Mass. Congressman John Tierney meets with community residents and union members, shows support for Medicaid

April 30, 2012

Congressman John Tierney visited 1199SEIU members recently to collect more than 3,000 Medicaid cards union members have gathered over the last several months. Union members from Lynn and surrounding areas went door to door speaking with community members about Medicaid and its importance and asking them to sign cards entreating elected officials to make the preservation of Medicaid a priority.

The meeting was held at the SEIU Community Action office in Lynn. SEIU Community Action (SCA) is a community-based program that encourages residents of Massachusetts’ communities to be active in initiatives that will benefit local residents. SCA is sponsored by SEIU and 1199 members comprise a significant portion of the membership. There are SCA chapters in Lynn, Boston, East Boston, Lawrence and Springfield.

Congressman Tierney visited the Lynn chapter, located in his district, to speak about the importance of healthcare funding. Congressman Tierney pledged that he would continue to protect the jobs, services, and funding provided by Medicaid. Medicaid funds PCA, nursing home, and hospital jobs across Massachusetts. Medicaid also funds, Mass Health, which is the state’s insurance program.

Union members knocked on 7,747 doors, made contact with 4,200 people and collected 3,871 Medicaid cards.

Congressman Tierney pledged to protect Medicaid funding, noting that he understands that the funding pays qualified healthcare and homecare workers to provide quality care.

1199SEIU Executive Vice President Veronica Turner also spoke about the importance of Medicaid and gave a call to action to all SCA members to stand up and be active participants in their communities. She passionately declared that, “now is the time to act” and we as a community must keep each other engaged.

Member political organizers spoke at the event about the conversations they’ve had with community residents throughout the canvass, emphasizing the personal impact each conversation mutually had on themselves and the residents.



“It was a very interesting event. We had a very good turnout. We got people to join in and commit to getting the vote out that protects Medicaid jobs, programs & services. There was lots of enthusiasm,” said Maggie Connors, an 1199SEIU personal care attendant and member political organizer