When a 5,000-member drugstore union took on the formidable task of organizing New York’s powerful voluntary hospitals in 1959, hospital workers at the time earned as little as $32 for a 44 to 48-hour work week. A decade later, those same hospital workers had quadrupled their salaries and gained significant benefits thanks to labor organizing.
Today, our contract standards are second to none in the nation’s healthcare industry. 1199SEIU has emerged as one of New York City’s most powerful forces for economic justice. Throughout our history, we have joined hands and marched shoulder to shoulder with economic justice advocates.
We have worked with Occupy Wall Street and have been a leading voice in the Fight for $15 movement. We continue to advocate for training and career ladders for 1199ers regardless of classification, and we lobby tirelessly for programs and legislation for all workers as a whole.
