A JOURNAL OF 1199SEIUJanuary/February 2011

Iris Garcia is among theenvironmental service

workers at Maryland’s LaurelRegional Medical Center who

are training to initiatesustainability efforts

at the institution. See pages 8-9.

CreatingA Cleaner

GREENERWorkplace

Contents

p.12 p.14Our Life And Times, January/February 2011, Vol 29, No 1 Published by1199SEIU, United Healthcare Workers East310 West 43rd St. New York, NY 10036Telephone (212) 582-1890www.1199seiu.org

PRESIDENT:George GreshamSECRETARY TREASURER:Maria Castaneda

EXECUTIVE VICE

PRESIDENTS:Norma Amsterdam Yvonne Armstrong Angela Doyle Aida Garcia George KennedySteve Kramer Patrick Lindsay Joyce NeilJohn Reid Bruce Richard Mike Rifkin Neva ShillingfordMilly SilvaVeronica TurnerEstela Vazquez

EDITOR:J.J. JohnsonSTAFF WRITER:Patricia KenneyPHOTOGRAPHER:Jim TynanPHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANT:Belinda GallegosART DIRECTION & DESIGN:Maiarelli StudioCOVER PHOTO:Jim Tynan

Our Life And Times ispublished 6 times a year by1199SEIU, 310 West 43rdSt., New York, NY 10036.Subscriptions $15 per year.Periodicals postage paid atNew York, NY and additionalmailing offices. ISSN 1080-3089. USPS 000-392. Postmaster: Send addresschanges to Our Life AndTimes, 310 West 43rd St., New York, NY 10036.

3 OUR PLANET IS IN CRISIS And our health is at stake.

4 PRESIDENT’S COLUMN 2011will be the year of the contract.

5 WE BEGIN STATE BUDGET BATTLES Fight to save Medicaid.

6 “WE CONSUMERS NEED TO BE AWARE OF WHAT WE’RE USING” Many toxins are hidden in products around our homes.

7 “THEY KNOW WE’RE TRYING TO MAKE THE WORLD BETTER” 1199ers are on the cutting edge of efforts to “green” health care.

8 THE WORK WE DO Going “green” at Maryland’s Laurel Regional Medical Center.

10 OUR DWINDLING WATER SUPPLY Thirst for corporate profits threatens us all.

11 CHANGE STARTS WITH PERSON IN THE MIRROR The personal is political.

12 CLIMATE CHANGE IS A LABOR ISSUE An interview with director of Cornell’s Global Labor Institute.

14 NYS HOMECARE SYSTEM IS BROKENWe launch campaign to fix it.

15 PEOPLE Always time for his art.

15 AROUND OUR UNION Organizing express rolls on in Florida.

p.7

www.1199seiu.org

p.15MontefioreMedical Centerengineer YomTov Cohen is a sculptor.

3 January/February • Our Life And Times

Every reputable scientific body in the world agrees that the Earth iswarming. 2010 and the past decade are the warmest onrecord. As the mercury continues to rise, glaciers areretreating, sea levels are rising, forests are dying andthousands of species are threatened with extinction.

Since heat is the energy that drives weathersystems, more heat will cause more severe weather ofall kinds. Scientists say that climate change also willincrease the frequency of droughts and floods.

The current cycle of global warming is changingthe rhythms of climate that all living things have cometo rely upon. It is upsetting the Earth’s delicate balance.Our livelihoods, as well as our lives, depend on ouraddressing this crisis.

Unfortunately, an obstacle in our way is the well-financed group of climate-change deniers, virtually allfunded by the fossil-fuel industry. The deniers—in theface of overwhelming scientific evidence—recall theexperts several decades back who vehemently deniedthe connection between cigarette smoking and cancer.

They are represented by Congress members suchas Republicans Tom Price of Georgia, MicheleBachman of Minnesota, and Joe Barton of Texas, whoaccused Pres. Obama of a “Chicago style politicalshakedown” for demanding that BP set up a $20 billionescrow account to compensate the immediate victimsof the Gulf Oil contamination.

The destruction wrought by BP, while unprecedented in the U.S.,is what energy-industry giants do routinely elsewhere,particularly in developing countries and the globalsouth. Those of us in low-income and working-classcommunities have disproportionately borne the toxicburden of fossil fuel extraction, transportation andproduction.

For example, an 1199SEIU National Benefit Fundsurvey several years ago found that 40,000 New York1199ers and their family members suffered fromasthma. A large percentage of these members live in the

South Bronx, where the asthma hospitalization rate isseven times the national average because of the heavyconcentration of diesel trucks, industrial sewage andpower plants.

Climate change can severely affect our healththrough heat waves, severe storms, ailments caused orworsened by pollution and airborne allergens, andmany climate-sensitive infectious diseases.

We all have a stake in protecting ourenvironment, and those of us in the healthcare industryand the labor movement are in a unique position tohelp protect the climate by limiting the increase inglobal warming and moving our nation towardsenvironmental sustainability.

It is in labor’s interest to support high-quality “green” jobs andsupport renewable energy. Upgrading our nation’shomes and workplaces, for example, would cut fuelcosts by maximizing energy efficiency. It also wouldhelp keep housing affordable for owners and renters.

SEIU, our parent union, is among those unionsthat strongly support climate protection policies as wellas “green” jobs. Working with SEIU in New York Cityand the Baltimore/D.C. region, 1199SEIUenvironmental service workers are developing newways to “green” health care. Together with hospitalmanagement, they are redesigning the work to reducewaste and segregate infectious waste to improvecleaning and minimize the use of toxic cleaningchemicals.

Political office seekers can no longer expect oursupport if they do not support the protection of ourenvironment. Members are learning how to identifyand remove toxins and pollutants from their homes.Others are working within their communities to helpprotect the air, food, soil and water. Some, even inurban areas, are growing their own food.

Only by safeguarding our environment can wesafeguard our health and our future.

EDITORIAL

“The current cycle ofglobal warming ischanging therhythms of climatethat all living thingshave come to relyupon. It is upsettingthe Earth’s delicatebalance. Ourlivelihoods, as wellas our lives, dependon our addressingthis crisis.”

New York City 1199ersparticipated in a “green”healthcare training at theUnion’s Manhattanheadquarters in December.

Our Planet Is In

CRISISAnd our health is at stake.

SAVE SOCIAL SECURITY

Social Security isprotected by theoriginal 1935 law.It is funded jointly bya six percent tax on

workers (FICA) and six percenton employers. Actuaries estimatethat workers and employers havepaid enough into the system topay full benefits to beneficiariesthrough at least 2037.

The fund currently has asurplus of $2.5 trillion. Thatsurplus, the Social Security TrustFund, has long been a source forthe national government toborrow from, and an object ofgreed for the Republicans whohave just come into power inthe House.

Republicans have set theirsights on gutting Social Securityand Medicare. Presently theirgoal is to raise the retirement ageonce more (it has gone from 65to 67) and eventually phase it outentirely as they are doing withpensions and attempting to dowith unions. We have defeatedsuch efforts to weaken andprivatize Social Security before,most recently under Pres. GeorgeW. Bush.

We retired members arereminded of the importance ofSocial Security every time we goto the grocery store. Without it,many of us would have noretirement income. We are deeplyindebted to those Americans whoformed the structure 75 years agothat has lifted so many millionsout of poverty.

However, we are not theonly group that has benefited.Social Security coverage isprovided to workers and theirchildren should the workersbecome disabled while working.Spouses and children of disabledworkers who die and disabledchildren also are covered.

How can our Unionrespond to this dangerous threatto Social Security? One way is tobuild ties with all working people—the future retirees—and withorganizations of the disabledpeople and their families. Wemust also unite with unions andthe unemployed.

Our Union, which has led somany struggles before, couldhelp build such a movement forour nation’s rightful heritage.The great Joe Hill was a labororganizer who was framed andexecuted for his part in a 1915strike in Utah. His last wordsmust become our mantra. Theywere, “Don’t mourn for me.Organize!”

MONNIE CALLANRetiree, New York City

1199ERS DOWN SOUTH

It was wonderful to see my1199SEIU brothers andsisters at the One Nationrally in Washington onOct. 2. I came to the rally

with a busload of retired 1199ersand their family and friends fromNorth and South Carolina.

1199 retirees from the Caro -linas meet once a month inSumter, S.C. under the leadershipof retiree and former 1199 stafferNonie Perry. I make the two-hourtrip from Rockingham, N.C. I’mone of many 1199ers and otherunion members, including mywife Josephine—a member of theNew York State Nurses Associa-tion—who have returned to theSouth. What we’ve found is thatthings have changed, but notnearly enough. A lot of the oldmentality continues.

This is especially true withrespect to unions. Working peo-ple get their news and informa-tion from the mass media thatspends most of its time knockingunions. Unlike, New York, whichI understand is the most union-ized state in the country, laborunions are a lot less common inthe South. And bosses have usedracism as one of their weapons toblock organizing and advance-ment for workers.

Many workers are afraid toorganize or confront their bossessince they don’t have much re-course in so-called “right towork” states. Nor do they havefaith in official bodies like thelabor boards, which are usuallyin the pockets of the bosses.

1199 retirees are doing ourbest to change things. In mytown, Rockingham, we recentlyelected our first black sheriff. Itell my neighbors and colleaguesthat we were able to do this be-cause we are the majority. Butworking people also have to un-derstand that they are the major-ity and that if they unite andorganize they can change things.

I believe 1199SEIU and SEIUcan make a big difference if theyare willing to invest resources inthe South. We can inspire, educateand support the progressive strug-gles and let people know that laborcan make a difference in people’spersonal lives and in the well-beingof our communities.

If we can change the South,we can change our country.

CLIFTON BROADY, Retiree,Rockingham, North Carolina

4January/February • Our Life And Times

Throughout our union, from Massachusetts and NewYork’s North Country and all the way south to Dade County,Florida, we are covered by over 1,000 collective bargainingagreements. This year, 400 of those will expire or have alreadyexpired.

Altogether we will be bargaining new contracts for nearly80,000 of our Union sisters and brothers, in every region and everysector of the health industry in which we work—hospitals, nursinghomes, home care, registered nurses, freestanding clinics, etc.

Fortunately, we were able last year to reopen andsuccessfully bargain our master contract with the League ofVoluntary Hospitals and Homes of Greater New York, covering160,000 of our members. That contract was originally set toexpire this year, but we were able to extend it to 2013.

When a contract expires, of course, everything is on thetable—wages, benefits, working conditions, job security—everything. So it is not being dramatic to say that we will befighting for our future, for our jobs, for our families as eachcontract negotiation unfolds.

And it is not only the jobs and futures of our memberswhose contracts expire that are at stake. Each one of ourcontracts sets standards for the rest of us. An injury to one is aninjury to all, a defeat for some is a defeat for all, and a victory forsome is a victory for all of us. This is an important concept for allof us to grasp—it is the very meaning of belonging to ourUnion—because all of us need to be in solidarity with those onthe bargaining frontlines this year.

For the most part, these are not going to be easynegotiations. Despite what we are being told in Washington andon Wall Street, the recession is far from over for working people.The combined unemployment and underemployment rate isclose to 20 percent. All of us have family, friends or neighborswho need jobs; many of them are even in danger of losing theirhomes. So our employers will be even more resistant tomaintaining our standards, let alone raising them.

The political environment is toxic, with an aggressive newRepublican majority in the House of Representatives that ishostile to working families. Ever more billions of federal dollarsare going to give tax breaks to billionaires and to feed theinsatiable war machine. And our states are all operating indeficits and looking to make cuts to vital healthcare funding,threatening additional hospitals and nursing homes with havingto close their doors.

In this Year of the Contract, we will be fighting to defendand improve our wages, our retirement security, and our benefitswhile tens of millions of non-union workers look at us with envyas they struggle to make ends meet, many without healthcarecoverage and without pensions.

We will of course bring every bit of strength we have to bearin these upcoming battles. We will be calling upon our politicalfriends to come to our side. We will be organizing in ourcommunities and asking our many partners to join with us. Ourentire 1199SEIU staff, organizers and officers will do whatever ittakes to defend our contracts, our livelihoods and our families.Our biggest strength, however, is you, the 350,000-plus1199SEIU sisters and brothers.

We have accomplished—and continue to accomplish—great things when we are united and we are mobilized. Never hasour unity been more important than it is today. Let’s go to work.

THE PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

Letters

2011 Will Be the Year of the ContractSolidarity is our watchword.

George Gresham

5 January/February • Our Life And Times

With practically every state facingrecord deficits and governors across thenation demanding more control overMedicaid spending, this year will onceagain see 1199ers gearing up for budgetbattles in all their regions. Members willbe fighting to keep health care off thechopping block and in some cases keep thedoors of our institutions open. They’repreparing for fierce fights for our contractsand to protect already-scarce funding forour institutions.

“I’m ready. Anything that needs to bedone I’m willing to do it,” says Mary Padillio,an environmental service worker at ChesterRiver Nursing Home in Chesterton, MD.“They’re saying things are getting better.They’re not getting better. This recession isgoing to hit us again. Non-union nursinghome workers around here are having theirhours cut. They can’t do that to us becausewe have a union.”

In New York State members are gettingready to fend off deep Medicaid cuts tohome care in particular. Homecare workersbarely make a living wage and over theyears have consistently borne the brunt ofthe budget axe. The Union has launched acampaign to repair the inequities in NewYork State’s homecare system. (See story onp. 14.) At press time, newly-elected Gov.Andrew Cuomo wasn’t scheduled to releasea budget until February, but the state wasbracing for severe reductions. Gov. Cuomohas promised not to raise taxes, whilezeroing in on public employees andtheir pen sions as a drain on the publiccoffers. 1199SEIU has firmly stood byits position that we won’t be pittedagainst our Union brothers and sistersin other sectors in a battle for thestate’s resources.

In early January, Gov. Cuomoannounced the formation of the MedicaidRedesign Committee that will include1199SEIU Pres. George Gresham andwill be co-chaired by former 1199SEIUPres. Dennis Rivera.

In New Jersey right wing Gov. ChrisChristie continued his attack on publicsector workers and Medicaid funding. Inhis state of the state address delivered inearly January, Christie proposed cuts toMedicaid and state employee benefits as away to close New Jersey’s budget gap.New Jersey members are mobilizingagainst cuts that would devastate nursinghomes and hospitals.

“Preventing additional cuts this yearwill be crucial because more cuts wouldworsen working conditions for us andlower the standards of care we provideto our residents,” says Eileen Lewis, arestorative assistant at a Cinnaminson,NJ nursing home and a long-time1199SEIU delegate.

In Florida, Tea Party favorite Gov.Rick Scott – who came to power in themidterm elections along with Sen. MarkRubio and a Republican supermajority inthe state’s legislature – supportsdismantling the state’s current Medicaidsystem and moving to a voucher system.The state is the recipient of a federal grantwhich provides for the expansion ofMedicaid. That grant expires in June. At riskare institutions like Jackson MemorialHospital, which serves many 1199SEIUmembers and their families. Both Rubio andScott – former president of the HospitalCorporation of America – are vehementlyagainst the new healthcare law and as inseveral other states, there are effortsunderway in Florida to get rid of healthcarereform altogether. In spite of Florida’s toughenvironment, workers are on the move.

In late 2010, some 2,400 workers atsix Florida hospitals voted for 1199SEIUmembership; some 50 new 1199SEIUdelegates were sworn in and memberswere attending workshops to strategize fornegotiations and worksite actions.

In Maryland analysts are predicting a$1.6 billion shortfall. Last year’s deficit wascovered by federal stimulus money, which isnot available this year. Gov. Martin O’Malleyhas proposed an austere budget whichincludes a buyout plan for state workers aswell as no new taxes and perhaps some

New York 1199ers standing up against budget cuts at a 2009 rally in Albany.

POLITICAL ACTION

Budget BattlesIN EVERY REGIONMedicaid and programs for the poor are under threat again.

deep cuts to hospitals and nursing homes.While O’Malley’s budget rejected income taxincreases, he didn’t rule out a proposedalcohol and gasoline tax to generate revenuefor the state. 1199SEIU is working on andsupporting the alcohol tax in Maryland. Thetax would pay for healthcare programs.

Similar to New York, Massachusettsfaces a deficit of nearly 10%, with a $2billion shortfall on a $28 billion statebudget. Major budget priorities for theUnion in Massachusetts include protectingfunding for the statewide Personal CareAttendant (PCA) program, along with keyfunding sources for safety net andcommunity hospitals. The PCA programincludes 28,000 home care workers whojoined 1199SEIU in 2007.

1199SEIU represents members atdozens of safety net and communityhospitals in Massachusetts, which willpotentially be affected by upcoming budgetdecisions – including thousands of memberswithin Boston Medical Center, Cape CodHealthcare, Caritas-Christi, CambridgeHealth Alliance, and others. Massachusettsmembers will hold their annual AdvocacyDay rally at the State House in Boston onMay 11. The Union’s budget priorities forhome care, nursing home, and hospitalmembers will all be important themes atthe event and in political action activitiesleading up to it.

OUR HOMES

6January/February • Our Life And Times

We’ve known for some time thatexposure to toxic chemicals causes,among other diseases and conditions,cancer, learning disabilities and obe-sity. Still, hazardous chemicals rou-tinely find their way into our homes—and our bodies — in the form of cos-metics, cleaning products and othergoods we use daily.

“As a consumer I’m concernedabout all the toxic substances thatwe’ve found that cause birth defectsand cancer and infertility. I’ve spentmany an hour in the lab testing bloodand other body fluids to determine thehealth conditions of individuals,whether it was diabetes, cancer, ane-mia, leukemia, etc.,” says Vivian Y.Stuart, who retired as a laboratorytechnologist from Franklin HospitalMedical Center in Valley Stream, NY.“I was really surprised to learn thateven baby shampoo contains toxicsubstances.”

Men and women use a combinedtotal of about 18 personal care prod-

ucts a day. We also use or come incontact with scores of household prod-ucts. These include insulation, bottlesand toys made of plastic, food packag-ing, non-stick pots and pans, cleaning

products and home electronics. Andthere’s mounting evidence that thechemicals in them are dangerous.

For example, Bisphenol A (BPA),which is used in plastic water andbaby bottles has been shown to effectfetal brain development and is linkedto behavioral problems in young chil-dren. Parabens, common ingredients inmoisturizers and hair care products,have been linked to cancer in animals.And phthalates, used in plastics andcosmetics for flexibility and resilience,have been linked to liver cancer.

In 2008 Congress banned six typesof phthalates from toys and cosmetics.But that ban was unusual. The chemi-cal industry has successfully opposednational regulation. While states likeCalifornia and Maine have passedtough laws, Congress has failed tooverhaul federal regulations in ameaningful way.

Filmmaker Annie Leonard looked atthe cosmetics industry in her 2010 film“The Story of Cosmetics.” Leonardpointed out that the business is essen-tially self regulating, with a safety panelthat assesses less than 20% of thechemicals used in its products.

And the U.S. Food and Drug Ad-ministration (FDA), which most peopleassume oversees the cosmetics indus-try, doesn’t even test the safety ofmost personal care products. In fact,since 1938, the agency has bannedcompanies from using only eight outof some 12,000 chemicals. In fact, theF.D.A. doesn’t even require completelabeling.

“We think we’re safe because wesee safety warnings on products. Weassume they were researched. Thoselabels weren’t written by chemists.They were written by lawyers,” saysMichael Augusto, a biomedical techni-cian at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Manhat-tan. “We consumers need to be awareof what we’re using. Is it OK to spraythings in my home? Is it OK to putthings in our wash? How much ofsomething is it OK to put on? Youmight find something out and notwant to use a product.”

Augusto is a veteran of numerousOccupational Safety and Health semi-nars, a member of Mt. Sinai’s Safetyand Health Committee and a certifiedhealth and safety trainer. Augustotakes his work home with him by try-ing to buy non-toxic products, andreading labels carefully.

“The reality is that big corporationsspend lots of money trying to make usthink they’ve done a good job andtheir products are safe to use becausethey say so,” says Augusto. “But thoseare just disclaimers. They just wantyou to feel like you can trust them.”

“‘The Story of Cosmetics’ is a realreminder about the safety of the prod-ucts we consume,” says Stuart. “Iwould definitely share the film withfamily and friends. After all, all of ourhealth is at risk.”

“The Story of Cosmetics” and in-formation about legislation and saferproducts are available on the Internetat www.safecosmetics.org.

WE’RE USING” “We Consumers Needto Be Aware of What

Many toxins are hidden inproducts around our homes.

“Is it OK to spraythings in myhome? Is it OKto put things inour wash?How much ofsomething is itOK to put on?”Michael Augusto, a biomedical technicianat Mt. Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, triesto buy “green” household products andreads labels carefully.

“We Consumers Needto Be Aware of WhatWE’RE USING”

7

Health care, by its nature, seeks toprotect and preserve; an unfortunateside effect is its environmental impact.The industry creates some five milliontons of solid waste per year, consumestwice the energy of traditional officespace and uses a vast array of toxicchemicals, from cleaning products tochemotherapy drugs.

But things are changing—spurredin part by healthcare reform’s demandsto cut waste, stricter governmentaloversight, and increased awarenessabout sustainability. Health care ismaking changes that safeguard, ratherthan harm our environment. 1199ersare getting involved.

Bernard McKnight is anenvironmental service worker who’sbeen at New York Presbyterian Hospitalin Manhattan for 13 years. A member ofthe institution’s “Green Team,”McKnight is among the hospital’semployees who work together onsustainability and environmental issues.

“There have been a lot of bigchanges over the years. When I firststarted here we had a little recyclingprogram, but it really didn’t take off,”says McKnight, as he gives Our LifeAnd Times a tour of the long, windingtunnel which houses the hospital’s binsand dumpsters of well-organized waste,garbage and recyclables. “Now we’relaying the foundations so our programscan really branch out. We try to setsmart, achievable goals. We want tomake sure that what we do lasts, likecomposting in our kitchens, using “green”cleaning products, water conservation,trash recycling and red-bag (biohazard)waste reduction programs.”

McKnight’s in one of several groups of 1199ers participating in agroundbreaking labor-managementinitiative in which workers are on theleading edge of “green” in theirinstitutions. The program is sponsoredin part by the U.S. Dept. of Labor andamong its developers are the Union andthe Healthcare Career AdvancementProgram, a partnership of SEIU localsand employers dedicated to healthcareeducation issues.

1199SEIU members in New YorkCity and in Baltimore are training toteach others about energy and waterconservation methods, the reduction ofwaste and recycling, and the proper useof cleaning products. They’re alsopreparing for new job responsibilitiesthat will evolve ashealthcare facilitiesimplement broadersustainabilityprograms.

“I’ve alwaysbeen interested inglobal warming andenvironmental

issues,” says Michael Ramos, anenvironmental services worker atMontefiore Medical Center in theBronx, NY. “And right now we havea really good opportunity to learninformation and spread the word aboutchanging things.”

Jessica Brunson is a housekeeper atNYU Langone Medical Center inManhattan. She’s also participating inthe “green” healthcare project. She saysit just makes sense to have workersplaying a major role in such a majorindustrial shift.

“At first I thought ‘I’m just ahousekeeper. Who’s going to listen tome?’ But then I realized I have lots ofideas to share,” says Brunson. “We’reon the front lines of defense. We dealwith all the waste, so why not have theeducation?”

“Waste management is reallyimportant,” Ramos continues. “There isjust constant trash flow in a hospital—patients on IVs, tubes from feedings—and then we have the overflow. If wecan get people to be more conscious ofwhat they’re putting in the garbage, itwould be really helpful because it’sreally expensive. We pay by the poundto have our trash taken away. We could

save a lot of moneyand that reallyhelps ourhospital.”

Nigel Smith, alead mailroomclerk at EinsteinHospital in theBronx, NY, says

that an institution can have an impacton environmental preservation byimplementing even one change in asingle area.

“Hospitals generate a lot ofpaper,” says Smith. “Sometimes areport will be six or 10 pages and they’lljust use the top page. I’d like to makesure more of that goes into the recyclingbin and less goes into the garbage.”

Smith is responsible for emptying76 recycling bins throughout severaldepartments at his institution.

“Some days I get more calls thanothers,” he says. “I’d like to get more.”

NY Presbyterian’s McKnight sayshe knows “green” is a hot topic thesedays, but there really is a special linkbetween health care and caring for ourenvironment.

“When a person comes in to ourhospital and sees that we’re ‘green,’ theyknow we’re not only going to try to makepeople better,” she says. “They knowwe’re trying to make the world better.”

1199ers are on the cutting edge of efforts to “green” health care.

“They Know We’re Tryingto Make the World Better”

“Right now we have areally good opportunity tolearn information andspread the word aboutchanging things.”

Bernard McKnight, an environmental serviceworker at NY Presbyterian Hospital, above,and Jessica Brunson, a housekeeper at NYULangone Medical Center in Manhattan.

OUR INSTITUTIONS

January/February • Our Life And Times

At Laurel RegionalMedical Center, inLaurel, MD,environmental serviceworkers are helpingpave the way for the“greening” of their

institution. They’re among the Baltimore-area 1199ers who are participating in anew grant-funded labor-managementproject which seeks to create “greener”hospitals and nursing homes. They’realso preparing the healthcare workforceas their jobs evolve with growingsustainability efforts. The project wasdeveloped in part by Healthcare CareerAdvancement Program, a training andeducation-focused partnership of SEIUlocals and employers.

3. Anna Pujols has been a housekeeperat Laurel Regional for five years. Sheworks in the institution’s operatingroom. “I see it as very important,” shesays. “We need to learn how we canprotect our planet and how we can liveand work in a safe place.”

4. “I thought going ‘green’ was justabout using natural products or a certaintype of paper towel,” says housekeeperAntoinette Polk. “I didn’t know about alot of different chemicals or lighting orwater. It’s good for workers and patientstoo. Some of those chemicals are veryharsh. If we do a lot of recycling in thepatients’ rooms it will be helpful. We’regetting new mops. I’ve even startedbuying a few new products at home.”

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THE WORKWE DO:GOING “GREEN” ATLAURELREGIONALMEDICALCENTER

9 January/February • Our Life And Times

1. “It depends on the day. Today I’mworking in an area that does infusions,which make a lot of waste becauseof the tubing and the needles,” sayshousekeeper Sandra Castro. “I really likethe classes and I’ve learned a lot—mostly about recycling, which we needhere. People want to do it. It will savemoney and we can save the earth.”

2. Housekeeper Zeline Woods cleansLaurel Regional’s operating rooms.“Everybody is going ‘green’,” says Woods.“We need to make changes at thishospital.”

5. Housekeeper Rosa Cruz works in theinstitution’s Emergency Dept. She’spreparing to participate in a “green”training, which at press time wasscheduled to start in February. “I recycle at home and use earth-friendlycleaning products,” says Cruz.

6. “When people see us doing recycling,they’ll get used to it and take it home,’says Laurel Regional environmentalservice worker Iris Garcia. “It’s good forthe whole community.”

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Our DwindlingWATER SUPPLYThirst for corporate profits threatens us all.

Clean watershould be apublic trust andhuman right.

Not long ago, most Americans took theavailability of clean water for granted. Thisis no longer the case. Pollution, climatechange and privatization have dramaticallyaltered our relation to the world’s most essential resource.

Worldwide demand for water is doubling every 20 years, twice the rate ofpopulation growth. Currently 1.3 billionpeople don’t have access to clean water and2.5 billion lack proper sewage and sanita-tion. In less than 20 years, the demand forfresh water will exceed the world’s supplyby over 50 percent, estimates The People’sWater Forum, a global water justice move-ment.

We are not exempt. In the U.S., majorobstacles to available clean water are pollution, privatization and commercializa-tion. In North Florida, residents are gearingup for a major battle with the Swiss-basedNestlé Corporation, the country’s largestwater bottler and the world’s largestfoodpackager.

Nestlé’s is seeking a permit to beginwithdrawing 400,000 gallons of springwater each day from sites along the WacissaRiver in Jefferson County. Residents also areopposed to the additional traffic and pollu-tion that would result from the 70 trucks aday needed to transport the water. FloridaPanhandle residents already are sufferingthe effects of last spring’s BP oil contamina-tion of the Gulf.

1199ers in the MD-DC region face similarproblems. Pollution is costing the Chesa-peake Bay region millions and possibly bil-lions of dollars in lost jobs, seafood declinesand other problems, a recent report by theChesapeake Bay Foundation finds.

“Not long ago, I had no problem catchingenough fish in the Chesapeake to feed myfamily,” says Dante Marshall, a CNA at Sum-mit Park NH in Catonsville, MD. “About 15years ago, rock, trout and blues were plenti-ful and I could cast a net to catch crabs.”

Marshall says that now when she looksin the Chesapeake she often sees garbageand other debris that should have been re-cycled rather than end up in the bay. “Thisis not just a problem for those of us whofish,” she says. “The pollution of the Chesa-peake affects our economy and our health.”

In Massachusetts, Cape Cod’s shell fish-ing and tourist industries are being threat-ened by rising nitrogen levels that aresuffocating the vegetation and marine life inthe Cape’s saltwater ponds and estuaries.

Members in New Jersey and New Yorknot only are victims of polluted waterways,they now face the prospect of polluteddrinking water. The Delaware River WaterBasin Commission in December — bowing to

OUR PLANET

Take Back the TapSo many of us have been programmed to believe that bottled water is hipand healthy, but tap water is better for our health, our environment and ourwallet. In fact, one-third of all bottled water, including Pepsi’s Aquafina andCoke’s Dasani, actually is tap water.

Bottled water costs about 2,000 times the cost of tap water. It is lessregulated, so it is often less safe and worse tasting. The big beveragecompanies often take water from municipal or underground sources thatlocal people depend on for drinking water. Producing and transporting theplastic bottles uses energy, spews carbon dioxide and emits toxic chemicals.And 80 percent of the empty bottles are piling up in landfills.

The Washington-based Food and Water Watch has launched a campaignto Take Back the Tap and to demand that Congress and local governmentsprotect our water resources. For more information, go towww.takebackthetap.org.

interests of natural gas companies — issuedregulations that would allow hydraulic frac-turing (fracking) to expand in New Jerseyand New York as well as Delaware andPennsylvania. Fracking is a controversialmethod of injecting millions of gallons ofchemically treated water underground in asearch for natural gas.

Aside from water contamination, com-munities are faced with public healththreats from chemicals evaporating offdrilling sites and residual chemicals thatcan spill or leak onto the soil.

The process has been linked to drinkingwater contamination and property damagein Colorado, Wyoming, Ohio and Pennsylva-nia. In December, then-Gov. David A. Pater-son vetoed legislation that would have puta moratorium on all forms of fracking. Thegovernor instead issued an executive orderplacing a moratorium on horizontal frackingwhile letting vertical fracking continue.

Clean water advocates are opposed toboth forms. At a recent New York City pressconference, a Hudson Riverkeeperspokesperson declared, “There is no secondchance to fix our water supply once it’sbeen tainted from gas drilling gone wrong.”

CHRIS J

ORDA

N PH

OTO

11 January/February • Our Life And Times

Moving our nationto a cleaner andmore sustain-able environ-ment will

require major political battles.Our elected officials and publicinstitutions must do a better jobof protecting our air, food, waterand the products in our homesand workplaces.

A healthier environmentalso will require changes in ourpersonal lives. Some 1199ers al-ready are showing the way.

“I’ve been concerned aboutthe environment as far back asthe fourth grade,” saysStephanie Moffett, a pathologytranscriptionist at St. PetersburgGeneral Hospital in Florida. “Asa child I was concerned that thesoda six-pack plastic rings werekilling fish.”

One year later as a fifthgrader, Moffett built a solar hot-

water heater for a science projectin school. Today, she reduces hercarbon footprint by walking towork, where she is a leader ofthe green team. “Environmental-ism is not only good for ourhealth, it also makes sense economically,” she says.

The hospital saves $400 amonth since it replaced un-recy-clable Styrofoam cups at Mof-fett’s urging. Her experience atthe hospital also has informedher eating habits. “I see a lot ofillnesses related to processedfood,” she notes. “If I can’t pro-nounce an ingredient in pack-aged food, I won’t eat that food.”

Moffett uses hydroponic,or soilless, gardening togrow most of her veg-

etables. She and her parents re-cently installed an energyefficient metal roof on theirhouse. They also save money by

collecting rain water in 55-gallondrums. They use five compostersfor their garbage.

Moffett, who acts in localplays, touts another benefit ofprotecting the environment, stat-ing, “I live a healthier life withmore energy.”

“I’m especially concernedabout waste and ignorance aboutrecycling here in Massachusetts,”says Lynn Community HealthCenter purchaser Denise Clark.

“After growing up inNorthern California where wehad neighborhood gardens, foodco-ops and glass and plastic recy-cling, I moved to Massachusetts,and I thought I had landed onanother planet,” Clark says.“Oh, the money I could makefrom what people toss out in thetrash here.”

She has salvaged antiquesfrom throughout Lynn to furnishher home and give to others.

Clark has reduced her elec-tric bill by insulating her homeand using high efficiency lightbulbs. And, she says, “The localfarmers’ market where I get myfish is actually cheaper than atthe super market.”

She’s made a difference ather workplace, too. “When Ibegan working at the clinic sevenyears ago, there was little if no re-cycling that I knew of. So I tookit upon myself to start the recy-cling of all toner cartridges for allof the twelve clinic office sites bysupplying them with return la-bels, bags and recycling boxes.”

Clark, a Union delegate,is one of the 1199erswho worked to help se-cure funding for the

health center’s new all-greenbuilding in Lynn.

“It is being created from theground up by union workers,” shesays. “So even if the rest of the cityis behind, I’m proud to know myworkplace is doing its part.”

Clark says that she appreci-ates another Lynn resident who isdoing his part.

“There is a man who walksthe streets with a pocket full ofblack bags picking up trash,” shesays. “From his appearance, Isuspect that he is homeless, butthat doesn’t stop him. And I havethanked him from time to time.”

“I tell them to trychanging just onething at a time.”

LIVING “GREEN”

Change Starts WithPerson in the MirrorThe personal is political.

Stephanie Moffett, a pathologytranscriptionist atSt. Petersburg General Hospital,grows her own vegetables,saves rainwater and recentlyinstalled an energy efficientroof on her home.

12January/February • Our Life And Times

Q. You attended the UN Climate ChangeConference in Cancun, Mexico, inDecember. Please assess the success ofthe gathering.A. There is a general feeling that, after thedisaster in Copenhagen (there was a climateconference there in 2010) last year, Cancun hasgiven the world a second chance to reach a fair,ambitious and binding global agreement toreduce greenhouse gas emissions and thusbegin to address the destruction of the earth’satmosphere. But the almost endorsement bygovernments of the “Cancun Accord” does notchange the fact that, after 20 years of talking,global warming emissions continue to rise at analarming rate; 2010 was the hottest year onrecord, and the big obstacles to a global climatedeal have not been dealt with.

The U.S. has 5% of the world’spopulation and is responsible for roughly 30%of the carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Andyet the U.S. Congress has not been able to passa piece of legislation that can honor theAdministration’s verbal commitment to reduceemissions. Without a robust commitment fromthe U.S., other countries will drag their feet.The president must show leadership by usingall available executive and regulatory powers tofight emissions and create jobs at home. Stateslike New York and California can also play animportant role by putting in place plans toreduce emissions.

Q. What does the conference outcomemean for labor’s role in the movement toprotect the climate and secure green jobs?A. Cancun has set the stage for labor to presenta forward-looking agenda, one that creates jobsand reduces emissions at the same time.Climate change has become a trade unionpriority in many parts of the world. Why?Because labor as a progressive social movementcannot ignore the biggest ever threat to humancivilization. Also, climate protection will buildlabor’s power, because dealing with globalwarming will require unions and socialmovements gaining much more power overpolitical and economic decision making.Union-supported green initiatives in theworkplace are important, but the climate crisisdemands much bolder actions, and quickly.

We in labor must realize that climate ismore than about “green jobs,” because it ispossible to grow the number of green jobswithout reducing emissions—this is in factwhat is happening in the U.S. and many othercountries. Green job growth has been toomodest to have an impact on the presentlyserious levels of unemployment.

The way to dramatically scale up “greenjobs” is to pursue the kind of emissionsreduction targets the scientific community saysare necessary. SEIU supports this, on theunderstanding that such a target would createmany more jobs—the British trade unions callthem “climate jobs”—in public transit and newrail infrastructure, weatherization and buildingretrofits, pollution control technologies, fulltransformation of our antiquated grid system,production of electric vehicles, and so on.Climate protection today offers the only realjob creation scenario there is. And many of thejobs need to be created in the public sector.

Climate Change is a

LABOR ISSUESean Sweeney is the director of the Cornell Global LaborInstitute, a program of Cornell University’s School forIndustrial and Labor Relations (ILR).

Sweeney and the GLI have worked with unions inthe U.S. and internationally to develop a forward-looking,movement building and science-based climateprotection agenda.

GLI organized both the first major labor-environmentconference on climate in the U.S. in 2007, and the firstU.S. labor delegation to the United Nations climate talks.Sweeney co-authored the United Nations 2008 studyentitled Green Jobs: Towards Sustainable Work in a LowCarbon World (downloaded by over 800,000 readers).

Also in 2008, the GLI convened the Labor LeadersClimate Forum, a project that involves 16 unions andorganizations like the Blue Green Alliance, Apollo Alliance,Labor Network for Sustainability and Jobs with Justice.

Our Life And Times interviewed Sweeney in December.

An interview with Sean Sweeney,director of Cornell’s Global Labor Institute

13 January/February • Our Life And Times

Q. What is the role of healthcare workersin the struggle to address the energy andclimate crises?A. Healthcare workers have led the way oncivil rights, immigrant rights, and many issuesin recent decades. They are in many ways themoral vanguard of the labor movement. TheU.S. labor movement’s climate policy has beendefined by unions who perceive themselves as“job losers”—unions in energy andmanufacturing in particular. Healthcareworkers stand in solidarity with those unions,but when it comes to climate change, solidaritycannot mean deferring or “business as usual”or the agenda of the coal and oil companies.

Energy and climate is everyone’s business,not just those who work in the carbon-intensiveindustries. The impacts of climate change onhuman health is already a serious globalproblem. The number of climate refugees hasreached 150 million. Malaria deaths areincreasing, for example, as mosquitoes move tohigher altitudes. And then there is Katrina andother extreme weather events that kill peopleand compromise the health of millions.

Q. Do you see a connection between thefight for climate protection and thebuilding of the labor movement? A. Labor is often asked to be everything toeverybody at a time when unions have a lot ofproblems defending the members they alreadyhave. So it is hard to talk to some union leadersabout climate change. Raising it provokes asigh, as in “we’d like to do more, but…”

Certainly, young people and communitiesof color get global warming—and want action.But this is more than about labor’s reputationor its capacity to build alliances. It’s muchmore fundamental. Labor needs a newagenda—one grounded in social solidarity,environmental sustainability and economicdemocracy. Climate protection thus becomes acore concern, not a side issue.

Since the New Deal labor has insisted onrights—rights to organize, to basic protectionsat work and in society at large, and so on. Wehave left economic management to others,mainly bankers, CEOs of global corporationsand the politicians who represent theirinterests.

Now we have a so-called “model ofdevelopment” that abuses workers and theenvironment with the same level of indifferenceand disregard. Rebuilding the labor movementwill depend a lot on our capacity to imagineand fight for a different economic system—one that is driven by communities andbrings human and environmental needsinto true alignment.

“The impact ofclimate change onhuman health isalready a seriousglobal problem.”

INTERVIEW

Resources on the WebDozens of organizations devoted to the many streams of theenvironmental movement can be found on the web. They range fromenvironmental conservation, health and justice to various ecologymovements to anti-nuclear power to green jobs. Following is a smallsampling of some of those sites.

LABOR:Labor Network for Sustainability is a project of Voices for a Sustainable Future. LNS isdedicated to engaging unions, workers and allies who care about economic justice,ecology, and equality to support economic, social, and environmental sustainability.www.labor4sustainability.org/Apollo Alliance is a coalition of labor, business, environmental, and communityorganizations working to catalyze a clean energy revolution that will put millions ofAmericans to work in a new generation of high-quality, green-collar jobs. It hasaffiliates across the country, including in Massachusetts, New York State and New YorkCity. http://apolloalliance.org/Blue-Green Alliance is a national, strategic partnership between labor unions andenvironmental organizations dedicated to expanding the number and quality of jobs inthe green economy. www.bluegreenalliance.org/

HEALTH CARE:Health Care Without Harm works to implement ecologically sound and healthyalternatives to healthcare practices that pollute the environment and contribute todisease. www.noharm.org/Practice Greenhealth is the nation’s leading membership and networking organizationfor institutions in the healthcare community that have made a commitment tosustainable, eco-friendly practices. Access to some of the content requiresmembership for which there is a fee. www.practicegreenhealth.org/

INTERNATIONAL:Sustain Labor believes that workers should play a fundamental role in the route to asustainable world and that workplaces are at the center of production andconsumption, therefore they should be central locations in any effort to changeproduction and consumption patterns at local, national and international levels.www.sustainlabour.org/The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), founded by the United Nationsand the World Meteorological Organization, is the leading international body for theassessment of climate change. www.ipcc.ch/

NATIONAL:Friends of the Earth is the U.S. affiliate of a federation of grassroots groups in 76countries working to defend the environment and champion a more healthy and justworld. www.foe.org/350.org is an international campaign to build a movement to unite the world aroundscientific and just solutions to the climate crisis. www.350.org/Environmental Justice Climate Change (EJCC) Initiative is a national alliance ofenvironmental justice organizations, religious institutions, and other social justiceorganizations that works to address the impact of climate change on poor communitiesof color. www.ejcc.org/The National Resources Defense Council, with 1.3 million members and onlineactivists, works to safeguard the Earth: its people, its plants and animals and thenatural systems on which all life depends. www.nrdc.org/The Center for Environmental Health protects people from toxic chemicals andpromotes business products and practices that are safe for public health and theenvironment. www.ceh.org/The Environmental Working Group (EWG) uses the power of public information toprotect public health and the environment. It provides resources to consumers whilesimultaneously pushing for national policy change. www.ewg.org/Healthy Schools Network, Inc., is the leading national voice for children’senvironmental health at school and is a national-award-winning not-for-profitenvironmental health organization. www.healthyschools.org/

14January/February • Our Life And Times

This year the first of some 78 million babyboomers will turn 65. That means an increasingnumber of people across the nation will be requiringhomecare services. Already in New York City, some100,000 residents rely on home health care. But theseresidents are cared for in a system that is in crisis.

“While there are many quality providers, toomuch of the system is fraught with profiteering andfraud,” 1199SEIU President George Gresham saidat a Dec. 7 Manhattan forum called to address theproblems in the system. “In one of the fastest growingjob sectors in our state, homecare workers often earnpoverty wages with no healthcare benefits,” Greshamadded. “Now is the time to introduce reforms inAlbany that will protect our most vulnerable citizens—seniors and people with disabilities—and ensure thatcaregivers have quality jobs.”

At the forum, Gresham discussed the Union’scampaign to reform the broken system. He and othersstressed that for years too many homecare agencieshave been siphoning away excess profits in inflatedadministrative costs and through fraud while only afraction of Medicare and Medicaid dollars are allocatedfor direct care.

A major component of the Union’s campaign isthe website, www.HomeCareCrisis.org, which containsa fact sheet, testimonials, workers’profiles, videos and a“Hall of Shame” section that documents some of themore blatant cases of fraud.

For example, the website notes that last year ajudgment of $42 million was entered against ANRHomecare Services Inc., a company controlled byAlexander Levy. In addition, other companiescontrolled by Levy have agreed to repay approximately$6.3 million to the Medicaid program on relatedcharges.

The website also cites the Washington-based nonprofit Institute of Medicine report that “povertywages and high rates of job-related injury lead tounacceptably high rates of vacancies and turnover,

which can, in turn, lead to poor quality of care forpatients.”

“A lot of my clients wouldn’t survive in a nursinghome,” says Georgina Rivera-Vega, an aide forManhattan’s Fedcap Home Care. She is comforted, shesays, knowing that she can help her clients remain in theirhome. But, says Rivera-Vega, it’s becoming increasinglydifficult for her to make ends meet as an aide.

“I’ve been a home health aide for 19 years, yetI earn $7.65 an hour. The only way I can make it is towork a lot of overtime. I work from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.,five days a week,” she says. “I don’t get food stamps orMedicaid and the rent for my Bronx apartment is closeto $1,000 a month.”

Rivera-Vega says she is concerned that thebudget crises from the local to the national level mightdelay the needed reforms to the system. “We workourselves to death, yet all I hear about is the need tocut,” she says.

“Across-the-board Medicaid cuts, withoutstructural reform, would be the worst-case scenario forhomecare consumers, workers and providers,” saysSteven Dawson, president of the ParaprofessionalHealthcare Institute and a speaker at the Dec. 7 forum.

“True reform requires investment in a stable, well-trained workforce-and that will require new paymentpolicies that reward ‘high road’ providers whodemonstrate that they are creating decent jobs andproviding quality care,” said Dawson at the forum.

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg also spoke at theforum. “With a budget crisis upon us, we must takeevery opportunity to improve the efficiency of serviceswe deliver,” Bloomberg said. “By restructuring theseservices and improving their transparency andcoordination, we can create better workingenvironments for staff and more effective services forthe city’s neediest.”

Rivera-Vega agrees. “We desperately need a livingwage,” she says. “It’s not just good for us. It’s good forour clients and for the health of the city.”

“Too much ofthe system isfraught withprofiteeringand fraud.”

Georgina Rivera-Vega,a home health aidewith New York City’sFed Cap Agency, earns$7.65 an hour.

New York State’sHomecare System Is

BROKENWe launch campaign to fix it.

HOMECARE

The 1199SEIU LGBTQ (les-bian, gay, bi-sexual, transgenderand questioning) Caucus co-hosted a Communities of FaithAgainst Hate breakfast at theUnion’s Manhattan headquar-ters Dec. 10. The meetingsought help to fight and raiseawareness of hate crime.

The event was prompted by aseries of vicious anti-gay attacksthat have occurred in recentmonths, including the murder ofa Bronx man. In attendancewere clergy and leadership froma spectrum of faiths, communityleaders, LGBTQ rights activistsand elected officials. New YorkCity Council Speaker ChristineQuinn opened the breakfastmeeting. Quinn pledged that theCity Council “would go to anylengths” to get bias crimesunder control.

The breakfast kicked off anInterfaith Weekend that in-

cluded a peace vigil, lectures, apoetry reading and sermonsthemed around love and com-passion. It also featured a seriesof posters which remind NewYorkers that “Our Diversity isOur Greatest Strength” and encourage all to “Love Love.Hate Hate.”

Lourita Shegog, a homehealth aide with New YorkCity’s Partners in Care Agency,said the Union’s involvement inevent was not only vital forLGBTQ members, but is also an1199SEIU tradition.

“This is what our Unionstands for. We fight for humanrights. It all started with Dr.King. We’ve always fought forthat,” says Shegog. “Sometimesyou have to speak up for peopleand help them organize. This ishow we let people know whatwe’re all about.”

Shegog, a long-time activist,said she was proud to see1199SEIU taking a stand onLGBTQ issues, particularlyafter the historic Dec. 22 repealof don’t ask, don’t tell, the military’s ban on gay servicemembers.

“Our issues are never spokenof. It’s very hush hush, eventhough everyone knows they’rethere,” says Shegog. “Now wecan start to bring things out inthe open. I call it ‘our closet.’ Bydoing this it brings us togetherand shows we really respect peo-ple from all walks of life. Itshows that our Union reallydoes believe what we say.”

The 1199SEIU LGBTQ Cau-cus is developing its own web-site. It will be up soon. Tojoin the Caucus or formore information emailOrganizer Patrick Duncanat patrickd@1199.org.

15 January/February • Our Life And Times

1199SEIU’s organizingexpress rolled on in the FloridaRegion where healthcareworkers made organizing historywith a string of election victoriesin November and December inan unprecedented organizingdrive. More than 2,400 workersat six Florida HospitalCorporation of America (HCA)-affiliated hospitals said yes torepresentation by 1199SEIU.

“Now that we are in1199SEIU Florida we have theopportunity to change things forthe better,” says Jose Marquez, a

housekeeper at OsceolaRegional Medical Center/HCA,in Kissimmee. “We cannegotiate together for betterwages and benefits.”

HCA is the largest for-profithospital network in the world.The campaign is the biggesthealthcare organizing drive inthe history of the South. HCAworkers have united around jobsecurity, benefits and having avoice on the job. Victoriesinclude service and technicalworkers from Community

Hospital/HCA in New PortRichey and Central FloridaRegional Medical Center/HCAwho voted 219-98 and 129-96,respectively, in elections held onNov. 29 and Nov. 30 forrepresentation by 1199SEIU.Some 600 service and technicalworkers at Osceola RegionalMedical Center/HCA voted405-43 to form a union in aNov. 16 election. Workers atLargo Medical Center/HCA inLargo, Oak Hill Hospital/HCAin Brooksville, and FawcettMemorial Hospital/HCA in

Port Charlotte also votedoverwhelmingly for membershipin 1199SEIU.

“We can now focus on ourjobs better knowing that we’regoing to stand together andnegotiate together,” said ShaneLuppkes, who works inbehavioral health at CommunityHospital/HCA in New PortRichey. “Now we have a chanceto fine tune our benefits, ourwork environment and moreopportunities for those whowant to advance their careers.”

Organizing Express Rolls On In Florida

Around the Union

YomTov Cohen has worked in MontefioreHospital’s engineering department since1972. The work takes him all over the Bronx,NY institution.

“We’re mechanics,” says Cohen.“Whenever things need to be fixed we’rethere. There are a million jobs we do, butwhat I love most is that I get a chance to seeso many people.”

Cohen is by nature a traveler. He wasborn in Morocco. His family moved to Algeria,then France and finally settled in Israel. As ayoung man he joined the Israeli MerchantMarine and went all over the world. Hemoved to the United States in 1962.

One of the things that has remained

constant in his life, says Cohen, is his art. “I was born an artist,” he says. “From the

time I was six or seven years old I wasmaking art. I was drawing on the blackboardfor the class. As a teenager I made thebackgrounds for our school plays.”

Even with his busy life today he findstime to sculpt, draw and even make theoccasional piece of stained glass.

One work of which he is most proud is asculpture of the city of Jerusalem he createdfor Montefiore’s synagogue. The piece is afree-standing, three dimensional miniaturecity made of hydrocoal embedded with realgold and gems and finished with paint andgold leaf. It depicts several major faiths andmany of Jerusalem’s holy sites.

“When I was doing it, I’d put on touchingmusic about Jerusalem and it would inspireme,” he says. “There’s so much in there aboutthat place and what I’ve gone through. I’veeven brought patients in here and they saythey feel something; that it’s like therapy forthem. It makes me a little high knowing thatmy work helps people.”

Montefiore engineer YomTovCohen’s life took him all overthe world, but he never gaveup his love of creating art.

Always Time For His Art

PEOPLE

Sculptor YomTov Cohen is anengineer at Montefiore MedicalCenter in the Bronx, NY.

1199SEIU LGBTQ Caucus Combats Hate

A poster from NYC’s anti-hate campaign and a button from the1199SEIU LGBTQ Caucus.

THE BACK PAGE

“We need to learnhow we canprotect our planetand how we canlive and work ina safe place.”– Anna Pujols

See pages 8 and 9

TO READ MORE ABOUT 1199SEIU’S ORGANIZINGAND CONTRACT VICTORIES AND DEVELOPMENTSTHROUGHOUT ALL REGIONS OF OUR UNION, LOGONTO WWW.1199SEIU.ORG

a housekeeper at Maryland’sLaurel Regional Medical Center