On June 7, 2017 service and maintenance workers voted to join with 1199. This group of workers, which include, housekeepers, laundry aides, cooks and floor techs join the Nursing and Dietary departments who have been 1199 members for ten years.

Reasons that drove workers to join 1199 include, wages, respect on the job and low staffing levels. Finding someone to help cover shifts was tough. Coverage was often relegated to part-time workers and as a result, many part-time workers were working full-time hours, yet received no benefits. Many people had not seen a raise in up to ten years, and workers felt that management did not properly communicate with them.

Pamela Sinclair, a laundry aide, who has been with Summit Park for the past 2 ½ years, started out in housekeeping working the day shift. One day she came into work and was told that she was being transferred from housekeeping to work in the laundry. Similarly, another day she came into work and was told that she was being switched to work the night shift. Again, she was given no choice and no notice.

Realizing that 1199 offers protections regarding their shift was one of the main reasons Pamela decided to join in the movement. “What makes me happy about joining with 1199, is that I can finally have my voice heard,” she says. “I’ve always had a voice, but now with 1199 backing me, I can be heard.”