Media Center

For Immediate Release: December 14, 2011

Contact: Mindy Berman | 518.229.0486 | mindyb@1199.org

Today

Thursday, December 15

4 p.m.-6 p.m.

Hulme Park, Poughkeepsie, New York

Corner of Church St. and Market St.

Interviews and Photo Opportunities Available

In case you were wondering who are the 99% in Poughkeepsie: Nursing home and hospital caregivers, members of 1199SEIU, the powerful healthcare workers, along with their families, friends and clergy, will show their support for Occupy Poughkeepsie today at 4 p.m. at Hulme Park in Poughkeepsie.

The program includes a rally, music, prayer and more.

Liz Richardson, a worker at Vassar Brothers Medical Center for more than 3 decades said, “In Poughkeepsie, just like all across America, the 99% are rising up and saying we want good jobs and a fair, democratic economy. People have lost their jobs and their homes. Now there are those politicians and corporations who are demanding massive cuts to healthcare, education and other social programs. Meanwhile, corporate profits are up and the richest 400 Americans have more wealth than the bottom 150 million.”

Joy Lucky, an LPN at River Valley Care Center said, “When many of us get our paychecks, the money is spent already. After we pay some bills, we are still short. I know that I am part of the working people in this country who have to deal with higher utility bills, increased food prices, higher taxes, and increases in cost for child care, clothing, and everything we need to survive. Meanwhile, we hear that there are people who have money in the million and even billions. Bankers and corporate CEOs have even received bonuses in the millions, and pay in comparison to their earnings, next to nothing in taxes. While our hard-earned tax dollars bailed out the banks in this country, they paid us back by foreclosing on our homes. The Occupy movement is me and everyone I know—full and part-time working people, unemployed folks who can’t find jobs, students who have graduated from college with big loans to pay and are still unemployed--everyone I know is saying enough is enough! I realized, I am the 99%, I am the Occupy movement.”

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With more than 350,000 members throughout New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Florida, 1199 SEIU, United Healthcare Workers East is the largest and fastest growing healthcare union in America. Our mission is to achieve high quality, affordable healthcare for all.

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