Purple hats and gold thunder sticks carrying the message, "Enough is Enough", filled Albany's West Capitol Park on Thursday as some 5,000 1199SEIU caregivers rallied to protest another round of healthcare budget cuts proposed by New York's Governor David Paterson.

The Governor's proposed $278 million in Medicaid cuts would cause the state to lose a total of $746 million, when federal matching funds are figured in. For every dollar cut in state Medicaid funding, New York loses $2.60 from Washington.

In the past two years, healthcare funding has already been cut six times by the legislature, with a combined loss of over $2.2 billion, resulting in the loss of several hospitals and nursing homes in distressed areas.

Ros Hampton, an LPN and longtime 1199SEIU Delegate in Buffalo, rally inspired the crowd when she asked, "Governor Paterson, is this any way to treat the most vulnerable members of our society that have paid their dues? Our elderly need to be treated like the kings and queens they are, but how can we do that with these outrageous budget cuts?"

Paulette Abrams, an 1199SEIU homecare worker with the Social Concern Homecare Agency, told the rally, "I've been a homecare worker for 19 years and I'm here to tell Governor Paterson that our patients and all of our families cannot survive any more cuts to homecare. Our clients won't be able to get the care they need and we won't be able to pay our bills."

1199SEIU caregivers came to Albany from as far away as the tip of Long Island and up to the Canadian borders of Western and Northern New York. They were joined by hospital and nursing home executives, who understand the devastating impact of these cuts.

In case you missed it...news highlights from yesterday and this morning on banks, union heroes, health insurance reform, voter turnout and fighting budget cuts [and the swine flu].

Wall Street Bonuses Rise Up, Up, Up and Away: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase, the three biggest banks to receive bailouts, are set to pay record bonuses this year. They'll hand out $29.7 billion in bonuses--an increase of 60 percent from last year.

It's Time to Write Some Thank You Notes: Let's not forget to thank the members of Congress who worked with us along the way to get the "The Affordable Health Care for America Act" passed--Celebrate the passage of the House bill by thanking (or admonishing) your Representative for their vote on health insurance reform.

What exactly did we win? Take a look at some of the highlights in the historic health insurance reform legislation, which include coverage expansion, more choices, encouraging small businesses to cover employees and ending abuse by insurers.

Send your best wishes to Fort Hood Hero: Sgt. Kimberly Munley risked her life to stop the alleged gunman who killed 13 people and injured 30 at Fort Hood, Texas, on Nov. 5. Munley fired four shots at the alleged assailant, Maj. Nidal Hasan, despite being shot herself. She's currently in stable condition. As Officer Munley recovers from her injuries, her union AFGE has set up a site where you can send her your best wishes.

"Protect our patients, NY healthcare from draconian cuts!" New York's frontline caregivers from 1199SEIU are mobilizing by the thousands to go to Albany on Thursday, November 12, to tell the Legislature and Governor that enough is enough: the state's healthcare industry has already been hit by six rounds of budget cuts, totaling $2.2 billion in the past two years. Now Gov. David Paterson is calling for another $746 million in cuts for the current fiscal year, ending next April.

A Win for Maine, Washington, and Lovers of Good Government: Read Monday's Washington Post column by E.J. Dionne about how Maine and Washington voters stood up against cuts to services like home health care for seniors by rejecting the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR). "Why aren't we hearing more of this?" asks Dionne.

Latino Voter Turnout remains high in 2009: While Election 2009 had its ups and downs, initial results show the dire predictions about a drop off in Latino voter turnout proved to be false - and that candidates from all parties rejected campaigning with an anti-immigrant wedge based strategy. Key highlights compiled by America's Voice here.

Puerto Rican unemployment tops 16 percent: About one in six people are now out of work on the U.S. island territory of 4 million people, and another 2,000+ public employees lost their jobs on Friday. More on SEIU.org.

Hand-washing and sneeze-covering precautions can only take you so far: In the mad scramble for flu shots across the country (which are in short supply), the U.S. House is considering a proposal: Mandate that employers pay five sick days if they send a worker home or advise him to stay home.

Pennsylvania SEIU Members win three-year contract: The Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) and the SEIU Local 668 have reached agreement on a three-year contract that calls for a wage increase retroactive to September 1, 2006. The local represents about 350 secretarial, library, accounting, clerical, housekeeping and maintenance personnel at the college.

Why being in a union makes you more likely to have health insurance; H1N1 sick leave bill introduced, and news from around SEIU locals in Michigan, California and New York.

42,000 MI Home Care Workers Win Raise In Tough Budget Year: After months of activism and lobby days at the state capitol in Lansing, home care members of SEIU Healthcare Michigan won a significant victory yesterday. Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm signed a budget yesterday that provides a $0.50 raise across the board for all workers who provide care through the Home Help program.

The Face of Furloughs: After working for the state of California for over 30 years, SEIU Local 1000 member Renee Lee is speaking out about her fight to save her home. Joining thousands of CA state employees who have suffered the brunt of the state's economic crisis, the mandated time off w/out pay have decreased her monthly salary by over $450 per month and left her home in jeopardy. Watch the full video by CBS KOVR in Sacramento.

Faith Leaders in LA Turn Up Heat on Healthcare: In an event yesterday organized by SEIU, African American faith leaders made hundreds of calls to urge Congress to get healthcare reform done. Using SEIU's "faith line," leaders from across the community spoke out about the need for affordable healthcare for some of the community's most vulnerable members. Watch full story on Fox 11:

Union Members 25 Percent More Likely to Have Health Insurance: Today, a new report by the Employee Benefit Research Group shows that unionized workers are 25 percent more likely to have employee-paid health insurance. According to the report, "in September 2007, 83 percent of union workers were covered by health benefits through their own job, compared with 58 percent of nonunion workers." Read the report here.

H1N1 Flu Emergency Sick Leave Bill Finally Here: Rep. George Miller (D-CA) and Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) announced emergency temporary legislation today that will guarantee five paid sick days for a worker sent home or instructed to stay home by their employer for a contagious illness like the H1N1 flu virus. Next steps: According to Reuters, the House Ed & Labor Committee will hold a hearing on the legislation the week of November 16.

Accountability for NY State Home Care Industry: 1199SEIU UHW-E has launched a new website, HomeCareCrisis.org, as the first step in campaign to shine light on the economics of the home care industry. For example...Medicaid pays about $19 per hour for in-home care. Yet caregivers frequently receive as little as $7.50 per hour w/ no affordable healthcare benefits or paid time off.

Do you know a home care agency worthy of 1199SEIU's home care industry Hall of Shame? Nominate them here.

Turning States Purple on Election Day: Down to the wire, purple canvassers are out in force this Election Day--turning out the vote in key races in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, Virginia and Texas. Stay tuned tomorrow as we report on the where and how our members helped make the difference.

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Got news? Share it with us for SEIU's Blog by emailing us at newmedia[at]seiu[dot]org.

On the heels of several historic election victories at hospitals throughout the Greater Boston area, workers at Norwood Hospital in Norwood, Massachusetts announced this evening that they have voted overwhelmingly (74% YES) to join 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East.

The vote at the 264-bed acute care facility means nearly 600 hospital workers at Norwood will now join with thousands of other workers across Caritas Christi Healthcare as a part of the state's largest healthcare union.

Everywhere you turn, patients and consumers are facing more fees. But it's not right to take advantage of us when we turn to an Emergency Room for care. Patients cannot predict when they will need medical attention--and becoming ill or being hurt at the wrong time shouldn't result in an automatic fee increase.

Until last week, patients being treated by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center's physician group, Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians (HMFP), were charged extra fees, simply for going to the emergency room after 10 p.m. But thanks to a public advocacy campaign launched by 1199SEIU, the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and several other Massachusetts hospitals have ended the practice of charging "late-night" emergency room fees for care required after 10 p.m.

Last Tuesday, the healthcare workers of 1199SEIU launched a public awareness campaign to shed light on the practice -- and to ask BIDMC, HMFP to refund the money to patients -- including those who were charged at affiliates Nashoba Valley Medical Center, Milton Hospital, Saint Vincent Hospital and BID-Needham.

On September 23, Milton Hospital announced that it had stopped charging patients the additional fee for being seen after 10 p.m. and would refund anyone who had been charged the late-night fee. And on September 24, Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians announced that it was dropping "late night" fees charged to ER patients at the five Massachusetts hospitals.

Amidst national dialogue on healthcare reform, healthcare workers from 1199SEIU sent a letter today to all Massachusetts legislators to honor the request of the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy to allow an interim appointment by the Governor to fill his seat in the U.S. Senate. The letter stresses that MA "must have two voices and two votes" in upcoming Congressional debates and is signed by 1199SEIU Executive VP Mike Fadel and Political Director Tim Foley on behalf of the 34,000 Massachusetts members of 1199SEIU.

[Healthcare workers] are particularly committed to ensuring the passage of national healthcare reform. Senator Kennedy's legacy is rooted in a lifetime of service to our state and in the effort to provide healthcare as a right for all and not a privilege for the few.

The letter piggybacks the launch of WeNeedTwo.org, a new website and petition urging the Massachusetts State Legislature to change state law to allow temporary replacement for his seat to ensure the state has full representation in Congress. Today outside the MA State House as MA representatives have their first debate about ensuring the state has two Senators, 1199SEIU and other groups supporting legislation that would allow for an interim appointment are holding a press conference.

Read the letter (PDF) here.

Over the last week and a half, SEIU Locals in California, New York and Oregon have reached new or tentative contract agreements that will benefit nearly 13,000 workers. Contract highlights include lessening the impact of budget cuts on workers' jobs and pocketbooks, and wage and benefit increases.

CALIFORNIA
Largest Vote in SEIU Riverside History leads to Contract Agreement
Roughly 6,000 public service workers of SEIU Local 721 reached a contract agreement with Riverside County on September 1, ending a five-month-long negotiation process. Union members overwhelmingly voted 93 percent to approve a one-year ratified agreement, making this the largest ratification vote in SEIU's history in Riverside County. With the new contract, members gain overtime rights, limited furloughs and a fairness agreement among all county employees. More details here.

Calexico City Employees Win Huge Victory
California City Employees who are members of SEIU Local 221 won a huge victory this week, pushing back on budget cuts proposed by the Calexico City Council that would have made drastic cuts to pay and benefits, along with implementing 18 furlough days. The City Council listened as members found other cost-saving measures the council could use to fill their budget gap instead of making up the difference on the backs of workers. This victory was a real demonstration that when members stand up for themselves, positive change can happen. Read more.

2,600 Workers at Stanford University ratify new contracts w/ wage, benefit increases
Members of SEIU Local 2007 ratified a new five-year contract on September 3 that includes a 12.5 percent wage increase, preserves jobs and increases training by implementing an apprenticeship program with the trades. According to BNA Daily Labor Report, the jointly-developed apprenticeship program--$120,000 of which Stanford will fund--will allow workers to move up the career leader in their fields (such as electricians) as well as provide the kind of training which would give them the opportunity to move to a different career.

1,450 SEIU-UHW hospital workers at the Palo Alto facilities, Stanford Hospital and Lucille Packard Children's Hospital voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new two-year contract on August 28 that offers 4 percent wage increases and ratification bonuses. Stanford employees had been working for several years without a contract, and bargaining had been stalled by management. More details on the victory at SEIU-UHW's website here.

NEW YORK
Workers at Presbyterian Senior Care Centers Overwhelmingly Ratify New Labor Agreement
Approximately 270 1199SEIU workers employed by Presbyterian Senior Care at its two facilities, Harbour Multicare Center and Hawthorn Multicare Center, overwhelming voted in favor of a new labor agreement on August 31. Highlights of the new contract include pension improvements; annual wage increases, and improved holiday pay for part-time employees. More here.

OREGON
OR University System Members Reach Tentative Agreement on Two-Year Contract
"You stood up, hung tough, held out and adhered to principle," said an special email from the SEIU Local 503 bargaining team after reaching a settlement on a two-year contract late Friday night, giving 4,000 members in the Oregon University System a special reason to celebrate Labor Day. Contract highlights include fully-paid health care premiums for full-time employees and withdrawn proposals for unlimited furloughs and an across-the-board pay cut. The agreement includes essentially matches the deal struck six weeks ago on behalf of state workers and assures that the workers, their clients and the services they provide will not take an excessive hit as lawmakers work to close a multi-billion budget gap.

Another highlight: The 14 part-time recyclers at Portland State University, who became Oregon's first unionized undergrads when they voted unanimously to join SEIU, are covered by the contract. Read more about the agreement here.

Please feel free to offer congratulations to these workers and the bargaining teams that worked so hard on their behalf in the comments section below.

Throughout his storied career, Sen. Kennedy stood with members of SEIU to fight for dignity and respect for working people everywhere. As a testament to this, stories continue to pour in on the work the Senator championed alongside our members.

In 2002, Senator Ted Kennedy walked the picket lines, held a press conference, and rallied public support for 10,000 Massachusetts janitors fighting for their first contract. His dedication and continued presence throughout the long negotiations helped some of Massachusetts hardest-working and most underpaid workers win a livable wage and access to affordable healthcare--even for part-time janitors.

Kennedy also stood with more than 250 security officers at Harvard as they fought for a fair contract. "From the fight for decent wages and benefits to his pioneering work on healthcare and immigration reform, Kennedy was there, always championing the little guy," recalled Rocio Saenz, President of SEIU Local 615 in Boston.

Sen. Kennedy could always be counted on to stand shoulder to shoulder with SEIU members in Massachusetts.

• He championed the mission and funding of Boston Medical Center, where 1199SEIU members staff and deliver care at the most charitable safety net hospital in the state. Thanks to the support of the Senator, 1199SEIU members have provided care for more uninsured and under-insured patients than any other hospital in Massachusetts.

• In late 2008, Senator Kennedy called together an historic meeting of Boston-area hospital CEOs, asking them to pledge their commitment to a free and fair process for caregivers seeking to form unions. The Senator helped ignite a campaign that has allowed thousands of area hospital workers the freedom to join a union and improve their lives and patient care.

• Kennedy was also a stalwart advocate for the 1199SEIU Training & Upgrading Fund, the largest healthcare workers training fund in the United States. That fund has helped countless Massachusetts healthcare workers establish improved career paths, through unique and innovative healthcare education and college tuition programs which are jointly administered by health employers and 1199SEIU.

"In these past 50 years, no elected official has done more for the cause of civil rights, peace, education, affordable housing, immigration reform, women's rights and the rights of workers and their unions than Senator Kennedy. He has stood with 1199 at every important juncture," said 1199SEIU President George Greshmam.

During an interview with 1199SEIU's magazine Our Life and Times back in December 2007, Senator Kennedy spoke about his support for workers' rights and Employee Free Choice, saying "Unions make a profound difference in the lives of working families."

We feel the same way about the Senator. Learn more about Senator Kennedy's legacy on SEIU.org, and help us honor him by sharing your memories.

Yesterday in Massachusetts, hundreds of tearful SEIU members in lined the streets of Boston clutching purple signs with a simple message: "Thank You Teddy."

1199SEIU joined other labor organizations and tens of thousands of grateful citizens who lined the route from Kennedy's home on Cape Cod to the JFK Presidential Library - saluting the Senator as he made one final trip through his beloved city of Boston.

As the motorcade entered the city -- passing over the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, the park Sen. Kennedy helped to create to give mothers and their children green space in the heart of the bustling metropolis -- many were overcome with emotion, sadness and appreciation for the Senator who had spent the last 47 years standing beside and fighting for the working class.

After watching the hearse pass by and greeting members of the Kennedy clan, 1199SEIU members marched to Faneuil Hall - joining Boston Mayor Tom Menino in ringing a bell on the steps of City Hall Plaza 47 times - to commemorate each of Kennedy's years in the U.S. Senate. At the same time, the Kennedy family headed past the JFK federal building, home for decades of Kennedy's Boston office, and then to Dorchester Street and into South Boston and the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Dorchester.

Sen. Kennedy will lie in state as thousands come to pay their respects -- just steps away from the 1199SEIU Massachusetts Division headquarters -- until Saturday morning when funeral services will take place.

Although he did not live to see the passage of healthcare reform in Washington D.C., SEIU has pledged to honor his memory by working even harder to win quality affordable health care for every American. View SEIU's tribute page to Senator Kennedy here.

SEIU members around the country have spent the month of August meeting with their members of Congress and engaging in meaningful conversation about healthcare reform.

OREGON: Members of SEIU Local 49 joined Congressman Kurt Schrader as he toured Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis, Oregon on August 20th. During the tour, front-line health care workers spoke with the Congressman about health care delivery and health care reform.

IOWA: This past weekend at an event on the University of Iowa campus, area healthcare providers and SEIU Local 199 members displayed dozens of scrubs signed with the tragic stories of Americans who have suffered because of our broken healthcare system.

"We're just saying on behalf of all the people who signed these scrubs that we want change, that the status quo for our patients that we see every day is not working. And we're going to rely on our congressmen from Iowa to go back to Washington, DC and get something done so that people from Iowa have access to quality, affordable healthcare," said SEIU Local 199 president Cathy Glasson. Learn more the campaign w/ PQC to sign scrubs.

OHIO: On August 25th, SEIU District 1199 and the Ohio AARP hosted a panel on healthcare reform in Wintersville, Ohio. Hundreds of residents attended to ask questions and dispel reform myths. Watch this video of District 1199 Senior Executive Vice President Al Bacon speaking SEIU's efforts to push for reform at the town hall:

WASHINGTON: Members of SEIU Healthcare 1199NW are planning to connect with their member of Congress Rep. Jim McDermott at an upcoming town hall on Tuesday, September 1st. They're also going to be delivering several hundred surgical scrubs next week signed by members to Rep. McDermott as further proof why healthcare reform can't wait.

     

Along with SEIU locals, Change That Works teams around the country have also been hard at work.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: More than 150 people from across the state gathered in Portsmouth today to thank Representatives Paul Hodes and Carol Shea Porter for their commitment to reform--and remind them that every day health care reform is delayed, real people in New Hampshire are affected. Speakers at the rally included residents struggling to afford even bare-bones health insurance plans (like small business owner Scott Baez) and those that have been denied private health insurance because of a pre-existing conditions (like Laura Mick, who was born with a cyst on her brain).

And last week, with less then 24 hours' notice, the New Hampshire Change That Works team was able to get reform supporters to turn out to a healthcare forum with Sen. Judd Greg held at the Ingram Senior Center. During the meeting, Sen. Gregg confirmed that the 'death panels' which have been so highly touted by anti-reform activists are nothing more than an extremist scare tactic. Watch coverage of the forum here:

VIRGINIA: On August 25th, Change That Works helped bring over 2,000 healthcare reform supporters to a town hall in Reston, Virginia with Rep. Jim Moran and former DNC Chair Dr. Howard Dean. Volunteers made homemade signs with messages such as "Moms and Babies for Public Option" and "Patriots for Public Option."

NEBRASKA: An estimated crowd of 600 people gathered on the steps of the Capitol this week in Lincoln, NE for a rally in support of quality, affordable healthcare for all Americans. At the August 25th event sponsored by groups including Change to Win, the Interfaith Workers Justice, HCAN, OFA and the AFL-CIO, speakers shared their stories that highlighted the human toll of our broken healthcare system on people from all walks of life--veterans, small business owners, doctors and retired folks.

Supporters of health reform have been outnumbering opponents by large margins at events like the ones we just told you about; helping to lead honest, civil conversations with members of Congress. In the coming week, SEIU members and supporters all over the country will turn their attention to celebrating Labor Day by joining together and demanding reform.

As members of Congress head back to Washington, DC in a few days' time, do your part to help send them back to work with a clear directive on health care reform. Join us at send-off rallies across the country.

Across the country, nurses, doctors, and other healthcare workers providers are partnering with their hospitals and healthcare facilities to sign surgical scrubs with stories and messages about our broken healthcare system--and why healthcare reform is needed.

Since the national launch of "Every Patient Matters" campaign with the Partnership for Quality Care the second week of August, numerous SEIU Locals with members working in health care facilities have already held scrub-signing actions at health care facilities their members work at.

When lawmakers return to Washington in September, nurses, doctors, and other caregivers will deliver tens of thousands of these signed scrubs to the Capitol to ensure the voices of front-line caregivers and the stories of their patients are heard in the debate over healthcare reform.

Looking to get involved in the Every Patient Matters campaign? Let us know.

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The Partnership for Quality Care (PQC) is a national labor-management coalition committed to ensuring quality, affordable healthcare for everyone in America. It includes public, private, religious, teaching and nonprofit hospitals nationwide and integrated health systems; and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Our members care for more than 60 million patients annually.

The 1199SEIU Social Cultural Committee has been hard at work for months to prepare for Working Its Way to the Parkway--the annual Labor Day Parade on Eastern Parkway that showcases Caribbean cultural heritage in NYC and brings millions of participants to Brooklyn.

Since June, Committee members have been at the Mas Camp making the MesoAmerican female/male adult and children costumes that will stand out in the midst of the crowds when they're worn on Labor Day, Monday, September 7th at the 42nd annual West Indian American Day parade and carnival. The event is one of NYC's biggest cultural festivals by far and a highlight on the calendar of 1199SEIU members in New York. Grand Marshalls at this year's parade will include Governor David Paterson, Gen. Colin L. Powell (Ret) and NYPD Chief Joseph Esposito.

The 1199SEIU Social Cultural Committee is supported by Bread and Roses, the union and its members and staff who help to make sure 1199SEIU's presence on Eastern Parkway grows each year. Buy tickets to the parade online here.

Are you part of a local union that is planning or participating in a Labor Day event this September 7th? Please share with us what your union is doing--we'd love to highlight it on the SEIUs blog.

Yesterday, workers at Boston's Caritas Carney Hospital, part of Caritas Christi Health Care and the largest community-based hospital system in Massachusetts, voted overwhelmingly to join 1199SEIU. This election comes on the heels of an April vote in which more than 800 healthcare workers at Caritas St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Boston also voted to unite together with thousands of healthcare workers in 1199SEIU.

The successful vote was hailed by community leaders as a win not just for caregivers, but also for patients and the community. "Carney is so much more than just a community hospital - it's a real part of the community," said Boston Mayor Thomas Menino in a statement. "Generations of Dorchester families have turned to Carney for quality care, good jobs and a ray of hope...Why can't every hospital in the city of Boston have 1199?" (Our thoughts exactly!) Since 2006, 1199SEIU has more than tripled in size in Massachusetts.

1199SEIU's bargaining unit will represent respiratory therapists, radiology technicians, LPNs, nurse assistants, dietary and clerical workers, and housekeepers at the 159-bed hospital. Read more about the election at the Boston Herald, Boston Globe, and CNBC.

A proposal to subcontract out food service workers at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC was recently defeated by 1199SEIU members. Medstar, the operator of the hospital, told workers that it intended to subcontract the entire dietary department to the operator that was already managing part of the area.

But the members came together to oppose the plan, and voiced their concerns to management about plan and the proposed subcontractor. Within just three days, workers received a letter from management saying that the subcontracting deal was off and that they were going to refocus efforts to improve the kitchen. Read more at the 1199SEIU News Center.

Collective bargaining on behalf of some 140,000 hospital and nursing home workers is beginning this month in New York City. Representing 1199SEIU will be an elected Negotiating Committee of some 500 rank-and-file healthcare workers. They will be conducting parallel talks with representatives of the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes and the Greater New York association of nursing homes.

The nursing home negotiations are set to begin today, May 8; the League talks will open on May 13. Union Negotiating Committee members from "Me Too" institutions--those that model their contracts on the League's but don't belong to it--will attend the League negotiations. The goal of the joint decision to reopen the contract is to find ways to stabilize the pension fund and preserve members' pension benefits.

For more information, visit 1199SEIU's news center.

More than 800 healthcare workers at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, the largest medical center in the Caritas Christi Health Care chain, voted last Thursday to unite together with thousands of healthcare workers in 1199SEIU.

"This is a time of great challenges and unprecedented opportunities," said 1199SEIU President George Gresham. "Now that St. Elizabeth's workers have a union voice, we can all work together to defend healthcare funding, expand access, and make life better for the caregivers at St Elizabeth's and their families."

Over the past 35 years, workers have attempted to form a union at St. Elizabeth's at least three different times, to no avail. Under new leadership, Caritas Christi Health Care reached an historic accord in January 2009 with 1199SEIU and the Area Trades Council, which established a code of conduct under which workers would be free to make their own decisions on whether to join together as a union under fair secret ballot voting conditions.

"We are overjoyed and thrilled. People were crying with joy in the halls Wednesday night," said St. Elizabeth's PCA Sonia Marshall, "We believe in the mission of St. Elizabeth's, and we're excited about working together to make our hospital the best that it can be for our patients and also for hospital workers and our families. We look forward to the day when all of our sisters and brothers across Boston are able to have free and fair union elections." Workers at St. Elizabeth's have pledged to help organize healthcare workers at other Massachusetts hospitals, including other Caritas Christi facilities, where union election campaigns are expected to launch in the near future.

Read more at www.StElizabethsWorkersTogether.org

When executives at Northern Berkshire Healthcare received word that the nursing home staff at Massachusetts Sweet Brook Care Centers petitioned to join 1199SEIU in January, they wasted no time before launching an anti-organizing campaign.

Their thinly veiled effort to strip caregivers of their voting rights didn't fool anyone--including the National Labor Relations Board. The Boston Regional Office of the NLRB issued a decision in favor of the long term care workers at Sweet Brook Nursing Home in Williamsburg, MA, on Monday, ruling that registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and lead certified nursing assistants will be eligible to vote in an upcoming union election.

In their 19-page decision reached after lengthy hearings, the NLRB rejected all arguments presented by executives at Sweet Brook and Northern Berkshire Healthcare (NBH) as part of an effort to exclude the caregivers from exercising a voice at work. NBH argued that registered nurses, LPNs and "lead" certified nursing assistants have supervisory authority that would prevent them from becoming union members.

"They were trying to say that we manage the other CNAs and have the power to change things," said Betty Higley, a lead certified nursing assistant in the dementia unit at Sweet Brook. "But you're just there to make sure the paperwork gets done. There was nothing that the hospital brought up that proved we were managers -- I still work weekends, I still work holidays. You can't dispute the truth."

Caregivers estimate that Northern Berkshire Healthcare has now wasted many tens of thousands of dollars in taxpayer and patient care funds on executive junkets and a discretionary, totally meritless and unfounded legal battle against the voting rights of NBH employees at the Sweet Brook Nursing Home. Health system officials' defense is that they wanted to ensure the local's establishment was done correctly, and that the $500 an hour specialty lawyers were needed for last week's National Labor Relations Board hearings on union organizing at Sweet Brook that were held in Boston.

What were some of the many tactics Northern Berkshire Healthcare, led by CEO Richard Palmisano, employed while workers fought for the right to hold an election to have a voice at work?

1. Threatened service reductions and layoffs by hospital executives due to budgetary shortfalls at North Adams Regional Hospital.
   
2. An internal campaign of intimidation waged by the nursing home's own CEO, to guilt-trip employees by convincing them that forming a union would be equivalent to giving up their goals of improving resident care and jobs at the home.
   
3. One-on-one meetings with workers about their private voting choices, conducted by NBH executives.
   
4. Six days of NLRB hearings and testimony in Boston and Leominster, where testifying caregivers were kept away from their families and the nursing home residents for whom they care. During this hearing, NBH officials also tried to bar 35 nurses and certified nursing assistants from the election.

The answer: all of the above.

The overwhelming majority of eligible staff at Sweet Brook have already expressed, in writing, their support for forming a union at the nursing home. "Management at Sweet Brook has been doing everything in their power to prevent us from voting in a union election," said Betty Higley, a lead certified nursing assistant at Sweet Brook who attended the hearings, "They kept us away from home for almost a week. Enough is enough. Let us vote!"

Tremendous support from the workforce in question isn't stopping NBH, however--- Vice President of External Affairs Diane Cutillo said on Monday that the health-care system is appealing the decision to the National Labor Board in Washington, DC.

Hundreds of healthcare workers, members of 1199SEIU and elected officials marched down Queens Boulevard on Saturday to rally against the imminent closures of two local hospitals: the Saint John's Queens Hospital in Elmhurst and Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica. The medical facilities are in danger of shutting down after their operator, Caritas Healthcare, filed for bankruptcy and notified the hospitals' 2,500 employees that both facilities would close their doors by the end of February.

"We mark a sad day today, less access to health care, several thousand workers losing their jobs, people who are already living from paycheck to paycheck," said Ruben Wills, a community organizer. Led by a horse-drawn white hearse, the chanting crowd along the procession route waved signs and posters hand-lettered with messages that read "Today Our Hospitals. Tomorrow...?" "We Have Saved So Many, Now We Need To Be Saved" and "Killing Hospitals = Killing People."

While the federal government has given away hundreds of billions of dollars to prop up failing banks, no such rescue package has come forth for these community hospitals--both of which are filled to capacity and collectively serve over a million patients a year. In the borough of Queens, where several hospitals have already closed in the last decade, the closing of St. John's and Mary Immaculate Hospitals could represent a healthcare crisis for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers.

Tyrone Hooper, a worker in the Mary Immaculate linen department and an 1199 delegate, described the devastating impact the closings will have on his home community of Jamaica:

"In 1996, my brother had no health care, and Mary Immaculate did emergency surgery on him and saved his life. Ninety-five percent of the people who come to us are Medicaid and Medicare recipients. Where are those people going to go now? [Nearby] Jamaica Hospital is already overcrowded and diverting patients to our hospital. We were the only other trauma unit in the area."

Workers, community allies, politicians and residents are not taking the news of these closures lying down, and have been rallying with 1199SEIU members over the last three weeks to fight back against Governor David Paterson's proposed $3.5 billion in health care cuts. Delegations gathered in front of Governor Paterson's office in Manhattan and sent petitions and buses to Albany and Washington DC, seeking emergency grants to remain open. And on March 5, a massive City Hall rally will take place, called by 1199 SEIU, NYSUT, UFT, CWA, the Working Families Party, ACORN, Citizen Action, the Alliance for Quality Education, One New York and other concerned New Yorkers to oppose looming state and city budget cuts.

To join the fight to protect New York's health care, please visit http://www.protecthealthcare.com/action.aspx

>> Watch hundreds of members decked out in their purple at Saturday's rally in this video coverage from NY1.

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"Local 1199 represents the authentic conscience of the labor movement."
- From Dr. King's remarks at 1199's Salute to Freedom celebration in 1968.

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One way to celebrate black history this month is by focusing on the history of African Americans in the labor movement. No single person made greater contributions toward the advancement of both the civil rights and labor movements than Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who was killed while in Memphis to support striking sanitation workers trying to form a union. Dr. King always saw strengthening unions and lifting up workers as critical to achieving long term justice for African Americans. He helped motivate hundreds of thousands of activists--both black and white--through his speeches and the example he set.

"I'm often disenchanted with some segments of the power structure of the labor movement, but in those moments I begin to think of unions like Local 1199," said Dr. King in one of his last speeches at 1199SEIU to union members and supporters before his assassination in 1968. "It gives me renewed courage and vigor to carry on and the feeling that there are some unions left that will always maintain the radiant and vibrant idealism that brought the labor movement into being," said Dr. King.

Listen to Dr. King's full speech about continuing fight for social and economic justice here:

The 1960s saw Dr. King address countless labor gatherings, and he did not confine his support to just speechmaking. He often joined workers on the picket lines; and when the 1199SEIU drive to organize New York City's voluntary hospitals began in 1962, Dr. King called New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller and urged him to support collective bargaining legislation.

Coretta Scott King addressing an audience at 1199 headquarters

Just two months after Dr. King's death in 1968, 1199 hospital workers won the historic $100 per week minimum wage. And on the heels of that victory, Dr. King's widow Coretta Scott King, agreed to serve as honorary chairperson of the 1199 National Organizing Committee. She went on to remain a close friend and ally of 1199 for the rest of her life, speaking at 1199 conventions and Black History Month celebrations.

Unionists across the nation have drawn strength from Dr. King. "His dedication to the rights of the workers who are so often exploited by the forces of greed has profoundly touched my life and guided my struggle," said the late Cesar Chavez, founder of the United Farmworkers of America and an icon in the labor and rights movements. "During my first fast in 1968, Dr. King reminded me that our struggle was his struggle too. He sent me a telegram, which said, 'Our separate struggles are really one. A struggle for freedom, for dignity, and for humanity."

"As we continue to learn from some of the greatest innovators, activists, intellectuals and community leaders in history, the best way we can honor and remember their legacy is to continue their work for equal and fair treatment, and support the fight for decent wages, benefits and improved training for all workers. Advancing their cause is one way we can truly celebrate Black History Month," said Kyle Bragg, Vice President of 32BJ SEIU.

*Visit www.seiu.org/blackhistorymonth

From 1199SEIU ~

The Healthcare Education Project (HEP), a joint initiative of 1199SEIU and the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA) has begun airing two new television ads urging Governor David Paterson to use a portion of the nearly $11 billion in Medicaid funding New York State will receive under the federal economic stimulus package to avoid massive health care cuts to hospitals, nursing homes, and home care.

The new ad, which praises President Obama for recognizing states' dire need for fiscal relief, is part of HEP's ongoing campaign to educate New Yorkers about the hugely destructive effect Governor Paterson's proposed $3.5 billion in health care cuts--including $2 billion in cuts to hospitals, nursing homes, and home health--would have on patients and communities across New York.