our life & times | december 2014

1 November/December 2014 • Our Life And Times

A JOURNAL OF 1199SEIUNovember/December 2014

Elatrice Wegman, a CNA at Park Avenue Extended Care

in Long Beach, NY. She’s one of the 26,000 members

covered under 1199SEIU’s Greater NY contract.

Nursing home members in NY gear up for contract fight.

RESPECT & DIGNITY

14A FAMILY TRIUMPH

NYC EBOLA EDUCATION SESSION6 10 A LOOK

BACK AT 2014

2November/December 2014 • Our Life And Times

3President’s Column

4In The Regions

Cape Cod Training Fund Celebration, Contract Victory at Strong Memorial

Hospital, Campaign for Justice for Washington, DC Homecare Workers

6Frontline Caregivers Prepare

For EbolaAt information sessions around the regions,

members learned proper precautions, shared information and concerns about

treating infected patients.

7Greater NY Nursing HomeContract Talks Commence

Proposal includes wage increases, co-pay reduction, job security and more.

8The Work We Do

Members at Park Avenue Extended Care in Long Beach, NY, each day provide

care to our chronically ill, frail and elderly residents.

10A Look Back at 2014

1199SEIU members achieved great victories and met significant challenges in

the past year. Our Union also lost some beloved friends.

14Our Benefits

A Mt. Sinai member and his family has one less worry throughout the arduous journey

of his infant daughter’s eye surgeries.

15The Last Word

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren on how to move our nation forward.

With this issue of Our Life And Times, we take stock of the year past —it was one of victory and challenge—and we shake off the midterm elections, even as Wall Street is still crowing about economic recovery and working people are struggling to afford life’s basic necessities.

In New York, negotiations have just begun for some 34,000 nursing home members covered under 1199SEIU’s “Greater New York” and “Group of 42” contracts. At press time, thousands of Florida members had just settled agreements with the Consulate chain of nursing homes as well as HCA-affiliated hospitals in Florida. No matter the political climate or what battles are being fought on other fronts, our long term care

EVERYONE DESERVES A SAFE HOME

Our Life and Times November/December 2014

members never lose sight of why they do what they do. “Age is something none of us can dodge,” says

negotiating committee member Akiboni W. Savage, an orderly from Kingsbridge Heights Nursing and Rehab in the Bronx, NY. “We might need somebody to care for us one day. How would we like to be treated in a bad manner when we’re [our residents’] ages? I always tell my co-workers to give the best love and care to our elderly people because you never know where you might be tomorrow. It’s why we need to fight tooth and nail for a better contract—so we can take better care of our own families and better care of the elderly people we’re responsible for at work.”

Our Life And Times, November/December

2014Vol. 32, No 6Published by

1199SEIU, United Healthcare

Workers East 310 West 43rd St.

New York, NY 10036Telephone

(212) 582-1890 www.1199seiu.org

president George Gresham

secretary treasurer

Maria Castaneda

executive vice presidents

Norma Amsterdam Yvonne Armstrong Lisa Brown-Beloch

Angela Doyle George Kennedy

Steve Kramer Joyce NeilJohn Reid

Bruce Richard Mike Rifkin

Monica RussoRona Shapiro

Neva ShillingfordMilly Silva

Veronica TurnerLaurie ValloneEstela Vazquez

editor Patricia Kenney

director ofphotography

Jim Tynanphotographer

Belinda Gallegosart direction

& design Maiarelli Studio

cover photograph Jim Tynan

contributors JJ Johnson

Erin MaloneGary Schoichet

Our Life And Times is published six times

a year—January/February, March/

April, May/June, July/August, September/October, November/

December—for $15.00 per year by 1199SEIU, United

Healthcare Workers East, 310 W. 43 St,

New York, NY 10036. Periodicals postage

paid at New York, NY and at additional

mailing offices. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Our Life And Times, 301 W. 43 St., New

York, NY 10036.

@1199seiuwww.facebook.com/SEIU

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LUBA LUKOVA

Editorial


AFTER ELECTIONS, WE MUST REGROUP

With the midterm elections over, I realize that we still have a lot of work to do. We still need to educate

the people of Florida that they need to be an active part of the solution to change Florida. There are more of us (the work-ing class) than them (the wealthy), but the culture in Florida seems to be that people think, “it won’t make a difference.”

We can’t give up; we just have to keep trying to find a way to make people understand that together we make a dif-ference. Sometimes when we get a set back we just have to regroup. We have to try a different strategy. Even though the people elected were not our candidates, we still have to hold them accountable to the people they serve.

We have to keep reaching out to our communities and educate them on the connection between politics, their everyday lives and the lives of the fu-ture generations. We have to make the connections with their wages, health in-surance, housing, immigration. All of this matters and thru politics we can change it all.

During early voting I spoke with some young people that didn’t even know there was an election. It seems people relied on the TV ads for information re-garding the candidates instead of doing their own research. With technology in this day and age information is easy to get, we just need to check the facts for ourselves.

We need to start from now for the next election. We also need to remind those who didn’t go out to vote that they shouldn’t complain—just make sure they are a part of the change next time.

PAT SHERAN DIAZUniversity Hospital and Medical Center, Tamrac, FL

NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW

It’s bitterly ironic that those entrusted with the duty of upholding the laws sometimes consider themselves above the law. I learned that in the

early 1990s while working on a political campaign.

I was leafleting, and a police officer incorrectly assumed I violated election laws and overstepped the boundaries where I was permitted to work. I was tightly handcuffed and told to sit down in the voting area. After a while the com-manding officer arrived and I was let go. I had abrasions on my wrists from the violence with which I was handcuffed. Later, the officer apologized because he was “having a bad day.” I filed a complaint with the Civilian Complaint Review Board and received compensation because I had been assaulted, but the of-ficer in question wasn’t ever disciplined.

In much more serious cases like that of Eric Garner, who was killed on Staten Island and whose death was ruled a ho-micide, we don’t even see police officers taken into custody. By allowing police officers to be above the law we are send-ing a terrible message to the communities they serve. We are creating further unrest and resentment. We have created a two-tiered justice system and undermined one of the essential elements of our justice system. No one should be above the law.

JEFF VOGELRetiree, New York City

Letters

Heading into the holiday season, this seems a good time to take stock of how our 1199SEIU members fared this year.

The lives of healthcare workers are often satisfying and fulfilling, but they are rarely easy. We are proud of the work we do. We could never struggle as we constantly do if we did not have pride. Nothing—not our benefits, hours, time off, wages, or respect on the job—has been given to us. Everything we have achieved as 1199SEIU members has come because we fought for it. We have a long tradition, built over generations, of fighting for our patients, our families, and our communities.

The year 2014 has been no different. In Maryland, our 2,000 sisters and brothers waged a successful three-day strike at Johns Hopkins Medical Center—one of the world’s wealthiest hospitals but one that paid fast-food wages to thousands of its caregivers. In the end they won raises of up to 38 percent for low-wage workers and a $15 an hour base pay for veteran members.

In downstate New York, our hospital employers unilaterally chose to reopen the contract for nearly 100,000 workers. But 1199 sisters and brothers mounted a campaign of several months duration, saying, “We don’t want to strike, but we will if we have to.” After weeks of negotiations, our members voted by over 90 percent to strike if necessary. The employers settled a new contract that preserved the benefits of the old one and improved wages and organizing rights.

And so it went: 1199ers were out in force to defend their families and their patients, whether it was saving nursing homes and hospital emergency wards in the Hudson Valley, raising the minimum wage at the University of Miami Medical Center to $10.10 an hour in that “right-to-work” state; taking on the New Jersey nursing-home industry; or organizing thousands of Massachusetts homecare workers facing a hostile Supreme Court ruling that would strip them of union representation. We would be negligent if we didn’t also praise the many contributions of our veteran 1199 retirees who continue to fight alongside us in Florida, the New York metropolitan area and even the Carolinas.

Our union has always fought for justice for working people wherever they are. We try to remain true to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s vision of 1199 as his favorite union. So we marched (and got arrested) in solidarity with North Carolina’s great Moral Monday movement. We marched in Staten Island for justice for Eric Garner, who was the victim of an illegal police chokehold. And we began to seriously address perhaps the greatest threat to humanity—the crisis of a changing climate. Get ready, because we’re only getting started.

In the meantime, we continued all of the normal activities that help advance our members, e.g. securing several million dollars for our low-income members through the federal Earned Income Tax Credit and helping tens of thousands of 1199ers advance through programs in our Training and Upgrading Funds. Members in our training and education programs are improving their skills and their job possibilities in a changing healthcare industry, obtaining their GEDs, college and advanced professional degrees.

Our 1199SEIU culture—building strength for bargaining, growing our union, advocating for our patients, our jobs and our families in the political arena—achieves real gains in providing a secure future for our loved ones and for working families everywhere.

We will confront serious challenges in the coming year. November’s election results assure that we’ll face a worker-unfriendly Congress in Washington, D.C. and hostile forces in most of our state houses. To continue to make gains, we—all of us, whatever our political affiliation, faith, gender, color, sexual preference, national origin—have to remain united, and to unite with our partners in the labor movement and our communities. Solidarity is required if we are to successfully defend our families against those who would eliminate our hard-won gains and union protections, strip essential funding for our healthcare system, deny us a livable wage and benefits, destroy our public schools, militarize our local police, poison our air and our water, and force our immigrant sisters and brothers into the shadows. The challenges we’ll face are big, but we’ve faced bigger challenges before.

In this spirit of solidarity, we wish you and your loved ones happy and peaceful holidays. We look forward to working alongside you in 2015 for yet more victories.

Together We Celebrate the Victories of 2014And together we will face the challenges that are ahead of us.

THE PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

George Gresham

Even though the people elected were not our candidates, we still have to hold them accountable to the people they serve.

““


InTheRegions

NEW YORK

Strong Contract at Strong Memorial

Members at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, NY count votes at Oct. 16 contract ratification.

Workers at the University of Rochester’s Strong Memorial Hospital Division in Rochester,

NY on Oct. 16 ratified a new three-year agreement that includes wage increases of 7%, continues fully paid employer health coverage and establishes by 2017 a minimum wage of $15 per hour for workers with five years of service. The agreement covers Strong’s service, maintenance and clerical workers and was negotiated in conjunction with the contract covering the University’s service

workers who are represented by SEIU Local 200United.

“I’m glad that we were able to work together with the University of Rochester,” says Tamara Parker, a cook at Strong for 14 years. “They appreciated that we needed to insure that all workers in our Union will be able to grow financially and eventually make reasonable wages as they begin or continue their careers at the University of Rochester.”

1199SEIU challenged the University of Rochester to join it in the Fight for

Fifteen campaign, which has involved low wage workers nationwide, and more recently in Rochester. In addition to wage increases and maintenance of health benefits and tuition reimbursement, service workers will see increases in training pay, safety shoe allowance, paid time for continuing education classes and Union conference time. Language prohibiting workplace discrimination was also strengthened.

“We’d been having a lot of respect-on-the job issues—especially among

our senior workers. We felt their voices weren’t being heard,” says negotiating committee member Roneika Burns, a PCT at Strong for 15 years. “And initially the tone of negotiations was rough. They were telling us that there was no money for us, even though they’d grossed over $20 million last year.”

Contract negotiations began in September and a federal mediator was involved from the first session. The two agreements cover some 1,700 SEIU members.


MASSACHUSETTS

Cape Cod Training Fund Celebration

Hundreds of 1199SEIU Massachusetts members were honored Oct. 3 at the 1199SEIU Training Fund’s Miles and

Milestones for their participation in Fund-covered programs during the 2013-2014 school year. The event was held at the Buzzards Bay Maritime Academy.

Miles and Milestones celebrated members who have completed or are in the process of completing educational milestones and career successes, including college degrees, professional certifications, and skills enhancements that enable them to advance their careers.

Among the honorees was Barbara Perkins, who has been a medical laboratory technician at Steward Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton for 41 years.

“At the age of 56, I decided it was time for me to return to school and get the degree I had always wanted,” said Perkins. “I contacted the Training Fund and enrolled in Quincy College with a tuition voucher.”

In Massachusetts, 1199ers were first covered under the 1199SEIU Training and Upgrading Fund in 2006. As in New York State, where the program originated, members can pay for college programs at

public universities with vouchers or receive partial reimbursement towards tuition at private universities. The Fund also offers a variety of professional and academic skill-building programs. Workers at Cape Cod Health System were the first on the Cape to win coverage under the Fund when they negotiated the benefit in 2008. Since then the number of covered members has continued to grow as workers and employers seek to build a skilled and stable healthcare workforce on Cape Cod.

Graduate Leasa Jones, now an RN at Cape Cod Hospital, completed her Associate Degree in Nursing at Cape Cod Community College and then her bachelor’s degree through an online program. Jones, who began her career as a nursing assistant at Cape Cod, is the first child in her family to complete high school and college.

“I’m very happy that I was able to start my healthcare career at Cape Cod Hospital and have been able to grow and now serve our patients in my new position,’ she said. “I look forward to continued growth and hope to become a nurse practitioner one day.”

1199SEIU VP Enid Eckstein (now retired) presents certificate to Kathy Nardone (right) from Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Plymouth, MA at Training Fund Miles and Milestones event on Oct. 3. Nardone completed her doctorate in Physical Therapy.

Oct. 14 rally in support of fair wages for D.C. homecare workers.

THANKS TO THE CAMPAIGN BY DC’S homecare workers, more agencies are obeying the law and paying the

city’s living wage of $13.60 an hour.When homecare workers started

meeting in July of this year, few in any in attendance were making $13.60 an hour. But after getting the word out about the living wage to fellow workers through meetings, flyers, word-of-mouth and radio advertisements, agency owners have apparently gotten the word too, and started paying properly. At recent meetings, nearly all those in attendance report receiving the living wage.

“My agency started paying $13.60 in July or August,” said Shanita Ware, who has worked in home care since 2009. “It makes a lot of difference in covering my bills.”

Ware, a native of D.C. who cares for a 95-year-old, wheelchair-bound patient, credits the campaign by fellow homecare workers who are members of 1199SEIU, for the change, which has increased her hourly pay to $13.60 from $10.50, a nearly 34 percent increase.

Carl Wilson, a home health aide for 20 years, also received a raise recently to $13.60 but only at his part-time job. His primary employer did offer employees a one dollar raise two months ago and has promised, but not yet delivered on a raise to $13.60 as well. Wilson says that both agencies were spurred to act by the homecare workers campaign.

“It’s the law so they owe us the

A Living Wage for DC Homecare Workers

living wage,” Wilson said. “And I’ve got three kids in college and my partner just lost her job four months ago.”

DC homecare workers are taking legal action to get unpaid back wages

and these wages include any hourly pay less than the living wage starting in 2011. They are also suing for unpaid sick days, overtime, for not being paid in a timely manner and for other damages.

Recent reports have named Washington, DC as the most expensive city to live in the United States. You can learn more by logging on to www.WeCareForDC.org.

““At the age of 56, I decided it was time for me to return to school and get the degree I had always wanted.

- Barbara Perkins, Steward Good Samaritan Medical Center

PHOTO BY JAY MALIN


Demonstration of proper use of personal equipment at Oct. 21 Ebola Education Session held at NYC’s Javits Convention Center.

Safety

On Oct. 23, Dr. Craig Spencer, New York City’s first Ebola patient, was hospitalized after serving five weeks in West Africa caring for Ebola patients there.

Two days earlier, on Oct. 21, more than 4,000 healthcare workers, most of them 1199SEIU members, gathered at New York City’s Jacob Javits Convention Center for an Ebola Educational Session for Healthcare Workers presented by Greater New York Hospital Association/1199 Healthcare Education Project and the Partnership for Quality Care. The goal of the education session was to allay workers’ fears by presenting infor-mation and demonstrating how to work safely and survive in an Ebola environment.

“When you have the job of taking care of a patient with a highly infectious disease, it’s scary,” Dr. Arjun Srinivasan, Associate Director for Healthcare-Associated Infection Prevention Programs, Centers for Disease Control, told audi-ence members.

“I watched all those videos on Facebook and the television and there’s no cure. Lots are dying, especially children and old people and the nurses taking care of them,” said conference-goer Delfine Marilipina, an RN at Mt. Sinai Queens. “Here I will learn how to know if a patient might have Ebola and what I learn here today I can share with my co-workers. This is important.”

New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo told the standing room only assemblage of health care workers and thousands of others who viewed the live-streamed event that Ebola was a new chal-lenge “to meet, understand, and conquer.” Cuomo recalled the HIV epidemic 1980s.

“We learned about it and dealt with it,” said Cuomo. “What will kill this disease is knowledge and training and doing it right.”

Cuomo stressed that all healthcare workers in all positions had to be involved in the effort to both deal with the virus and with people’s panic and anxieties.

“New Yorkers always rise to the occasion,” he

said, “and the spirit of organizing and compassion is what 1199 has always been about. You are the front line in this new war. You are up to it.”

“Never in my 30 years have I seen anything this big. It’s a scary situation for everyone even though we don’t have it in New York,” said Walter Michie, storekeeper in dietary at Mt. Sinai Queens. While he has no contact with patients he does interact with nurses and doctors who do. Echoing the governor, he ended with, “We’re New York. We’ll do good. We always do.”

In their remarks, 1199SEIU Pres. George Gresham and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio con-curred about the nature of healthcare work and the spirit of those who endeavor in the profession.

“This is not a field of work for the timid or weak. You work hard and have a life of meaning and purpose,” said de Blasio, adding, to gener-ous applause, that the City would help everyone “regardless of ability to pay or immigration status. Anyone with a problem should come to the ER.”

Both Mayor de Blasio and Governor Cuomo said that New York City and State had been pre-paring for the possibility of Ebola for weeks with new hospital protocols and trainings.

GNYHA Pres. Kenneth E. Raske was reso-lute in his commitment to New York’s health.

“New York’s hospitals are deeply committed to ensuring that their most valuable resource—their workers—are properly trained and educated to respond to potential Ebola cases,” said Raske. “We stand ready 24/7 to provide the finest care while protecting our healthcare workforce.”

Sheldon Hoyte, a dialysis tech at the Renal Research Institute, came to the training, like most others, to learn how to protect himself from the virus.

“When the nurses in Texas contracted Ebola it generated a lot of fear and anxiety. Today’s ses-sion relieved some of that for me,” said Hoyte. “If I had to describe what I learned today I’d use two words: education and preparation.”

With those two words in mind, Bryan

Christensen of the CDC’s Domestic Infection Control Team for the Ebola Response and Mt. Sinai Health System RN Barbara Smith presented a hands-on demonstration of the proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE). Christensen and Smith were a study in taking the time to cover the body from head to foot with a partner/observer making sure each step, each alcohol swab, each disposal, is done correctly.

“Tantamount to safety is practice, practice, practice,” said Smith.

Joyce Bandie, an ER tech at Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn, said they practice PPE protocols at Lutheran every day.

“In our hospital should there be contami-nation before you’re finished discarding your equipment and you have to clean something again on the way out you drop your wipe in the container we have at the door so we never go back into the room,” said Bandie.

One of her most important jobs in the current environment is correcting misinformation and educating people to lessen the panic, she says.

“It’s scary. I do get scared,” said Bandie. “I could say I don’t want to go into the isolation room, but it’s my job. I get rid of my scared.”

NYC Ebola Education Session

Thousands Gather for

Demonstration of safety protocols and distribution of information were event priorities.

THE OVERALL CONCERN OF SPEAKERS AND AUDIENCE MEMBERS, WAS “SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY.”


Contracts

Among main goals are protection of benefits and improved staffing levels.

Gear Up for Huge Contract Fight

New York Nursing Home Members

Since September, New York nursing home members covered by two separate contracts have been gearing up for what is proving to be a difficult round of negotiations. In each contract, members are fighting for fair wages, secure health benefits, job security and improved staffing in nursing homes. The two contracts now in negotiations are the “Group of 42” nicknamed for the 42 employers who sign the contract and the “Greater New York” named after the Greater New York Benefit Fund. The Greater New York contract covers 26,000 members in 150 nursing homes, while the Group of 42 contract covers 8,000 members in 42 nursing homes.

Group of 42Group of 42 employers have brought regressive proposals to the table that would cut into members already low wages. Members currently pay no co-pays and have access to healthcare for their partners and dependents. The nursing home owners proposed switching to a different benefit fund that would reduce their own payments by imposing copays and other out-of-pocket healthcare expenses on their workers. The employers also have not introduced any wage proposals that would counteract the hardship the potential increase the higher out-of-pocket healthcare expenses would impose on workers. At the session members were outraged. Chants of “strike” echoed through the ballroom where negotiations were held when the proposal was brought forward.

“It’s hard. We’re in the medical profession and they’re telling us that the people who care for the sick have to pay when they get sick? We put on our bodies on the line for this work, and so many people go out with injuries. We pick up the slack where these owners aren’t being responsible. We are buying clothes for the residents when they don’t have it. We work short-staffed and don’t get overtime. We don’t take our breaks to make sure residents get cared for. They are making all this money and it’s like they want us to work for free,” said Raymond Anglada, a CNA at Brooklyn United Methodist Church Home.

Members are gearing up for chapter actions that will show that they are unified to preserve their benefits and to secure better care for their residents.

Greater New York For members covered by the “Greater New York Benefit Fund”, one of the most pressing issues is consistent staffing. Employers engage in a practice called “non-slotting” in which temporary staff fills in for regular, full-time workers when they are off the job for extended periods of time. These temporary workers often come to the nursing home through an agency and do not receive the same benefits as full-time union workers. Employers have been misusing this practice by refusing to offer full-time positions to temporary staff, leading to low morale and problems with continuity of care for residents.

“People are dropping like flies. At our first meeting with a new manager he wanted to know why we got paid so much. I guess because we clean people and change diapers, he thought we shouldn’t be able to earn a fair wage. Most of the agency workers are leaving. They realized they do the same work as us but don’t get paid the same,” said April Davis-Lewis, a CNA at Dewitt Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Manhattan.

In addition to the non-slotting practice, CNAs in the homes report being regularly understaffed on their units, which impacts resident care.

“You want to take your time to give each patient the care they deserve and not a rush job. But when we are short staffed we are always rushing,” continued Ms. Davis-Lewis.

1199 has submitted proposals to end the non-slotting practice and begin to address short staffing. At the next negotiation session, the employers will respond to the union’s proposals and submit their own counterproposals.

“The nursing home industry is undergoing huge changes and the outcome of these contract fights will impact us far into the future. Now is the time for every member to step up and show that we are united for quality care and good jobs. Unless we are prepared to fight, the costs of the shifts in the industry will fall on the backs of the workers and the care of our residents will suffer,” said 1199SEIU Nursing Home Division Exec. VP Yvonne Armstrong.

““Unless we are prepared to fight, the costs of the shifts in the industry will fall on the backs of the workers and the care of our residents will suffer.

NY nursing home members at Greater New York negotiating session in November.

http://www.bumch.org/pages/welcome.htm

The Work We Do

1199SEIU represents 196 workers at Park Avenue Extended Care in Long Beach, NY. CNAs, food service, laundry, environmental service workers and LPNs all help care for patients at the 15-year-old, 240-bed facility. Workers at Park Avenue are among the 26,000 members covered under the Greater NY Contract, which is currently in negotiations. Park Avenue workers are not only caregivers, but also played active roles in the institution’s Quality Care Initiative and Patient Advocacy Project, which gives residents a voice in their care. “Our work is inclusive of everything that involves patient care—washing, bathing, dressing and taking people for walks. We make sure our residents get whatever they need,” says CNA Elatrice Wegman. “I try my best to make them happy.”

PARK AVENUE EXTENDED CARE 1

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1. Delegate PEPITA “PEPPER” WINT has been a CNA at Park Avenue for 14 years. “We take care of all kinds of patients,” she says. “People with Alzheimer’s, tracheotomy patients, young, old—people with brain injuries. There is nothing we haven’t seen.”

2. FLOR LIMA has worked in the facility’s laundry since 2000. “We do 40 loads of laundry two times a day,” she says. “We also take care of all the linen in the building.”

3. Environmental services worker FRANK ADAMS

4. Cook CARL GREEN has been at Park Avenue since it opened 15 years ago. “I’ve been cooking for almost 30 years,” he says. “I owned a restaurant in Jamaica. If food makes people happy, I’m happy.”

5. SANDRA LINARES has worked in Park Avenue’s laundry since 2003. Every day she helps provide clean clothes for about 80 residents throughout the facility.

November/December 2014 • Our Life And Times 8


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6. SASI KUMAR has been a dietary aide at Park Avenue for 12 years. His shift is 6:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. “I like starting early and finishing early,” he says. “I do my work and then the rest of the day is my own.”

7. CNA SANDRA HOOK has worked at Park Avenue for 14 years. “I do meals, change their clothes, give them showers,” she says. “I help our residents with all of their activities of daily living.”

8. Dietary aide MARIA PARRA serves purees.


A Look Back at 2014

The past year was one of challenge and victory. 1199SEIU members continued their legacy: to keep alive the struggle for working people’s dignity. Sometimes, this work was done at events and demonstrations that became part of history and immediately changed the public understanding of how progress comes about; and other times it was done in the trenches, inch by inch, member to member. There were darker times too. We lost several of our beloved friends and allies. Not every struggle was a victory. But as usual, even as we look back over the past year, 1199ers are readying themselves for the next challenge.

1. During the year, 1199ers bid farewell to some of the Union’s most beloved heroes. All were champions of the people’s struggles. And their influence extended far and wide. Although Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first post-apartheid president passed away at 95 on Dec. 5, 2013, the celebration of his remarkable life continued throughout 2014. Hailed as the father of South Africa, Mandela served 27 years in prison for opposing the nation’s apartheid policies. His journey from activist to the world’s most famous prisoner and then most respected and beloved president continues to inspire people everywhere.“Nelson Mandela meant strength during the hardest times,” says Michael Jean, a radiologic technologist at New York Hospital. “He taught me that we are all part of a greater struggle.”

2. St. Luke’s Cornwall Victory! More than 500 1199SEIU members breathed a collective sigh of relief on March 12 when they got the word that the emergency room on the hospital’s Cornwall Campus had been saved. For almost a year, 1199SEIU members, elected officials, neighbors and friends campaigned to maintain a full-time emergency department on the Cornwall campus after the hospital administration threatened to shut down the ER during overnight hours. “I’m so grateful to my co-workers, the elected officials and our community,” said Cindy Lee, an ER tech in the Cornwall emergency dept. “We all stood up and saw the big picture, and understood how important 24-hour emergency care is. Emergencies won’t wait until the morning. That’s why they’re called emergencies and why the public health law takes emergencies so seriously.”

3. Albany Homecare Rally. More than 5,000 caregivers—including hundreds of retired members—rallied in Albany, NY on March 26 to protect long-term care in New York State. Nursing home, hospital and homecare workers sent a strong message: protect funding for homecare workers’ benefits and wages and ensure fair wages for nursing home workers. As a result, New York State’s budget committed $380 million to ensure wage parity among homecare workers based on collective bargaining agreements.

The Year in Review


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4. Pete Seeger, the People’s Troubadour Like Nelson Mandela, Pete Seeger also was persecuted for his political beliefs and activism on behalf of working and oppressed people. He passed away on Jan. 27 at age 94. Seeger inspired and led a renaissance of folk music with his trademark five-string banjo and songs of love, peace, and brotherhood. He was a champion of labor, civil rights and liberties, and the environment. Blacklisted in the 1950s for his left-wing politics, later generations celebrated him and denounced his persecutors. He sang at President Barack Obama’s 2013 inauguration ceremony along with Bruce Springsteen and others. “He was on the right side of every issue,” says Charles McLaughlin, who recently retired from his position of ultrasound technician at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx. “He was one of labor’s greatest allies.”

5. Zenith Nursing Home Strike At Zenith NH in Lexington, MA (now called Excel NH) workers—supported by community groups and elected officials—fought off the implementation of pay cuts of 40% to 60%. Zenith workers stood strong and after a months-long campaign successfully defeated the pay cuts and other measures that would have driven them into poverty.


6. Hopkins Strike Victory In July, after a series of strikes and a rally that brought thousands of 1199SEIU members and their families to Baltimore in a show of support, 2,000 caregivers at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore settled a four-and-a-half year agreement that dramatically improved pay for low-wage workers at Hopkins. Low-paid employees at Hopkins received raises as high as 38 percent over the life of the contract. Hopkins workers also won a $15-an-hour minimum wage that will apply immediately to workers with 20 years of service. Workers with 15 years of service will make at least $14.50 in 2015. “This contract will make a real difference in the lives of Hopkins workers, and sets a stronger standard for healthcare workers all across Baltimore,” said food service worker Michelle Horton.

7. Tallwoods Care Center Organizing Victory On March 28 workers at the Bayville, NJ institution voted 80-50 for representation by 1199SEIU. The new bargaining unit covers 205 workers and includes CNAs, LPNs, housekeepers, receptionists, dietary, laundry and recreational workers. Tallwoods workers overcame a vicious anti-worker campaign and refused to be intimidated by harassment, captive audience meetings, other management union busting tactics.

8. Farewell Basil Paterson, our counsel and defender died April 16 in New York City, where he was born and raised and where he has left an indelible mark. He was an icon in New York politics, serving as New York City deputy mayor, a state senator and New York’s first African American secretary of state. His son, David Paterson, was New York’s first African American governor, serving from 2008-2010. The elder Paterson was a staunch supporter of 1199. He helped negotiate many contracts with the League and Voluntary Hospital and Homes. He was widely regarded as a genius strategist and communicator. That is how he is remembered by many 1199ers. “Basil gave people confidence and helped to put fire in our bellies,” says Tommie Williams, the lead materials handler at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx and a veteran of many League negotiations. “When he stepped into the room, he commanded respect and we all felt better.” At Pres. George Gresham’s urging, the 1199SEIU negotiating committee dedicated this year’s League talks to Paterson’s memory.

In 2013 to honor Paterson, the Basil Paterson Scholarship Fund was established by 1199SEIU’s Bill Michelson Homecare Education Fund to help provide training, education and employment services for 1199SEIU homecare members.

PHOTO BY ROSE LINCOLN

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9. Groundbreaking Contract at Health and Hospitals Corporation Some 2,700 caregivers who work in New York City’s Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) and New York State agencies, including the Departments of Health, Corrections, and Environmental Services this June settled a groundbreaking new contract that for the first time includes training and upgrading benefits, a child care fund and eldercare benefits that will help members take care of aging family members.

10. Alaris Contract Fight Twenty-six caregivers who work at four facilities owned by Alaris Health in New Jersey were locked out when they tried to return to work after a series of three-day strikes that began Sept. 16 and ended Sept. 19. The strikes were to press Alaris Health to negotiate a fair contract with workers who have been without an agreement for more than six months. 1199SEIU members held two rallies, which drew strong support from community members, elected officials and allies in the labor and progressive community. At press time, three of the workers were still locked out, and the Union has made it clear that it will continue to press the company to settle a fair contract.

11. League Contract Victory After months-long negotiations that culminated in a weekend of marathon talks at a Manhattan hotel, 1199SEIU and the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes on July 21 settled a new four-year collective bargaining agreement. The pre-dawn settlement averted a strike at 109 League-represented institutions. The agreement covers some 70,000 workers and is the Union’s “gold standard” contract. “This is one of the best contracts we’ve ever gotten and one of the hardest we’ve ever negotiated because we had so much to lose. I’m so proud of our members,” said negotiating committee member Rosemarie Curley, a secretary at Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, NY.

12. Ruby Dee was Our Cultural Ambassador No actress was more recognized to 1199ers than the late Rub Dee, who passed away at her New Rochelle home June 12, at 91. Together with her husband Ossie Davis, who died in 2005, Davis and Dee were cultural ambassadors for the Union. 1199SEIU’s cultural project, Bread and Roses, was synonymous with Dee and Davis who wrote for, hosted and performed in countless B&R events. But Dee was a star in her own right, breaking down barriers for African American actresses on stage, film and television. She also was a celebrated author, poet, journalist and activist. She was nominated for eight TV Emmy awards and in 2008 at 83 became the second oldest woman nominated for an academy award for her performance as Denzel Washington’s mother in “American Gangster.” She was awarded the Screen Actor’s Guild award that year. Countless actresses and artists of color cite Dee as an inspiration and role model. “Ruby Dee is one of our sheroes. She’s the reason why I want to pause and be thoughtful about my choices,” says the actress Kerry Washington.“She is admired for her legacy of inspiration,” says Dawn Hamilton, a CNA at Hempstead Park NH on Long Island and a poet. “Her beautiful writings and work have captured the hearts of many.”

13. Staten Island March for Justice August 23 was a day like no other on Staten Island, NY. Marchers came by the thousands, by car, by bus—many organized by 1199SEIU—and even by sea to demand justice for Eric Garner, the unarmed African American man who was choked to death July 17 by a New York City police officer. “We Will Not Go Back, March for Justice,” was the theme of the event. Placards, banners and chants made it clear that Garners death was not an isolated event and that a shameful pattern of brutality has claimed the lives of young men of color across the nation.

14. Fight For Fifteen Massachusetts members led the way in the Fight For 15 in the Bay State; a national effort to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour. Actions included march, rallies and demonstrations. Members throughout 1199SEIU’s regions are active in the Fight for Fifteen, and for winning a decent living wage for all working people.

15. University of Miami Contract Florida 1199ers continued to lead the way, when workers at the University of Miami Hospital this summer negotiated a new agreement that over the next three years raises the minimum wage at the institution to $10.10 per hour. The current federal minimum wage is $7.25. Florida’s minimum wage is $7.95.

16. Brooks Memorial Contract After arduous months-long negotiations, workers at Brooks Memorial Hospital in Dunkirk, NY ratified a new contract in September. The long–awaited agreement maintains many of the quality standards that Brooks workers rely on. The contract struggle had Brooks workers standing up against management staff changes. There was grave concern that some proposals would have compromised quality standards, and service reductions or eliminations would have forced some patients to travel nearly 50 miles to Buffalo for care.

PHOTO BY ROBERT KIRKHAM

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19. Politics It was a difficult year for Democrats across the country. Candidates were challenged by an economy that has not seen many gains for working people and a recovery from the Great Recession that has seen stock market highs, but much of the decrease in unemployment driven by low-wage, service sector jobs. 1199SEIU members continued to be politically active, door knocking, canvassing and phone banking, helping ensure victory for worker-friendly candidates and ballot initiatives across the regions. When given the chance, voters spoke loudly in favor of raising the floor for workers. Question Four, which requires paid sick time won in Massachusetts, and was helpful in mobilizing working people to get to the polls. Our Democratic candidates for Governor were defeated in Florida, Massachusetts and Maryland. In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Comptroller Tom DiNapoli were all re-elected. Democrat Kathleen Rice won her bid to replace Carolyn McCarthy in Congress. In Maryland, Democrats held two other statewide offices despite their loss in the Governor’s race, with Comptroller Peter Franchot running unopposed winning a third term and State Sen. Brian Frosh succeeding Douglas Gansler as Attorney General. In the District of Columbia, 1199SEIU endorsed candidate Muriel E. Bowser defeated two independent candidates in a hard-fought contest for Washington, D.C. mayor that, in the end, confirmed the dominance of the Democratic Party in the District of Columbia. In Florida, our candidate Charlie Crist lost the governor’s race but Viviana Janer defeated a long-time incumbent in Osceola County.

20. Thomas Michael Menino, who died Oct. 30 at 71, was the longest serving and perhaps the most beloved mayor of Boston. Menino stepped down earlier this year after serving five terms. Credited with leading Boston’s revitalization, Mayor Menino never lost his connection to working people. He was buried in Hyde Park, where he grew up, the son of Italian immigrants. 1199SEIU Exec. VP Veronica Turner also praised the late mayor: “Mayor Menino’s tremendous leadership in health care played an integral role in making Boston a national leader in this field. He understood the importance of protecting our most vulnerable residents and helped establish Boston Medical Center—a critical resource for tens of thousands of children, families and seniors, and an institution that is vital to our safety net. “Both in times of crisis and celebration, he was always a friend, an advocate, and a mentor to both me personally, and to many local caregivers.”

17. Typhoon Haiyan Relief In the year since Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines 1199SEIU leaders continued their appeal to members to help the storm’s victims. Haiyan, also known as Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines, is the deadliest Philippine typhoon on record, killing at least 6,155 people and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless. Haiyan is also the strongest storm recorded at landfall, and unofficially the strongest typhoon ever recorded. Directly after the tragedy, 1199SEIU launched a recovery and relief campaign, and began working with our partner organizations to get emergency supplies where they are most needed. The Union’s Executive Council voted to match members’ contributions. By the end of last year, contributions totaled just over $82,000, including more than $17,000 donated through the online PayPal accounted started on November 10. 1199SEIU Secretary Treasurer Maria Castaneda has been a leader in bringing support and encouragement to the country’s storm-ravaged areas. She recently visited Tacloban City and Tanuan, Leyte, both of which sustained tremendous damage in the storm. “People are coping with what happened in our country,” said Gloria Youssef, an RN at St. John’s Episcopal Hospital in Queens. “We are very strong. We try to deal with whatever life hands us.” Youssef and her co-workers were among the hundreds of 1199SEIU members who held fundraising events to assist re-building efforts after Haiyan. “The Philippines is a poor country,” says Youssef. “We wanted to do what we could do to help. We are thankful. And those of us who are in a position to help are grateful that we have it and can share with those back in our country.”

18. The People’s Climate March. Hundreds of 1199ers were among the 400,000 who marched in NYC on Sept. 21 at the People’s Climate March. The event was the largest demonstration against climate change that the world has ever seen. Members marched not just as 1199ers, but as parents, grandparents, and residents of neighborhoods affected by industry and natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy. “America is finally getting it,” said Diane Cantave, a pharmacy tech at Rite Aide #1601 in Albertson, NY, who marched with her school-aged son and daughter. “People have finally realized that we have to make a stand on this issue.”

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The events of last year have tested Roy and Desiree Mitchell, and the couple has passed with flying colors.

Roy has worked in building services at The Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan for the past 17 years. Desiree, Roy’s wife, is the executive assistant to the Mount Sinai Health System’s senior vice president for corporate services.

Roy is an active 1199SEIU member. Desiree’s position is not part of the Union’s bargaining unit, but she is proud of her union roots. Her father, Frank Maldonado, is a council repre-sentative of the Clerical Division at District Council 37, one of New York City’s largest public workers’ unions.

Although Roy and Desiree were colleagues for many years, they did not marry until January 2013. Roy has two daughters, Heaven and Skye, and a son, Rory, and Desiree a daughter, Sophia, from a prior relationship.

The Mitchells were ecstatic to learn early last year that there would be an addition to their blended family. That joy increased on Dec. 21 with the birth of their daughter Hudson at Good Samaritan Hospital in Rockland.

But that joy soon gave way to grief. “At first, we were a little concerned when Hudson was born with one eye closed,” Roy says. “My mother-in-law, Socorro, also noticed that Hudson’s right-eye seemed discolored.”

During the following weeks, after many tests and diagnoses, the Mitchells learned that Hudson had a rare congenital eye dis-ease, Peters anomaly, in addition to epibulbar dermoid, anterior segment, and glaucoma in the right eye. The uncommon ill-

nesses, caused by a gene mutation, results in blurred vision, and sometimes blindness.

“At first it was just too much for me to digest and process,” says Desiree.

“I felt as if our problems were going through the roof,” added Roy.

The Mitchells lost no time in finding specialists and sur-geons in an attempt to restore their daughter’s vision. “And we spent a lot of time just praying to God,” Roy says.

During the first nine months of her life, Hudson under-went nine operations, each representing another trial for her parents. And through this experience, Roy and Desiree learned patience and perseverance. “During this time, we had to moni-tor Hudson closely and keep her as comfortable as possible, because crying increases pressure on her eyes,” says Desiree.

At the same time, the couple had to navigate the choppy health-benefits waters, which is particularly difficult when two different plans are in play for expensive surgeries and procedures.

“My primary insurance covered all of the surgeries,” Roy notes. “It was a relief to know that 1199SEIU benefits were there, so we didn’t have to reach into our pockets for anything.”

The Mitchells faced yet another challenge. Added to the heart-wrenching battle to save their daughter’s sight was the knowledge that Roy might have to go on strike, since the Union was in the midst of contentious contract talks with the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes during much of the first half of the year.

He did not miss any job actions leading up to the settle-ment. “I was ready to strike,” Roy says. “I wasn’t going to let anything interfere with our health benefits.”

“And I was not going to cross the picket line,” adds Desiree.They were relieved with the terms of the contract, which pre-

served all the members’ health benefits. “We also had a lot of love and support, and that helped us get through it all,” Roy stresses.

That support comes from both co-workers and manage-ment. “Even while he was going through his own problems, Roy managed to keep his smile and to encourage others,” says Orville Cousins, a Mount Sinai support associate who has worked with Roy for almost eight years. “Roy is unusually po-lite, meek and honest.”

“Roy exemplifies the best of what we have in health care,” says Dr. Reena Karani, professor and associate dean for under-graduate medical education and curricular affairs at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “Roy is a role model, a great worker who is incredibly dedicated to his job and family. His contributions make it possible for all of us to do our work.”

As of this writing, Hudson’s vision has not been restored, although she can distinguish darkness from light. The Mitchells do not plan any more surgeries for this year. But there is no gloom in their Bergen County home. On the contrary, it is bright and colorful, and radiates love and happiness.

Hudson is surrounded by a variety of toys with flashing lights, music and other beautiful sounds. She coos when her parents hold her and bounces with delight when her dad places her little hands in his. “Hudson has given us so much joy, and her blindness has taught us to see life differently,” Roy says.

In October, the Mitchells mailed out invitations to Hudson’s first birthday party, scheduled for early December. “Our Little Sunshine, Hudson, Is Turning One,” the colorful card announced.

“We have a lot to celebrate,” Roy says.

Our Union

Ray and Desiree Mitchell, who work at Mt. Sinai Medical center in NYC, with their daughter Hudson. Hudson, one, was born with a rare eye disease that has required multiple surgeries.

A Family’s Triumph“Our patients rely on us, and we need to get back to work.”

““Her blindness has taught us to see life differently.


The Last Word: Senator Elizabeth Warren

Elizabeth Warren was elected to the U.S. Senate to represent Massachusetts on Nov. 6, 2012. She is a tireless and courageous advocate for working families. Throughout her career, she has dedicated herself to the creation of programs and departments that protect consumers and promote the growth and security of the working class. Warren is a leading voice for reform and oversight of the financial industry and the expansion of student debt relief programs. She began her career as a teacher of special needs students and went on to teach at Harvard Law School. Sen. Warren is the author of three national best sellers, A Fighting Chance, The Two-Income Trap, and All Your Worth.

Many in the country see the banking/financial crisis as something that has already happened, a problem solved. Is this the case? Or are we facing serious problems ahead because of the lack of political will to take on Wall Street?The Dodd-Frank Act reforms took important steps toward addressing sources of risk in the financial system, but they did not end “Too Big to Fail”—not even close. It has been six years since the financial crisis, but the big banks that wrecked our economy keep get-ting bigger and taking on new kinds of risk.

The biggest banks emerged from the crisis with record-setting profits, while or-dinary Americans continue to struggle. The regulatory system is so besieged by lobbyists for the big banks that it takes years to deliver watered-down and ineffective rules. It’s time to fight back.

We are told that we’re in an economic recovery because corporations are mak-ing profits, yet many working people can’t find jobs or make ends meet. Do you think we need to employ different standards to measure the health of our economy? The stock market and GDP continue to go up, while families are getting squeezed hard by an economy that isn’t working for them. From 2010-2013 incomes are up about 10 percent for those in the top 10 percent. For everyone else they are flat or dropping. Minimum wage workers haven’t had a raise in over seven years.

People are ready to work, ready to fight for their futures and their kids’ futures, but the game is rigged for big corporations and billionaires who can hire armies of lobbyists and lawyers—not for working families. We need to focus on leveling the playing field and building a strong middle class, so that every-one who works hard and plays by the rules has a fighting chance to get ahead.

You have been a leading voice for ex-panding student debt relief. Tell us about some of your ideas for reform and why they’re critical for the progress of the next generation. Student loan debt is exploding, and it threat-ens the stability of our young people and the future of our economy. There are 40 million Americans who have student loans, and the total debt in this country is now $1.2 trillion and growing bigger every day. The FDIC, the Consumer Agency and the Federal Reserve Bank have all issued warnings that this debt is keeping borrowers from buying homes and cars or opening small businesses. It is keep-ing them from making the purchases that get their economic lives started and help our economy grow.

To tackle the student debt crisis, it’s time to bring down the cost of college and deal with the existing debt. That includes allowing borrowers to reduce their debt by refinancing their high-interest loans to much lower—and

much more manageable—levels. In addition, the practice of the federal government profit-ing off the student loan program must stop. The government is raking in billions of dol-lars in profit each year from federal student loans. In fact, just the loans from 2007 to 2012 are on track to produce $66 billion in profits for the United States government.

This is about economics, but it is also about our values. These young people saddled with student loan debt didn’t go to the mall and run up charges on a credit card. They worked hard and learned new skills that will benefit this country and help us build a stronger America. They deserve a fair shot at an affordable education.

As you see it, what’s labor’s role in re-setting the country’s course? How can labor activists implement change in their communities?Throughout our history, powerful interests have tried to capture Washington and rig the system in their favor. But we didn’t roll over. At every turn, in every time of challenge, organized labor has been there, fighting on behalf of the American people.

When I was growing up, the labor move-ment was a powerful and effective advocate for the working men and women of America. About a third of the American workforce was dues-paying, card-carrying union members. Labor negotiations on wages, health care benefits and pensions helped lift the floor for everyone. Wages went up and families got stronger. And as workers’ incomes and ben-efits were rising, our GDP kept going up too. In other words, as our country got richer, our families got richer—and as our families got richer, our country got richer.

But for decades, labor has been under at-tack. If we’re going to get back to the days of tackling big challenges together, we need to make sure workers can organize and that they can continue to be a strong voice for hard-working families.

Powerful interests have waged a coordi-nated campaign in Congress, in our courts, and in our state houses to make it harder to for workers to unionize. But labor is fight-ing back. Now more than ever, the United States needs a strong labor movement to do what it has always done: advocate to improve the lives of all workers in this country, and to ensure that all middle class families get a fighting chance to make it.

What changes need to be made to hold the big banks and Wall Street account-able to everyday citizens?We can keep making the rules tougher and tougher, but it won’t be make an ounce of difference if regulators don’t enforce the rules. Strong oversight and real accountability keeps consumers safe, ensures our financial markets function effectively, and can help prevent future financial crises. But many re-cent settlements don’t hold a single executive

accountable and don’t include any admissions of wrongdoing. Until that changes, bank ex-ecutives will continue to act like they’re above the law.

One very positive step has been the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which was passed as part of Dodd-Frank. I wanted it to be a new kind of regula-tory agency—one that would stand up for America’s families, not for the big banks or credit card companies. This little agency has the tools necessary to protect consum-ers against the tricks and traps hidden in the fine print of mortgages, credit cards, and student loans. The consumer agency has already forced big financial institutions to return more than $4 billion to consum-ers they cheated. It has put in place rules to protect consumers from a range of danger-ous financial products and to make sure that companies can’t put out the kinds of decep-tive mortgages that contributed to millions of foreclosures. Go check it out: cfpb.gov and, if you have a problem over a credit card or mortgage or other financial product, make sure you file a complaint. They can’t fix every problem, but even knowing about the problems helps and, in many cases, the consumer agency is helping people get their money back.

Do you feel that women in elected of-fice are held to a different standard than men? How does that play out? How do you handle it? It’s important that more women are willing to run for office and make their voices heard. We’re up to 20 women in the Senate now. That’s great news, relative to where we were. But we should be near 50. Women are half the country, half the adults, half of the voters and should be half of the government.

Others have said it before me: if you don’t have a seat at the table, then you’re probably on the menu—so I urge all women (and friends of women) to run for office or help out on a campaign. We make change together.

What advice would you offer an 1199SEIU activist who wanted to run for office to make a difference? My advice is to get out there and try. I never planned to get into politics. My daddy was a janitor, and my mom worked a minimum wage job at Sears. I spent my whole career as a teacher, first as a special-needs teacher and then in law school, where I worked on issues affecting America’s middle class families. But I knew what I believed in, and running for the United States Senate was the best shot I would have to fight to build a future, not just for some of our kids, but for all of our kids.

So, get out there and try it because if you try for it, you might succeed. And if you suc-ceed, you will have the opportunity to fight for the things you believe in—the opportunity to build a more secure future for all our families.

Peace of Mind in Uncertain Times

THE BACK PAGE

At Ebola Education Session in New York City on Oct. 21, members were shown a hands-on demonstration of the proper use of personal protective equipment. See story on page 6.

Photo by Jim Tynan

our life & times | december 2014

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