started to change onDec. 30, 1958. That was the datewhen Montefiore’s 900 service andmaintenance workers became thefirst hospital workers ever tochoose 1199. The 628-31 voteopened the floodgates for anhistoric organizing campaign thatwithin a decade saw 1199’smembership increase six fold,unionized hospital wages triple,and 1199 established as thecountry’s leading healthcare union.

Today, as the union celebratesits half century in the hospitals,themes emerge from that earlystruggle that many see as central toour current challenges in health-care funding, new organizing and

winning passage of cruciallegislation such as the EmployeeFree Choice Act and decent healthcare for all.

Those themes include black-white-Hispanic unity, widespreadmember participation, rank-and-fileleadership, political alliances andeducation of the public on vitalhealth care reform issues.

The Montefiore election came36 hours before a strike deadlinebrought on by the hospital’s refusalto grant workers a representationelection. Management agreement tothe election was brokered by then-Mayor Robert F. Wagner, Jr. andNew York City Central Labor CouncilPres. Harry Van Arsdale. Publicsupport for what became known asthe hospital workers’ crusade wasencouraged by newspapers such asthe Amsterdam News, El Diario, theNew York Post and the New YorkTimes and by public figures such asformer first lady Eleanor Rooseveltand Sen. Herbert Lehman.

The Montefioreorganizing campaign,under the direction of1199’s founder, Pres.Leon Davis, was led by

Elliott Godoff, Marshall Dubin, and1199’s first black officer, TheodoreMitchell. It had two secretweapons. One was the union’s6,000 existing members, mostlywhite, Jewish drugstore workerswho in large numbers joined“crack-of-dawn brigades” to leafletand picket at Montefiore’s Gun HillRd. entrance. The other secret

weapon was the Montefioreworkers themselves.

Workplace leaders in the fightfor 1199 included Jamaican-bornpantryman Harold Harris, adedicated employee who had livedin the hospital and led a campaignfor a five-day week; engineering’sAl Kosloski, who got his unionprinciples from his Pennsylvaniacoal mining father; and ThelmaBowles, an African Americanpractical nurse who resented thegulf between PNs and then-all-white RNs. Members like thesevisited every Montefioredepartment to get signed unioncards and commitments for furtherparticipation. They spoke of respectand dignity. They were in on allimportant decisions.

Montefiore membersgot their first unioncontract in March1959, a monthbefore 3,500

workers at seven other New YorkCity hospitals began a 46-daystrike that made 1199 truly thehospital union for all New York City.That strike and its ultimate successis another chapter in a long story.It’s a story that continues today,with an historic and hope-inspiringPresidential election behind us anda severe economic crisis, a crucialbudget and legislative battlesimmediately ahead.

And it’s a story of unity andsolidarity with lessons that go backto December 1958 at MontefioreHospital in the Bronx.

3 November/December • Our Life And Times

On Our Website50 YEARS: ON THE FRONT LINES OF CARE AND STRUGGLE

The1958Montefiore victoryis another chapterin a long story.It’s a story thatcontinues today,with an historicand hope-inspiringPresidentialelection behindus in a severeeconomic crisis,and with acrucial budget andlegislative battlesimmediately ahead.

1199ers march inNew York CityLabor Day paradein late 1960’s.

50th Anniversary

In years to come, most Americans will be able to tell theirfriends exactly where they were and what they were doing on theevening of Nov. 4, 2008, when they learned that Barack Obamawas elected to be the 44th President of the United States.

It was one of those rare, magic and unforgettable moments—as is this entire period we are living through. There has never beena time like this in our lifetime. This is the beginning of a new era,and future students of American history will most likely talk of theperiods Before Obama and After Obama.

This year, more new voters registered, more young voters regis-tered, more African-American and Latino voters registered, morepeople contributed hard-earned dollars, more people attended elec-tion rallies and, in the end, more people came out to vote forBarack Obama—some waiting in line for several hours to cast theirballots—than had ever done so before.

1199ers in particular have reasons to be proud. Thousands ofour member activists and staff took time off—many for months at atime—to work in the battleground states that determined the elec-tion. On Election Day, tens of thousands of our members pulledout all stops to get out the vote.

No union did more. We helped to make this campaign into amovement. And President-elect Obama knows this well. He hashonored us by asking our own Executive Vice President forPolitical Action, Patrick Gaspard, to become his White Housepolitical director. Patrick’s contributions to the Obama victory, alldone behind-the-scenes and quietly (as is typical of his modesty),were huge and decisive.

At the Republican National Convention in September, the dele-gates laughed as the candidates poked fun at the idea of a “commu-nity organizer.” Three months later, the last laugh belongs to us—and to two of the most brilliant, talented and skillful communityorganizers of our time, Barack Obama and Patrick Gaspard.

The election is over, but the struggle remains. The Obamaadministration inherits two wars, the worst economic crisis in sever-al generations, a broken healthcare system, a planet threatened byclimate change, a country in desperate need of safe sources ofabundant energy, and much more.

This is a huge challenge also for us in 1199. We have to beabout the business of building a positive movement that will allowPresident-elect Obama to bring about “the changes that weneed”—especially affordable, quality healthcare for all; and theright of workers to choose a union free of employer intimidation—despite what is certain to be a well-funded rightwing opposition.

And we face big challenges at our workplaces and in our com-munities. The steep economic decline has created an environmentin which some of our employers feel emboldened to test us. Forexample, in western New York, the Kaleida network, our largestemployer in the upstate region, refuses to negotiate a contract thatprovides retirement security for the workers, even though manage-ment admits that our pension proposals would save money.

The financial crisis has also allowed important political fig-ures to propose shortsighted devastating cuts in the healthcarebudgets that allow our patients to get quality care. We cannot allowour state budgets to be balanced on the backs of our patients andhard-working caregivers, especially while wealthy individuals,banks and corporations continue to suction off hundreds of billionsof our tax dollars.

So as we come to year’s end, we have great reasons for prideand joy. But we also need to prepare for big challenges in 2009.

On behalf of your entire Executive Council, we wish you andyour loved ones a happy, healthy, safe and peaceful holiday seasonand a happy new year.

SAME-SEX COUPLES POLICY

In a letter in the September-October issue of Our LifeAnd Times, memberFrances Adams of ColumbiaUniversity Libraries pointed

out that our National Benefit Fundrequires same-sex couples whohave domestic partnership certifi-cates to provide additional proof ofpartnership when applying forhealth benefits, but does notrequire additional proof from acouple with a marriage certificate.

Years ago, before domesticpartnerships or same-sex marriageswere “on the books,” the NationalBenefit Fund was at the forefrontof providing health benefits tomembers’ same-sex life partners.As formal legal documentation wasnot available, the Fund came upwith procedures to require substi-tute proof of relationship.However, as public policy hascaught up with Fund policy andsame-sex relationships can now belegally recognized in many areas,the Fund’s procedural require-ments lagged behind by oversight.We have now revised our proce-dures and where a certificate ofdomestic partnership, civil unionor marriage is available to a same-sex couple, no other proof of rela-tionship will be necessary.

We thank the member forbringing this to our attention.

MITRA BEHROOZIExecutive Director, 1199SEIUBenefit and Pension Funds

SUPPORT FOR GOV. PALIN

Iwas amazed at your supportof Barack Obama and yourviews on Sarah Palin. SarahPalin will not set womenback. She is a wonderful

example of how women can com-bine work and motherhood grace-fully. Hillary Clinton was not criti-cized for being such a woman. Shewas lauded for her involvement inthe federal government, and shewas the mother of a young teen.

Kim Thompson-Werekoh’scomment that “McCain thought[women] don’t think about ourlives and our children’s lives. Thatwe only vote with one mind” doesnot make sense. I think JohnMcCain was reaching out to thosewho care about themselves andtheir children by appointing SarahPalin. Her children range widely inage, so she can connect with moth-ers of all ages and are in a varietyof situations. She has a son in Iraq,a pregnant daughter and an infantwith Down’s Syndrome. Her life islike many of ours—including try-ing to balance work and family.And frankly, her job has a greatdeal more social and political pres-

sure than does yours or mine. Ms.Palin always manages to look pro-fessional and well dressed. We canstrive to do the same—even if wewear scrubs to work.

Ms. Palin’s support of herunmarried, pregnant daughter’sright to choose to keep her babydoes not suggest a view of “preg-nant teens who could end up inback room butchers.” I think weneed to understand that our per-sonal right to choose does notaddress the critical element of thestatement. We need to teach ourdaughters to choose before theybecome sexually active. The choiceis whether or not to have unpro-tected sex, not whether to acceptthe consequences of having unpro-tected sex. We should empowerourselves by planning ahead tomake wise decisions that affect ourown lives and those of potentiallyunwanted children.

Overall, your vague generali-ties about the shortcomings ofPres. Bush, Sen. McCain andGov. Palin do not carry any weight.

KAREN W. CLARKCrouse Hospital, Syracuse, N.Y.

MY COUNTRY AND MYSELF

Itoo, am one of those AfricanAmericans who months agonever thought that I’d liveto see this day. I began tobelieve earlier this year

and I didn’t hesitate to volunteerin July to go to Wisconsin tohelp mobilize the vote forBarack Obama.

I worked in Florida in 2004 tohelp get out the vote for JohnKerry. 2008 was different. Thoughfour years older, I felt more ener-gized. The hours were long, butthe day seemed shorter. I got arush talking to voters about BarackObama. I truly felt that I and theother canvassers I worked withwere on a mission.

It was not always easy. I, bornand raised in New York City, spentmore than three months inWisconsin, knocking on doors inremote rural areas, walkingthrough cornfields. I spoke to peo-ple who were not used to talking toAfrican Americans and weren’tinterested in talking to Democrats.

I’m proud of what I and theother canvassers and retirees did.We helped to explain the issuesand opportunities to voters. Andwe worked to turn our nation ina new progressive direction. ButI’m also proud of what I did formyself. My work as member poli-tical activist has helped me growand learn from fellow canvassersand voters.

I’m grateful to 1199SEIUfor giving me that opportunity.Yes we can.

MIRIAM BROWNRetired Members Division, NYC

THEPRESIDENT’SCOLUMN

4November/December • Our Life And Times

Letters

The Dawn of a New EraWe’ll continue to rise to the new challenges.

George Gresham

5 November/December • Our Life And Times

ELECTION ‘08

‘THEPEOPLE

WE HAVEBEEN

WAITINGFOR’

1199ers helped to tip theelection scale in key states.

“We are the people we have been waiting for,”became an often-used slogan during Sen. BarackObama’s historic voyage to the presidency.“Change doesn’t come from Washington,” Obamaoften noted. “Change comes to Washington.We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.We are the change that we seek.”

And few organizations can take as muchcredit for making necessary change possible ascan 1199SEIU. Beginning way back in February,hundreds of 1199SEIU members and staffcampaigned for weeks in the Primary elections.

Starting in July, some 400 members andstaff of 1199SEIU were deployed to some 18battleground states. Together with membersfrom other SEIU locals, canvassers knocked onover three million doors and completed over16 million phone calls, while registering almost250,000 voters.

Hundreds more 1199SEIU members tookbuses and vans to the swing states of NewHampshire, Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvaniaon weekends throughout October. And onElection Day, our Union had over 3,000 staffand members working in the battleground statesto get out the vote.

Photos and comments of some of our membercanvassers appear on this and the followingtwo pages.

Milwaukee

Denver

Philadelphia

Charlotte, N.C.

‘‘

’’

Margie Rodriguez, a medical biller at Brooklyn’sBrookdale Hospital, worked in Colorado.“Obama woke up the country. I’ve never seenanything like it. Seeing the young people workingfor him brought tears to my eyes. He inspired usbecause he’s from us. I feel that we have so much incommon. I worked even though I had blisters on myfeet. Nothing could stop me because my heart andsoul were in it.”

Herbie Lamarre, a retiree from Good SamaritanHospital in Rockland County, N.Y., worked in Colorado.“We worked in Denver even after the polls closedbecause we didn’t want to leave any votes outthere.”

Mark Hopson, a maintenance worker at GeorgetownUniversity Hospital in Washington, D.C., worked in Virginia.“Working with the Weekend Warrior Campaign wasa phenomenal experience that I will cherish for therest of my life. For three weekends we dedicatedmen and woman from Local 1199SEIU workedextremely hard to get Mr. Obama, and it waswell worth it!”

Barbara Holmes, a CNA at St. Cabrini NH in DobbsFerry, New York, worked in North Carolina.“Canvassing was a new experience for me, but myfamily encouraged me to be a part of history. WhenI saw that Sen. Obama had won, I shouted, ‘Lord,thank you.’ Since I’ve returned to work my co-workers have been telling me to calm down.”

Roger Auguste, a service associate at theWeiler/Einstein Division of the Montefiore MedicalCenter in the Bronx, N.Y., worked in Cleveland, Ohio.“I’ve never experienced anything so full of passion. Itwas all worth it. I still haven’t been able to let it allgo. Sometimes I wake up telling my wife I’m tiredand I don’t want to go canvass. We laid a lot ofgroundwork and now we have new purpose.”

June Bennett, a former CNA at Kingsbridge Nursingand Rehabilitation Center in the Bronx, N.Y., worked inLas Vegas. Kingsbridge workers won a six-monthstrike that ended last August. Their victory wasbittersweet. One of the strike’s leaders, Audrey Smith-Campbell, died in May of an asthma attack.“My friend died because she didn’t have health care.I know that Barack will address health care. Audreywas like a mother to me. She was like a mentor tome. Her dying because she didn’t have healthcoverage was so sad. I know that going out andworking on this campaign will make a difference.”

Beverly Gordon-Wells, a home attendant withNew York City’s All Metro Home Care Agency workedthroughout New Hampshire with Toni Paniccia, acook at the Guilderland Center in Guilderland, N.Y.“We were headquartered in Manchester, but weworked in all kinds of areas, from suburbs to placeswhere they had only dirt roads, to areas on theborder of Maine,” said Gordon-Wells.“It wasn’t just about ‘I did it.’ This was a ‘we did it.’It was the greatest feeling ever,” says Paniccia ofObama’s victory.

Isata Caldwell, CNA, JFK Hospital in Edison, N.J.,worked in Pennsylvania.“We all want change and that made it easy tovolunteer myself in New Jersey and Pennsylvaniaand to recruit co-workers to campaign with me. Ialso brought my husband out. We all knew that wewere taking part in history and changing the future.I have two kids who just graduated from college andanother who is in the service. I did this for them.”

Denver

Philadelphia 6November/December • Our Life And Times

“I worked even though I hadblisters on my feet. Nothingcould stop me because myheart and soul were in it.”—Margie Rodriguez

Las Vegas

Milwaukee

Charlotte

Las Vegas

Cleveland

Las Vegas

New Hampshire

Virginia

New HampshireCharlotte

“It’s just devastating,” saysGwendolyn Dennis, a retired medi-cal records clerk from New YorkPresbyterian Hospital in New YorkCity. “Clinton handed Bush a surplusand now Bush is leaving Obamawith a mess.It’s a damn shame.”New York State Governor

David Paterson at a Nov. 12 pressconference announced $5.2 billionin proposed budget cuts to takeplace over the next year and a half.The latest round of proposedhealthcare cuts would total $572million. The state has consistentlysought to balance its books by dis-proportionately chopping healthcare, instead of fair reductionsacross all sectors of the budget.Gov. Paterson blamed New

York’s budget shortfall—and theneed for such deep cuts—on yearsof excessive spending combinedwith the global financial crisis, theloss of 160,000 private sector jobs,and a sharp drop in income andcorporate tax revenues.Yet, there is no call for an

increase in the personal income taxfor New York’s wealthiest or foraccess to the state’s rainy dayfunds. Neither are there proposalsfor fairer cuts to insurance com-panies or to reduce hospitals’suffocating malpractice costs.At a Nov. 11 delegate assembly

at 1199SEIU headquarters inManhattan, members’ excitementabout Obama’s victory wastempered by the reality of theupcoming state budget fight.“If we don’t get the money we

need our hospitals won’t be able torun properly,” said delegate ZoilaSylvester, a special procedure techat New York Presbyterian Hospi-tal. “We have to get out there andput pressure on the governor. Wemay have to go to Albany. Theyalways come after health care first.How can we move forward as asociety when they do that?”

On Nov. 18, the governor andmembers of the legislature held aspecial meeting to formulate cutsthat would to help close a $1.5billion budget gap for the currentfiscal year and to get an early starton next year’s budget.

On the same day, three busloadsof 1199SEIU members arrived inAlbany from New York City tolobby against the cuts. Theyleafleted, joined a coalitiondemonstration supporting theincrease of personal income taxeson the state’s wealthiest residents,and met with legislators to tellthem how the drastic cuts woulddirectly impact healthcare servicesin their districts. 1199SEIU Pres.George Gresham is among theleaders in the battle against thecuts. He has been meeting withGov. Paterson to help formulate amore even-handed solution.“If these cuts go through,

there’s going to be more unem-ployment and you’ll see morehomelessness,” says LucildaPottinger, a home health aide withNew York City’s All Metro Agency.Pottinger was among the memberswho went to Albany. “There are alot of people in my neighborhoodwho work in hospitals and nursinghomes. If they cut the budget,those people may lose their jobs.Homecare workers are alreadygetting less hours.”

Members are continuing tomobilize to save healthcare fund-ing. Planned are in-district lobbydays with local legislators, phonebanking, and institution visits withmanagement to talk about ways ofjoining forces to protect health careand the devastating reality of theproposed drastic cuts. For moreinformation they can also log ontothe Health Care Education Projectwebsite, www.HEPNY.org.

Big struggle ahead as governorseeks to cut billions from New YorkState’s healthcare budget.

“They AlwaysCome AfterHealth CareFirst”

With big cuts on the horizon,health care in New York Stateis facing what may be one ofits toughest state budget battles.1199SEIU members are fightingin these tough times for thefairness and shared sacrificethat will preserve health carein our communities.

Three busloads of 1199ers joinedscores of other union members tolobby and rally in Albany Nov. 18against planned cuts to NewYork’s healthcare budget.

THE TASKS AHEAD

99 November/December • Our Life And Times

The merger will result inincreased resources for fightingfor healthcare funding and reformin Trenton and uniting non-unionhealthcare workers in all sectors ofthe industry throughout NewJersey. The merger should beespecially helpful in bargainingwith New Jersey employers whohead institutions in other1199SEIU regions.With a state deficit that is

projected to exceed $5 billionnext year, nursing home workersare gearing up for what isexpected to be a hard battle tosustain current Medicaid fundinglevels for nursing homes. TheN.J. 1199SEIU Region is alsoexploring various accountabilitymechanisms to ensure workforcedollars are being spentappropriately.Last year, more than 700

workers turned out to rally inTrenton, make phone calls andlobby legislators. This year theRegion plans to double its effortsto make sure that long-term issuesaround nursing home staffing andretention are addressed. Thisbecomes more urgent as N.J.moves to rebalance its long-termcare program and increasefunding for more home andcommunity based programs.Residents with higher acuity levelswho need institutional care willcontinue to require a skilled andstable workforce to provide thequality care that seniors andpeople with disabilities deserve.

Moving into 2009, the N.J.Region will be ramping uppressure on employers who haverefused to settle a fair contract

with decent wages and benefits fortheir workers, including workersat Konig and Omni-operatedfacilities.Earlier last month, nursing

home caregivers picketed outsidethe Amboy Care, Teaneck andManhattanview nursing homes todemand living wages and thepreservation of affordable healthbenefits so they can afford to dothe work they love. The workershave been without a contract forover five months.“Caring for the sick and

vulnerable is one of the mostimportant jobs that we can do, butwith the low wages and the threatto our benefits, it’s close toimpossible to make ends meet forour own families,” saidManhattanview dietary aide VidaHarrison.

Earlier this year, the U.S.Department of Labor filed alawsuit against Michael Konig forfailure to pay overtime wages toworkers at Manhattanview. Inaddition, Konig’s history in thenursing home industry has beenmarked by legal troubles andaccusations of fraud in other statesas well.In 1997, the Massachusetts

Attorney General accused Konigof putting patients in jeopardy andillegally pocketing an estimated$600,000 in Medicare paymentsfrom nursing homes that heowned in Massachusetts. Accord-ing to the State Division ofMedical Assistance deputy generalcounsel, the Medicaid programfound significant amounts ofmoney in Konig’s accountingreports not spent on patient care.

Publicly financed fundinghangs in the balance.

N.J. StateBudget andContractBattlesLooming

In October, the members ofSEIU Healthcare 1199NJ votedoverwhelmingly to merge with1199SEIU. With 7,000 nursinghome and homecare workers,the former N.J. local became theNew Jersey Region of 1199SEIU.

Members of 1199SEIU’sNew Jersey Region picketedManhattanview Nursing Homein Union City in Novemberdemanding a fair contractand a living wage.

10November/December • Our Life And Times

And the Region is looking to thefederal and local governments forassistance. MD-D.C. members withtheir areas safely in the Obamacamp, traveled to neighboringVirginia during the election cycleto help deliver the Southern state.One of the hundreds of

canvassers was Carlton Scott, aGeorgetown University locksmithand veteran delegate and politicalactivist. “I believe in his vision forchange,” said Scott. “I’m doingthis because our country needs tochange direction now, but I’m alsodoing it for the long term. I’mdoing it for my grandchildren.”Region members say that local

problems also need solutions fromthe federal government in theform of universal health insurance,affordable housing, quality edu-cation and the right of workers tochoose to unionize.“My daughter is almost 16 and

she’ll soon be ready to go tocollege,” says TangelinaCavanaugh, one of 200 1199SEIUmembers of Nursing Enterpriseshomecare agency in Washington.Cavanaugh and her co-workersvoted 98 percent to join the Unionin April, but at press time werestill without a contract.

The Employee Free Choice Act(EFCA), if passed in the nextsession of Congress, would forceemployers to negotiate a unioncontract within three month afterthe members vote to unionize.“I’m a single mother. I have a

nine-year-old son,” Cavanaughsays. “The cost of living keepsgoing up, but not my pay. What’s

worse, I have no benefits. I get novacation, sick days or healthinsurance. That’s why we voted tojoin 1199SEIU.”Theresa Gatlin, another

Nursing Enterprise home healthaide, said she had to continueworking after she injured herself,including sometimes taking careof more than one client. “I lost myclient when she went into a nurs-ing home, so I had to take clientsno one else wanted,” Gatlin says.“We desperately need a contract.”Gatlin says she’s also opposed

to the privatization of city servicesin D.C. She supports 1199SEIUefforts to fight the proposedprivatization.

The Region continues to workwith the legislature to continuefunding for the growing 1199SEIUTraining and Upgrading Fund.And it is working with thegovernor, the legislature andPrince George’s County on thesale of the financially troubledPrince George’s hospital system.At stake is healthcare delivery inthe county and some 1,700 jobs of1199SEIU members in the system.“We’ve got a good facility and

we’ve done a lot to upgrade it,”says Prince George’s radiologytechnician Bonita Colbert. Shenotes that the eight facilities in thesystem are located in a strategiclocation and provide the only full-service cardiac program andtrauma center in the region.“It’s a caring facility,” Colbert

says. “We just need a fresh startand we need to get residents touse it.”

Region helps savetroubled hospital system

MD-D.C.MembersDefendWorkplacesandCommunities

The Maryland-D.C. Region of1199SEIU confronts problemsthat are bedeviling communitiesacross the nation. Both Marylandand the District of Columbia facebudget deficits and proposedcuts that would be devastatingto members at their workplacesand in their communities.

Danita Clarke, left, and Shirley Kenney are among the 200homecare workers at Washington D.C.'s Nursing Enterpriseswho won 1199SEIU representation with a 98 percent vote in April.At press time members were negotiating their first contract.

THE TASKS AHEAD

JAYMALLIN

PHOTO

Following in the footstepsof the 25,000 newly organizedpersonal care attendants, non-union healthcare workers inevery healthcare sector acrossMassachusetts are organizing onan unprecedented scale.Thousands of hospital workers

in the major Boston hospitalsare leading the next wave oforganizing and are calling on theirCEOs to agree to free and fairunion elections. That meansworkers would be free to makeup their own minds in aunion election without facingintimidation or coercionfrom management.Last month, the 25,000

personal care attendants whojoined 1199SEIU in 2007 wontheir first-ever contract withhistoric wage increases, paid timeoff, and a commitment from thestate to provide PCAs with healthinsurance. Negotiations begin inearly 2009 to ensure that PCAhealth insurance is an affordableand high-quality benefit.

Meanwhile, many hospitalsand nursing homes are facingserious budget challenges. BostonMedical Center and the healthcarefacilities within the CambridgeHealth Alliance are facing severebudget cuts that could dramati-cally impact the jobs of manyMassachusetts members andof quality care at these vital safetynet facilities.The healthcare facilities in the

Cape Cod Healthcare system arealso facing funding challenges.

And most nursing homes arestruggling with frozenreimbursement rates. A toppriority in 2009 is to combat thethreatened cuts and ensure ourhealthcare facilities have thefunding they need to ensurequality care across theCommonwealth.The 1199SEIU Training and

Upgrading Fund will becomeavailable to many 1199SEIUmembers in Massachusetts for thefirst time in 2009, as a result ofprior collective bargainingvictories. In 2009, union memberswill be negotiating to expand thisbenefit into even more hospitalsand long-term care facilities acrossthe state.

Last year 200 members atNorth Adams Regional Hospitalin the far northwest corner of thestate were the first Massachusetts1199ers to win the 1199SEIUPension Fund. Most othermembers across the state havelimited, if any, retirement security.As 401K and 403B accountscontinue to shrink, there is a newurgency to win real retirementsecurity in upcoming contracts.Massachusetts 1199SEIU

members will continue to engagein political action, building on theexcitement and momentum of thepresidential campaign. In additionto the legislative agenda, a prioritywill be to work to ensure the re-election of Boston Mayor TomMenino, a staunch supporter ofthe right of healthcare workers toorganize.

PCA contract spurshospital drive.

MassachusettsOrganizingon Fast Track

In Massachusetts in 2009,1199SEIU members arecommitted to organizingthousands of healthcareworkers into 1199SEIU, winningfurther improvements in ourcontracts, and increasing ourpolitical strength to defend ourjobs, patients, and communitiesin this difficult economicclimate.

Workers from seven Boston-area hospitals rallied lastOctober for union elections free of management intimidation.Thousands of workers at the city's major institutions areseeking free and fair union elections.

THE TASKS AHEAD

12November/December • Our Life And Times

Rite Aid store #4863 is located in Flushing, N.Y. There are 241199SEIUmemberswhowork at the store. They are among the7,000 Rite Aidworkers 1199SEIU represents. Rite Aid #4863 servesa busy and diverse neighborhood. The store’s 1199ers—mostlyneighborhood residentswho know their regular customers—provide professional service in the retail and pharmacy areasof the store as cashiers, stock clerks, pharmacy techs andpharmacists. They are among the shrinking number of drugstoreworkers in the U.S. with good, union jobs. “I urgemembers of the1199SEIU family and consumers to ‘buy union’ by shopping atunionized pharmacies to preserve unionized drugstore jobs,”says 1199SEIU Pres. George Gresham. To find a Union pharmacyin your area log on to www.1199SEIU.org and click the Buy Unionlink on themain page.

Pharmacy intern Emmanuel Sitteri hasto finish one more year of the five-yearpharmacy program at St. John’s University.He’s been working at the store for fouryears. “I used to be a biology major, thenI switched,” says Sitteri. “I really thoughtI could help people. I help the customersat work now, and as a pharmacist, I canreally do something for people. I work24 hours over three days a week and Itake 18 credits in school. I tend to workwell under pressure, so that schedulesuits me fine.”

Sharlene Pan has been a pharmacist with Rite Aid for18 years. “Besides dealing with customers I also talkwith doctors and nurses. I give clinical advice to theproviders,” says Pan. “This neighborhood is verydiverse. I speak a few dialects of Chinese so it’svery helpful. We also have Greek, Korean andSpanish-speaking pharmacists.”

Pharmacy technician Luz Vasquez has been at thestore for six months. She is a cashier. She also helpscustomers with their prescriptions. “Many people comein, and they take a lot of different kinds of medications.Sometimes they are nervous. I try to talk to thembecause I believe the overall point of my job is tohelp people feel better.”

THEWORKWEDO:RITEAIDWorking to help customers and memberslive healthier and happier lives.

13 November/December • Our Life And Times

“Basically I keep the store in good condition andI stock the shelves,” says stock clerk/cashierJason Hoggard, who is also a student at LaGuardiaCommunity College in Queens, N.Y. “The people I workwith are great and everyone is friendly. We know eachother on a personal level – even the managers – andwe try to keep things as good as possible. Everyonehere helps each other out.”

“In the mornings I cashier. I’m also in charge of thecandy. I fix every shelf. I also help customers and Ianswer the phones. This is a really busy store,” saysfull-time cashier Hemant Shah, who has been at thestore for two years.

Part-time associate Brian Tam is a full-time studentat Queens College. He works 24 hours per week atRite Aid. “When I come home from school, I try tofinish as much homework as I can before I go to work,so I’m not wiped out at the end of the night,” says Tam.“But I love working here. Everyone is like family.When I’m down everyone cheers me up. I also meetnew people, plus I know all our usual customersfrom the neighborhood.”

“Everyone here knows their job. If we work togetherit’s going to be easier for all of us and better for ourcustomers,” says full-time associate Hidayatullah Sayed.“If we need assistance, we can all call on each other.”

THE WORK WE DO

mobilize support for Sen. Obamaand other worker-friendlycandidates, some 1199ers alsotook to the road to build supportamong healthcare workers foruniversal healthcare insurance.Most report major concernamong workers about the need tosolve the crisis.1199SEIU and its national

union, SEIU, also have beenworking tirelessly with a numberof coalitions that are committedto a path to universal care.Among those groups are HealthCare for Americans Now, BetterHealth Care Together, DividedWe Fall and the Partnership forQuality Care. SEIU HealthcarePres. Dennis Rivera, formerpresident of 1199SEIU, is a keyleader in the universal healthcarecampaign.

The hard work of the advocatesappears to be paying off. Barelytwo weeks after the Obamavictory, the president-electtabbed ex-South Dakota senatorTom Daschle to be his healthand human services secretary.Daschle, a long-time advocate, isexpected to shepherd healthcarereform legislation through thenext Congress.

Healthcare workers understand betterthan most the extent of thehealthcare crisis in our nation.“Health care was a major

concern of voters I spoke toduring the (election) campaign,”says 1199SEIU ExecutiveCouncil member Dennese Wray,a CNA at Rebecca Rehab NHand a direct care counselor atCerebral Palsy – both in theBronx. Wray took a leave fromboth positions in July andworked for close to four monthsregistering and mobilizing votersin Ohio.She notes that she and other

canvassers heard first hand fromvoters of varied economiccategories who were deeplyconcerned about the cost andavailability of health insurance.“When we discussed

McCain’s proposal for a $5,000family insurance tax credit andthat he wanted to tax employer-provided health insurance,people reacted negatively,” saysJoshua Brown, a ManhattanNorth General Hospital OR techwho canvassed for three-and-ahalf months in Wisconsin.While Wray, Brown and other

1199ers worked in battlegroundstates across the country to

During the same week,Minnesota Sen. Max Baucus, aDemocrat and chair of the SenateFinance Committee, released hisuniversal healthcare plan. Andfellow Democrat, MassachusettsSen. Ted Kennedy, chair of theHealth, Education and LaborCommittee and the Congres-sional leader on healthcarereform, returned to the Senate tofocus on healthcare legislationafter a six-month absence duringwhich he underwent treatmentfor a brain tumor.

The senators are casting healthcarereform as a crucial componentof any economic revival plan,an argument that Obamaadvanced frequently on thecampaign trail. The financial

crisis, particularly as it affectsauto companies, underscoresthe connections.For example, the cost to

produce an automobile inWindsor, Ontario – separatedfrom Detroit by the Detroit River– is about $4,000 less than in theU.S. because Canadian workers,since they have national healthinsurance, don’t have to includehealthcare costs in their laborcontracts. The U.S. is the onlyindustrialized nation withoutuniversal health insurance. Thatleaves some 46 million Americanswithout coverage.

Shortly after his Jan. 20 inauguration,President-elect Obama isexpected to sign legislation –vetoed one year ago by Pres.Bush – to extend coverage to themillions of children withouthealth insurance. Universalhealthcare legislation shouldfollow soon after.“We have to get a handle on

the increasing cost of healthcare,” says NYU Hospitalfor Joint Diseases RN JoyceLemmon. “I think Obama’s planto make it more affordable andavailable puts him definitelyon the right track.”

14November/December • Our Life And Times

UNIVERSAL HEALTH CAREPUT ON FAST TRACK“In order to fix our economic crisis, and rebuild ourmiddle class, we need to fix our healthcare system, too.... It is clear that the time has come – right now – tosolve this problem.” —President-elect Barack Obama

On Aug. 8 then-candidateBarack Obama experienced thereality of everyday working lifeby walking a day in the shoes ofOakland, Ca., homecare workerPauline Beck. Another reality isthat millions of U.S. workershave no health insurance.President-elect Obama hasvowed to make universalhealth care a priority.

“I believeObama’sposition putsus on theright track.”—NYU Hospital for JointDiseases RN Joyce Lemmon

1199ers work on various levels

November/December • Our Life And Times15

Patrick Gaspard, our ownExecutive Vice President forPolitics and Legislation, hasaccepted President-elect BarackObama’s job offer to serve as hisdirector of the Office of PoliticalAffairs. The political directorspearheads relationships withother elected officials, labor unionsand outside political groups.Gaspard took a leave of

absence from his 1199SEIU postduring the spring to serve asnational political director forObama’s general election cam-paign. In November he was

named deputy director of person-nel for the transition effort.In 2006, Gaspard served as the

acting political director for SEIUInternational during SEIU’s suc-cessful effort to help Democratscapture majorities in the Houseand Senate. And in 2004, he wasthe national field director forAmerica Coming Together.His relationship with 1199SEIU

goes back to Rev. Jesse Jackson’spresidential campaign in 1988.That campaign has been creditedwith helping to lay the ground forthe successful 1989 campaign of

New York Mayor David Dinkinsin which Gaspard also excelled.1199SEIU Pres. George

Gresham made the announcementabout Gaspard’s new position at ameeting of the Union’s ExecutiveCouncil on Nov. 21. Amid tearsand hearty congratulations,Gresham and many Councilmembers heaped praise onGaspard for his countless contri-butions and brilliant vision.“He is one of the nation’s

most brilliant organizers and I’llalways think of him as a youngerbrother,” Gresham said.

As the national labor move-ment lost members and strengthalmost daily, 1199SEIU membersin 2008 continued to makeprogress. They won on the strikeline, at the bargaining table andat the ballot box. They helpedwin the passage of worker-friend-ly legislation and elect worker-friendly candidates – includingPresident-elect Barack Obama.

Starting in late July, 400member political organizers(MPOs) and staff from 1199SEIUfanned out across the country anddecamped to 18 battlegroundstates to help Barack Obama winhis historic victory. Members fromall Regions also volunteered asWeekend Warriors and headedout for the day to Cleveland,Philadelphia and Virginia. Theymobilized for an unprecedentedSEIU campaign in which mem-bers and volunteers knocked onover 3 million doors, made over 16million phone calls and registeredmore than 250,000 new voters.

1199ers were also active onthe homefront. 1199SEIU has atpress time in November organ-ized 4,317 workers in 2008. The42 victories include 1,000 nursinghome workers at nine facilities inthe Absolut chain located in theBuffalo area. Units of RNs fromPeninsula Hospital in Queensand from Southampton Hospitalon Long Island who were previ-ously represented by the NewYork State Nurses Associationvoted to join 1199SEIU.

At Kingsbridge Nursing andRehabilitation Center in theBronx, N.Y, workers won a bittersix-month strike in August whena federal judge issued an injunc-tion against the home’s owner,Helen Sieger. In spite of Sieger’sthreats and intimidation, more

than 200 Kingsbridge workerscarried on the strike through sub-zero winter temperatures andscorching summer heat.

The Kingsbridge victory wasfollowed by two major wins forhome health aides. Some 2,400home health aides settled theirfirst contract in October afterfour years of hard struggle withtheir employer, Best Care HomeHealth. Best Care’s settlementcame on the heels of a victory atPrestige Home Care on Sept. 21when 900 home health aides wontheir first contract. Workers atboth agencies had threatened tostrike. The victories came after ahuge rally at Madison SquareGarden in early August and amarch in lower Manhattan inearly September where Unionpresident George Gresham andnumerous elected officialsdeplored home health aides’treatment by their employers

Also, in October, some 7,000nursing home and long-term careworkers represented by SEIUHealthcare New Jersey votedoverwhelmingly to merge with1199SEIU and become the NewJersey Region of 1199SEIU. Thevote was held by mail and theballots were counted on Sept. 30.Milly Silva, who was president ofthe New Jersey local, will continueto lead the Region as ExecutiveVice President.

The MD-D.C. Region continuedto grow with organizing victories,particularly among homecareworkers. In an April 15 election,98 percent of the 200 caregiversat Washington’s Nursing Enter-prises, Inc. voted to be represent-ed by 1199SEIU. The memberslater picketed the agency officeto force management to the bar-gaining table.Region members also have

taken up the fight against thecontracting out of D.C. services.And workers at Sinai Hospitaland Levindale Hebrew GeriatricCenter in Baltimore beat back a

proposal in September to con-tract out services.The Region also won several

legislative victories during the lastsession of the Maryland legisla-ture. Chief among them was astate and county agreement toprovide funding and a mecha-nism to work toward a solutionfor the financially troubledPrince George’s hospitals.The Region played a major

role in the election of DonnaEdwards in Maryland’s 4th Con-gressional District. Her victorymade her the first AfricanAmerican woman from the stateto serve in Congress. 1199SEIU’sendorsed Council of the Districtof Columbia candidates also wonbig in the recent election.During the spring, the Region

launched its inaugural Trainingand Upgrading Fund’s classes forCertified Nursing Assistants(CNA) and Geriatric NursingAssistants (GNA).

Massachusetts memberswere active during the 2007/2008legislative session. 1199SEIUmembers helped win full fundingin the final 2009 state budget forthe state’s Medicaid/MassHealthprograms and the health systemswhere 1199SEIU members areemployed. Members’ efforts alsohelped pass bills expanding train-

ing and upgrading funding forlong-term care workers; andensuring surgical centers andcommunity hospitals adhere tothe same standards. RNs fromacross Massachusetts formed thefirst 1199SEIU MassachusettsNurses’ Council. Scores of Mass-achusetts nursing home workersvoted for 1199SEIU representation.

And after a year ofnegotiations Personal CareAttendants (PCAs) inMassachusetts voted to approvetheir first ever collective bargain-ing agreement. The three-yearcontract, which was voted on bymail ballot and covers 25,000PCAs, includes wage increases of$10.84 to $12.48 per hour, pro-vides paid time off based onhours worked and requires theimplementation of health insur-ance benefits for the PCAs in thesecond year of the contract. ThePCAs organized in Nov. 2007 inthe largest union election in NewEngland history. Scores of PCAsand their 1199 brothers and sis-ters attended the announcementat the Veronica B. Smith SeniorCenter in Brighton, Mass. onNov. 25. They were joined byseniors, people with disabilitiesand Massachusetts elected offi-cials including Boston mayorThomas Menino.

Around Our Union

HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2008Even in difficult times1199SEIU continues itsgrowth

GASPARD TAKES POST INOBAMA ADMINISTRATION

April rally and Lobby Day at the Mass. State House inBoston for a fair contract for the state's PCAs.

THE BACK PAGE

Massachusetts Personal Attendant (PCA)Candice Phipps with consumer Liz Caseyin Brighton, Mass. at Nov. 25 announcementof PCAs historic, first-ever collectivebargaining agreement. See page 11.

Historic PCA ContractStrengthens BostonOrganizing Efforts