Hundreds of 1199ers from across New York State braved a blizzard on February 12 to travel to Albany and press their elected representatives to increase access to affordable, high quality health care for all.

From Buffalo to the Bronx, members took time out to sit down with law-makers and explain our healthcare priorities -- ranging from making sure nursing homes maintain enough staff to properly care for seniors to closing legal loopholes that have allowed greedy profiteers to suck money out of our state’s healthcare system.

“It’s important for nurses to speak up and be heard. We are going to get old and get sick just like everyone else, ”said Maureen Miller, an 1199 retired RN.

“Home care workers are not being paid for enough hours to give seniors the care that they need,” Maximina Salazar, HHA with First Chinese in Manhattan took the opportunity to tell her elected representative, Harvey Epstein, who represents Assembly District 74 in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Gustavo Rivera, who chairs the Healthcare Committee in the NY State Senate welcomed all the visiting 1199 members, saying: “The collective power of the union is what actually moves policy and gets people elected and unelected. I’ve been here for eight years and I would not be here without the men and women of 1199.”

Senator Rivera, who represents the Bronx 33rd State Senate district, added: “A lot of what I’ve learned about not only organizing but policy, about what makes the state work and what makes the state not work, how to actually approach healthcare policy in the state of New York - I have learned from the times that your members have come up and talked to me in my office. I have also gone and visited you at your work sites and I will continue to have that relationship.”