In February, nearly 1,000 healthcare union members in Rochester, NY signed a groundbreaking new contract after holding a massive informational picket and historic 17-hour strike. The contract with the University of Rochester Medical Center includes wage increases of up to 18 percent over the three-year term. Direct patient care members at Mercy Hospital in Long Island, NY also won 18 percent raises in their second contract.

Members at Phelps Hospital in Sleepy Hollow, NY reached a tentative agreement at 5:13 a.m. on May 30, narrowly averting a one-day strike planned for the following day. The agreement brings members there on par with their 1199SEIU co-workers at other Northwell Health facilities.

Healthcare workers at UHealth Tower, formerly the University of Miami Hospital, in Florida, also agreed on a new contract in May which includes ratification bonuses, annual wage increases, a higher minimum wage, and shift differentials.

Community Care Home Health Services in both Upstate and Long Island, NY ratified their first contract, including pay differentials for the 1,600 new members for working on public holidays, an optional 401k retirement plan, and bereavement leave.

Nursing Home members at Weinberg Campus, located in Getzville, NY near Buffalo—one of the last non-profit facilities in Western NY—averted a two-day strike on July 30, after reaching an 18-month agreement just hours before they were set to hit the picket line.

In late August, nursing home members voted to ratify a new 1-year labor agreement at two facilities near Buffalo, NY—averting a planned 24-hour strike. The contract which includes wage increases of up to 32 percent covers about 70 Nursing home workers at Safire Rehabilitation of Northtowns in Tonawanda and more than 100 workers at Williamsville Suburban Care Center in Amherst.

More than 1,000 nursing home members who work at Aspire Health Care facilities in Florida also reached an 11-hour agreement wage increases and a ratification bonus after mounting informational pickets at 11 locations and voting to strike.

In September, Forest Haven Nursing and Rehabilitation Center members in Maryland ratified a contract which includes raises between 16-26 percent for all in the first year. First contracts were also ratified at Cornerstone Montgomery, a substance abuse rehabilitation agency with locations around Maryland, as well as Partners in Abortion Care in College Park. Partner members secured 12 weeks of paid parental leave and Cornerstone's new contract includes a severance agreement, retirement funds matching, and the extension of benefits to part-time employees.

Hundreds of hospital workers at Garnet Health Medical Center in Middletown, NY, ratified a three-year contract in December that includes 15 percent across-the-board wage increase over the next three years and protects healthcare and pension fund benefits. The win follows a lengthy public campaign to address belowmarket wages.

On February 23, members came together at the 1199 headquarters to celebrate Black History Month and honor civil rights heroes past and present. Speakers included Clarence B. Jones—the lawyer for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who successfully managed to smuggle out his hand-written “Letter from Birmingham Jail” manuscript from prison.

In March, the women of 1199 came together at Union headquarters in Manhattan to parade with pride in costumes from their counties of origin at two solidarity events in recognition of Women’s History Month.

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 Poor People’s Campaign assembly called by Rev. Dr. William Barber marked the launch of an outreach program to 15 million infrequent voters ahead of the presidential election.

The parade season kicked off in Buffalo on June 2, when 1199 members marched with the Justice Bloc to lift up the LGBTQIA+ community during Pride month. On June 30, New York City 1199ers joined “The March,” which originally began in 1970 on the first anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising.

Boricua solidarity and pride were on display at the National Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York

City on June 9, which was billed as America’s largest cultural celebration. Members also turned out in force for the Dominican Day Parade held on August 11.

Years of hard work building up the 1199 Mas Camp for the West Indian Day Parade were rewarded on September 2, with first prize in the Adult Band of the Year competition. On September 8, members came together and proudly marched up Fifth Avenue in New York City to celebrate Labor Day. Celebrations moved up to Harlem the following week, as 1199ers marched in the African American Day Parade on September 15. The season wrapped up on October 12, when members joined the Panamanian Parade in Brooklyn.

From January until April, members traveled to the New York State capital on a weekly basis to press Governor Hochul toinvest in Medicaid equity and finally ensure that Medicaid rates cover the cost of care. .

The sustained pressure resulted in both a rejection of proposed cuts and a “down payment” investment in Medicaid rates.

While the Medicaid equity campaign was being pursued, 1199ers were also supporting Tom Suozzi in his special election to replace the disgraced Republican congressman George Santos on February 13th. 1199ers braved snow and ice on Long Island to help ensure Suozzi’s victory, which was repeated in the general election in November.

In Massachusetts on March 20, hundreds of 1199ers took to the streets outside Governor Maura Healey’s office to protest her state budget proposal that threatened to cut 6,000 consumers out of the Personal Care Assistant program, which provides home care services across the state. After sustained pressure and joint advocacy with the disability community, the funding was restored in the final state budget for 2025.

When Steward Health Care declared bankruptcy in May, Massachusetts members again swung into action to press Governor Healey to help preserve care at six hospitals as they transitioned to new owners and ensure that our contract was maintained at those facilities.

For the two hospitals that were shuttered, 1199ers helped shape the closure procedures which included the ability for workers to transfer to other hospitals in the former Steward system nearly 150 workers took new positions and full payment of PTO for laid off workers.

Also in May, 1199 members from all regions joined members of other unions throughout the U.S. and Canada for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Convention that takes place every four years, ahead of the presidential election.

Vice President Kamala Harris addressed the delegates chosen to represent the roughly two million members of SEIU who were gathered in Philadelphia, PA, 1199 members in Western New York were celebrating in June, when Governor Hochul announced the release of $75 million worth of state funding to build a new modern Brooks Memorial Hospital in Dunkirk to replace the outdated facility after a long-running Union and community campaign.

On September 26, Governor Healey signed into law critical reforms that will lay the groundwork for addressing the safety and staffing issues in Massachusetts nursing homes.

The Long-Term Care Act’s creation of a new Long-Term Care Workforce and Capital Fund will provide much-needed state support for infrastructure investments and new workforce training programs for nurses, CNAs, home health aides, homemakers and other direct care workers, that include 1199 members.

Members in Maryland successfully campaigned for an amendment to their state constitution enshrining abortion as a right and helped to fight off a corporate-backed ballot measure to shrink the size of Baltimore City Council.

In the run up to the general election on November 5, more than 2,000 members volunteered to knock on doors and make phone calls to explain the issues. In all, members took part in more than 7,000 volunteer shifts over the course of the Weekend Warriors campaign.

While the outcome of the presidential election was a disappointment to many, 1199 members can be very proud of the work they did to bring about a different result. And there were also victories to celebrate, including in Maryland where Angela Alsobrooks became the first Black woman Senator. Andy Kim also won his Senate race in New Jersey and three Republican House seats in New York flipped to the Democrats. Maryland and New York passed abortion rights measures and, and in Florida, while the 60 per cent threshold was not cleared, 57 per cent of Floridians voted against the current six-week ban. There were numerous downballot victories to which members contributed as well.

In March, nearly 250 workers at Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP) joined them in uniting with 1199.

Nearly 300 Boston Medical Center Behavioral Health Center workers also won their Union vote. The RNs joined first with the remaining workers voting in August.

More than 140 laboratory technologists at Northwell Health’s microbiologist facility in New York were also celebrating early in the year after winning their 1199 vote.

On June 27, the Physician Assistants at Mount Sinai Queens voted to join fellow 1199 PAs in New York City hospitals who have organized collectively in recent years.

More than 850 staff at Northwell Health’s Core Testing Facilities joined the 1199SEIU family on September 25. On the same day, a further 2,500 new members from the White Glove Community Care home care agency also voted to unionize, joining the 140,000 home care workers already represented by the Union.

In a separate victory in Queens, NY, more than 140 RNs at Zucker Hillside Hospital voted to join 1199 and now have the right to negotiate alongside many of their co-workers who are already part of the contract with the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes. The campaign to organize medical facilities recently taken over by Optum in the Hudson Valley has been continuing throughout the year. A total of 11 Optum locations are now represented by 1199.