Busloads of NYC 1199ers headed east on April 17 to join their Suffolk County sisters and brothers for an informational picket at Long Island Community Hospital (LICH) in Patchogue. Workers the institution (formerly named Brookhaven Memorial Medical Center) have been engaged in a protracted contract fight since voting for 1199 representation in a pair of 2018 elections. LICH workers have been without raises for the last five years and are facing an increase in health insurance costs. “We need better wages and health insurance, “ said Ultrasound Tech Natalie Magee. “Right now I work [multiple] jobs and my husband works two jobs too. It’s really hard with two small kids.” LICH workers are vowing to keep the pressure on until hospital bosses agree to a fair settlement.