When the votes were counted by a neutral party on the evening of Friday, September 6, service workers at St. Francis Hospital in Poughkeepsie, New York had voted overwhelmingly to become members of 1199SEIU, United Healthcare Workers East, the powerful healthcare workers union, known across the state and the East coast for its collective bargaining power and political clout.
Connie Ash, a Patient Care Tech (PCT) in the Intensive Care Unit has been at the hospital for more than 20 years. “I love my job and I love my patients,” she said. “But our patients, our entire community is not being served well when direct care workers like myself are constantly being asked to do more with less. The healthcare world is changing so quickly everyday, sometimes we all feel a lack of security about what will happen next and we have no say in the matters. Now that we have a union, we will be able to negotiate a contract, level the playing field and have a voice at work. The PCTs are always in the direct line of care … we know what the needs of the patients are and we should be heard on these issues.”
Other workers expressed relief at the ability to negotiate wages, healthcare and retirement benefits. “No one is going to call me into the office and tell me what I am going to receive anymore,” said Rose Vazquez, a Chemical Dependency Counselor on the Detox Unit. “Now, as a group of workers, together we will be able to sit down across the table from the employer, and negotiate benefits that meet our needs, just like the healthcare workers do at other area hospitals.” 1199SEIU represents workers at neighboring Vassar Brothers Medical Center, as well as at Orange Regional Medical Center, Catskill Regional Medical Center, St. Lukes Cornwall Hospital and many other hospitals and nursing homes in the Hudson Valley and throughout the state.
“I think our being union members is very positive for the hospital and the community,” Vazquez said. “First, quality healthcare workers will want to come here and work and stay here, rather than going to another union hospital, when we have good wages and benefits here at St. Francis. And people want to work at a hospital they know is a fair workplace. A legally binding contract provides that.” She added, “As for our community, not only will patient care improve, but when healthcare workers have decent wages and benefits, they spend money in their communities and entire economies can thrive.”
Benjamin Nieves has been cleaning floors at St. Francis Hospital for more than 6 years. “I am very proud of my work. People take a clean hospital for granted, until they see one that is not. I think as a group, as a union, management can’t take us for granted anymore. I come from a union family—my father was an electrician. I grew up knowing that there is both pride and security in being a union member. I am looking forward to being part of a union that understands the needs of working families like mine and will help us make our voices heard both at work and in our communities.”
The new bargaining unit includes patient care technicians, unit secretaries, dietary workers, cleaners, transporters, rehabilitation counselors, phlebotomists and other service workers. Nurses, who are in a different bargaining unit, will take a similar vote about joining the union, later in September.
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1199SEIU, United Healthcare Workers East is the largest and fastest-‐growing healthcare union in the nation, with over 400,000 members throughout New York State, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Florida. Our mission is to achieve quality care and good jobs for all.
Connie Ash, a Patient Care Tech (PCT) in the Intensive Care Unit has been at the hospital for more than 20 years. “I love my job and I love my patients,” she said. “But our patients, our entire community is not being served well when direct care workers like myself are constantly being asked to do more with less. The healthcare world is changing so quickly everyday, sometimes we all feel a lack of security about what will happen next and we have no say in the matters. Now that we have a union, we will be able to negotiate a contract, level the playing field and have a voice at work. The PCTs are always in the direct line of care … we know what the needs of the patients are and we should be heard on these issues.”
Other workers expressed relief at the ability to negotiate wages, healthcare and retirement benefits. “No one is going to call me into the office and tell me what I am going to receive anymore,” said Rose Vazquez, a Chemical Dependency Counselor on the Detox Unit. “Now, as a group of workers, together we will be able to sit down across the table from the employer, and negotiate benefits that meet our needs, just like the healthcare workers do at other area hospitals.” 1199SEIU represents workers at neighboring Vassar Brothers Medical Center, as well as at Orange Regional Medical Center, Catskill Regional Medical Center, St. Lukes Cornwall Hospital and many other hospitals and nursing homes in the Hudson Valley and throughout the state.
“I think our being union members is very positive for the hospital and the community,” Vazquez said. “First, quality healthcare workers will want to come here and work and stay here, rather than going to another union hospital, when we have good wages and benefits here at St. Francis. And people want to work at a hospital they know is a fair workplace. A legally binding contract provides that.” She added, “As for our community, not only will patient care improve, but when healthcare workers have decent wages and benefits, they spend money in their communities and entire economies can thrive.”
Benjamin Nieves has been cleaning floors at St. Francis Hospital for more than 6 years. “I am very proud of my work. People take a clean hospital for granted, until they see one that is not. I think as a group, as a union, management can’t take us for granted anymore. I come from a union family—my father was an electrician. I grew up knowing that there is both pride and security in being a union member. I am looking forward to being part of a union that understands the needs of working families like mine and will help us make our voices heard both at work and in our communities.”
The new bargaining unit includes patient care technicians, unit secretaries, dietary workers, cleaners, transporters, rehabilitation counselors, phlebotomists and other service workers. Nurses, who are in a different bargaining unit, will take a similar vote about joining the union, later in September.
####
1199SEIU, United Healthcare Workers East is the largest and fastest-‐growing healthcare union in the nation, with over 400,000 members throughout New York State, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Florida. Our mission is to achieve quality care and good jobs for all.
