We must protect the vulnerable and speak the truth.

As the year draws to a close, many of us will be taking time off work to enjoy the company of those to whom we feel closest over the holiday season. As healthcare workers, many of us will also be looking after residents who need help with daily living or patients who are recovering from illness. As we know, the job of caregivers is needed every single day, no matter what the season.

Come January, 1199ers will also be called upon to use our collective power to defend our Union rights and help protect the most vulnerable in society. Throughout the autumn, all the way up to November 5, thousands of members from each of the Unions regions knocked on voters’ doors and made phone calls in support of worker-friendly candidates. 1199ers pulled out all the stops. In our states and regions, many of our healthcare worker champions won and we were able to elect the first Black woman Senator from Maryland and the first Korean-American Senator from New Jersey. Pro-worker policies, including raising the minimum wage, requiring paid sick leave and providing for collective bargaining for app drivers prevailed through ballot initiatives in Alaska, Massachusetts, Missouri and Nebraska. Measures to protect reproductive healthcare won in Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada and New York.

In a very closely divided country, the Republican party won the Presidency and the Congress by small margins. Through Project 2025 and other manifestos, they have promised to slash Medicaid and Affordable Care Act funding, severely restrict reproductive healthcare and reverse President Biden’s pro-worker labor law changes. They have no mandate to do so, and we have to make that clear through a strong public campaign. We must be ready to mobilize, not just to defend our jobs and communities, but to demand more investment in them.

As the attacks on Unions and the living standards of working people begins to unfold over the coming months, 1199 members must continue to have the tough conversations with their co-workers about why politics matters. Some of the most active members have shared both their emotions and strategies for the future (see Member Voices, p. 18).

The value of almost all healthcare workers’ contracts are closely tied to the amount of governmentdetermined funding available to our institutions. That is why 1199ers campaign year-round to ensure the elected representatives allocate enough money to ensure both affordable healthcare and recruitment and retention of staff (see Year in Review p. 10). As the incoming Republican administration in Washington D.C. begins to claw back necessary funding at the federal level, our contract fights will also be policy fights in Washington and our state capitals. Each year, the Union runs a Member Leadership Development Program to help members hone their political organizing skills (see No Turning Back p. 9). This year, they will be more important than ever.