Nearly 200 hospital workers at Merrimack Valley Hospital in Haverhill Vote to Join 1199SEIU

Healthcare workers vote to join union in continuation of largest hospital organizing effort in New England history

BOSTON, MA – Hospital workers at Merrimack Valley Hospital in Haverhill, Massachusetts have voted overwhelmingly to join 1199SEIU. The vote means that the nearly 200 hospital workers at Merrimack Valley will now join with thousands of other workers across Massachusetts in several other Steward Healthcare facilities.

“Healthcare workers across Massachusetts know we must come together to protect the quality of care we provide, the economic health of our hospitals and our communities.” said 1199SEIU President George Gresham. “We’re proud to welcome the workers at Merrimack Valley into the 1199 family – and we’re ready to continue this unprecedented momentum at hospitals throughout Massachusetts.”

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Registered Nurses Vote by 90% to Join 1199 at St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children in Queens

On Friday, September 16th, Registered Nurses at St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children in Bayside, Queens voted by a landslide to join 1199SEIU.  St. Mary’s RNs say they now have a voice to advocate for their patients, provide for their families and ensure good jobs for the communities in Queens.  The election for the 98 RNs follows a previous vote by 222 licensed professional nurses, nurses’ aides, clerks, dietary workers, housekeepers and others who voted by a wide margin to join 1199 in August.  Those workers have already begun the bargaining process, and soon St. Mary’s Registered Nurses will elect their bargaining team to sit down with management and negotiate an RN contract with job improvements. 

“It’s very important for Registered Nurses to have a voice in the delivery of care,” said Cynthia MacDonald, a Registered Nurse at St. Mary’s  “Having a voice means that we will be able to create workplace policies that benefit the children we care for and the communities we live in, along with helping to raise standards for Registered Nurses everywhere.”

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Hot Fun in the Summer Time! More than 1,000 New Members Join 1199SEIU

The summer of 2011 has been an exciting one for 1199SEIU with more than 1,000 new nursing home workers, homecare workers and hospital workers joining the ranks of the fastest growing healthcare union in America!

Kicking off in May, 30 workers at Niagra Falls Medical Center in Upstate voted to join 1199SEIU to gain dignity and respect at work. Workers at Medford nursing home in Long Island and the Springs Nursing and Rehab Centre also voted to unite with 1199 this July.

Our biggest victory this summer welcomed more than 900 New York City homecare workers voted overwhelmingly to join 1199 after an exciting campaign that will finally give home health aides and other homecare workers throughout downstate New York a real voice in issues including patient care, no-cost educational opportunities, higher wages and more.

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NY Health Care Workers Vote Decisively to Join 1199

(NEW YORK, NY) Some 937 home health aide workers at New York Health Care (NYHC)have just joined 1199SEIU. With this victory on July 13, the workers—based in New York City, Spring Valley and Newburgh--ended their three-year fight to join the union, citing the need for workplace improvements like a voice on the job, fairer pay, health insurance and job security in order to better care for their clients and provide for their families.

"I am very happy because I have been working with NYHC for 11 years," said Yolanda Alicea. "It’s about time we had the union!"

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The DC/MD Division Congratulates its First Training & Upgrading Fund RN Grad, Geoffrey Kebwaro

(BALTIMORE, MD) Geoffrey Kebwaro has been a member of 1199SEIU working as a CNA at Genesis HealthCare for nearly four years. Last month, he graduated from the nursing program at Baltimore City Community College, and is now preparing for his board exam, the final step to receiving his RN license, which he hopes to complete before August 2011.

When asked what his greatest challenge was in getting his degree, he didn’t hesitate: "Finances - but 1199 [Training & Upgrading Fund] helped a lot with that," adding that "time management" was very challenging as well, when juggling work and school commitments.

Geoffrey was proud to complete the program without repeating any classes. He was one of just eight students, of 120 in his class, who completed the program on time. His advice to fellow nursing students: "Stay focused. Avoid distractions. It’s all about your willingness to sacrifice and determination."

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