Healthcare Workers Hosted Hundreds in Dorchester to Mark 10th Anniversary of 1199SEIU in Massachusetts

November 25, 2015

Hundreds of healthcare workers from across the Commonwealth celebrated the tenth anniversary of the formation of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, which has grown from 10,000 to 52,000 members in Massachusetts since 2005. In that time, 1199SEIU has become the state’s most politically active union and the fastest-growing union in the nation.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, and Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy III were among the many state leaders that joined healthcare workers from across the Commonwealth as hospital workers, home care workers, and nursing care workers gathered on Saturday at the 1199SEIU union hall in Dorchester. Other elected officials that attended were Attorney General Martha Coakley, Newton Mayor Setti Warren, a representative from Congressman Moulton’s office, Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu, Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley, Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson, Worcester City Councilor-elect Khrystian King, Senator Sal DiDomenico, a representative from Senator Chang-Diaz’s office, Rep. Evandro Carvahlo, Rep. Claire Cronin, Rep. Jim O’Day, Rep. Dan Cullinane, and Rep. Alan Silvia. 1199SEIU President George Gresham presented a framed picture of the Massachusetts volunteer infantry in Florida from 1864 to 1199SEIU Executive Vice President Veronica Turner on behalf on the Massachusetts division.

To see more photos from the event, check out the Facebook album here!

“Over the last decade, healthcare workers have been organizing, mobilizing, and promoting social justice across our state on an unprecedented scale,” said Veronica Turner, Executive Vice President of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. “It’s an incredible honor to lead this diverse and dedicated group of caregivers who continue to advocate every day for quality care and quality jobs for families across Massachusetts.”

During the past 10 years, healthcare workers of 1199SEIU have achieved a number of firsts. In 2007, they won the largest union vote in the history of New England when tens of thousands of Personal Care Attendants joined 1199SEIU. They carried out the largest and most successful hospital organizing drive in the history of the region, organizing workers at nearly a dozen hospitals in just a few years. 1199SEIU also played a leading role in advancing state healthcare reform, achieving an increased Massachusetts minimum wage, and winning earned sick time for Massachusetts workers through a ballot initiative last year.

Earlier this summer, 1199SEIU home care workers became the first in the nation to secure a pathway to a $15/hour wage for 35,000 Personal Care Attendants who care for seniors and people with disabilities – lifting thousands of Massachusetts families out of poverty.

Massachusetts healthcare workers are also playing a major role in the national Fight for $15 to achieve a living wage, the Campaign for Fair Care to realign Massachusetts’ lopsided hospital payment system, and the campaign for a “Fair Share” amendment to establish a 4 percent tax on income over $1 million to invest in education and transportation.

The vibrant Massachusetts union got its start in 2005 when SEIU Local 2020 and SEIU Local 9 merged with 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, a multi-state union with a history closely aligned with the civil rights movement and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.