For Mother’s Day this year, we heard from 1199SEIU “kids“ about how their mother’s Union membership made their lives better.
“Every day is a chance for me to make a difference in someone’s life. My grandmother instilled in me [the importance of] striving for excellence and making a difference in people’s lives. [1199] allowed for opportunities in education, that if you chose them, can help communities by focusing on nursing excellence and helping people realize they have a part in their own wellbeing.“
—1199er Benetta Gipson, Assistant Head Nurse at Brookdale Medical Center in Brooklyn. She and her siblings were raised by her late grandmother Charlotte Lee, a dedicated 1199er and an LPN at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.
“My mom is super proud to be in the Union and enjoys working as a surgical technician. It’s a good union job that enables her to have weekends off so we can spend quality time together. And one of the benefits of her job is a tuition remission program, so I am able to attend my dream school, the University of Miami, for free!”
—Jasmine Mompoint, daughter of Karline Mompoint, Surgical Technician at UHealth Tower in Miami.
“I grew up with her bringing me to Mount Sinai. She used to bring me to the picket lines, and they called me a union baby. Because of her, we got scholarships and went through the summer jobs training program.“
—1199er Felix Quinones, Mount Sinai ER Supply Coordinator in Manhattan, with his mother Edith, who retired from Mount Sinai in 2007. Felix’s younger sister Debbie is a radiological technologist at Mount Sinai and his younger brother Michael is a coder at the institution.
“Everything the Union had to offer she participated in, whether it was a kids’ party or discount tickets to the circus. She also never walked a picket line alone. Whenever she went to one she took her children or grandchildren with her.”
—1199er Sandra Chisolm, PCT at MidHudson Regional Hospital in Poughkeepsie, NY. Her late mother, Emily Keating, was an LPN and delegate at Shorefront geriatric Jewish Center in Brooklyn for 33 years.
