‘We are the swing vote,’ 1199ers chant in Washington, D.C. as they joined a nationwide coalition to mobilize low-waged, infrequent voters.

Poverty is the fourth-leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the Poor People’s Campaign. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Thousands of Union members travelled to the nation’s capital on June 29, to highlight the needs of more than 135 million low-income people across the country—and to fight for change. The assembly called by Rev. Dr. William Barber marked the launch of an outreach program to 15 million infrequent voters ahead of the presidential election in November.

William Cail, an 1199 PCA from Massachusetts, was one of many who shared their personal stories at the podium in front of thousands of fellow activists.

“I was on the streets on my own from the time I was four, and in the foster care system from the time I was eight, until I was 17,” he said. “My family situation was so tough, that I knew I was better off on the streets than at home. I know what it is like to sleep outside, to not know where my next meal is coming from. We are here to ensure that others do not have to know how that feels. I am determined to do everything in my power to give my beautiful daughters a future where poverty no longer exists.”

Working as a Union PCA for 20 years, Cail was able to lift himself out of poverty and start a family. He was in Washington, D.C. for the first time with his three youngest daughters.

Keon Reid, an 1199 CNA, who works at Morningside Nursing and Rehab in the Bronx, also explained why she joined the assembly.

“I was in Albany a few months ago to fight for Medicaid Equity,” she said. “I’m in Washington now to make sure that the right people get inside the White House, so that Medicaid will not get cut. We need enough funds to provide appropriate care for our residents—and to get paid appropriately for the work that we are providing—and for our families.”

A little more than six decades after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his legendary “I Have a Dream” speech in the nation’s capital, it sometimes feels like we are regressing from the fundamental truth that all people are equal and deserve equal treatment and respect, said Cynthia Medavarapu, an 1199 Critical Care RN, who works at the University of Maryland Laurel Medical Center.

“We have still not recovered from the devastation and confusion of COVID-19,” she said. “Hundreds and thousands of people died. The healthcare industry, which was short-staffed before the pandemic, is now even more stretched. Nobody wants to come back and work in healthcare – from doctors, nurses, dietary, environmental services. Healthcare is a right. The only way we can affect change is fighting together and voting.”

That’s why Medavarapu was there standing up in front of thousands of fellow Union members. The election in November is so important, she added.

“We must elect officials that seek to unify us instead of divide our nation,” she said. “We are in this fight together. So, let us carry our momentum forward to the coming election. Vote!”