Media Center

On a frigid day in December 2020, two weeks before the year anniversary of their contract expiration, with a snowstorm looming, more than three hundred 1199SEIU members with families, friends and community supporters held an informational picket in Hudson, NY, demanding fair wages and affordable health benefits for workers at Columbia Memorial Hospital (CMH). By all reports, this was the strongest worker and community outcry at in decades. Read More

Home health workers across the Union have been leading the way for vaccinations and PPE for home-based care workers. In New York City, 1199SEIU homecare workers have helped organize a host of vaccination and PPE distribution events. Homecare members and staff have been helping workers get vaccinated and obtain PPE; they have been providing transportation assistance as well and helping their Union family with paperwork and vaccination appointments. Over 200 1199ers participated in a March 8 vaccination event at New York City’s Personal Touch Agency. Read More

Shortly after his election in 2008, President Barack Obama famously responded to Republican attacks on the Affordable Care Act by reminding the opposition that “elections have consequences.” Indeed, they do. Read More

1199SEIU members made history in April. Nursing home reforms that workers have been trying to win for decades were finally enacted by the New York State legislature. The fuse was lit last January, when angry, frustrated, and exhausted nursing home workers launched the Invest In Quality Care Campaign. Worn out by the pandemic and years of neglect, 1199ers took on a visionary, direct-action campaign that called attention to the desperate conditions in some of the state’s nursing homes, along with the lack of transparency and accountability that has allowed nursing home owners to enrich themselves. Even as workers struggled to find enough hours in the day to care for their residents. Read More

Now that more of us are vaccinated, it is time to think about what we can do while staying safe. You are fully vaccinated two weeks after the second dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine and two weeks after the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. If you have not completed ALL of these steps, you are NOT fully vaccinated and you should continue taking all precautions. But if you are fully vaccinated or on your way—congratulations*. Read More

Join us—and a special guest—for updates on League negotiations, as well as a number of other campaigns and issues. Pre-meeting music will be provided by DJ Fire Cle! Read More

After years of urging lawmakers to resolve the issue of short-staffing and its impact on quality care, 1199SEIU members scored a big win today in their “Invest in Quality Care” campaign, (www.investinqualitycare.org) when the NYS Assembly and Senate passed legislation that requires minimum staffing at all nursing homes. Both houses also passed a bill that addresses safe staffing in hospitals. Read More

MIAMI – Members of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East – the largest union of healthcare workers in Florida – have voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new contract negotiated with HCA hospitals throughout the state that secures across-the-board raises and other benefits for nurses and other staff who have served on the front lines of the COVID-19 public health crisis. Read More

We are proud to welcome nearly 40 new members who work in the Technical Unit of St Anthony’s Community Hospital in Warwick, New York, into the 1199SEIU family. Read More

We are proud to welcome more than 80 new members who work in the Technical Unit of Northern Dutchess Hospital in Rhinebeck, New York, into the 1199SEIU family. Read More

As lawmakers in Tallahassee finalize the Florida budget, I hope they take a sober look back over this past year while the COVID-19 healthcare crisis raged through the state, tragically highlighting many of the shortcomings of our healthcare system. Read More

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday issued new interim public health guidance for the fully vaccinated. This guidance applies to COVID-19 vaccines currently authorized for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization. Fully vaccinated people can now unmask at small outdoor gatherings, or when dining outside with friends from multiple households. Read More

We made our communities safer and healthier this Legislative Session! Read More

NEW YORK--The Communications Workers of America District 1, 1199SEIU and the New York State Nurses Association issued statements today in support of new safe staffing legislation introduced in both the Senate and Assembly. Two pieces of legislation sponsored by Assembly member Aileen Gunther and Senator Gustavo Rivera would establish a process for setting and enforcing safe staffing minimum standards at every hospital and nursing home Read More

NEW YORK (April 19, 2021) - In a card count, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East was certified as the representative for 236 workers of Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA). Driven by their commitment to equitable access to quality care and reproductive freedom, these workers sought union representation to ensure they have a voice in carrying out Planned Parenthood’s mission. In response to the workers’ interest, PPFA leadership and 1199SEIU entered into an agreement to resolve the issue of union representation without disruption. Read More

The Black Coalition Against COVID and the Kaiser Family Foundation have launched a new campaign to provide Black communities with credible information about COVID-19 vaccines. Read More

“Today’s decision in the Derek Chauvin case is a victory for humanity and for the work being done to fight for freedom for all Americans. Read More

We came together around the challenges nursing homes workers face, across the state: not enough time to provide the care and comfort residents deserve, and a lack of investment in quality care by profiteering nursing home owners. Read More

Each week, more of us are becoming eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. Soon, nearly 40 percent of us will have at least one vaccine shot. In New York State, nearly 60 percent of nursing home workers and 80 percent of hospital workers have taken their shots. Despite all this good news, we all know someone who is still reluctant to get vaccinated. Read More

Buffalo, NY - Following the retirement of 1199SEIU Executive Vice-President Ruth Heller, on April 1, the area director for Western New York Nursing Homes, Todd Hobler, was appointed by Union President, George Gresham, as Executive Vice-President (EVP) for Upstate/Western New York division. 1199SEIU is the largest healthcare workers union in the country, representing over 350,000 nursing home, homecare, and hospital workers. The Upstate/Western New York Division has nearly 23,000 members with offices in Syracuse, Buffalo, Rochester and Governor. Read More