our life & times | may / june 2015

1 May/June 2015 • Our Life And Times

A JOURNAL OF 1199SEIUMay/June 2015

NYC 1199ers at April 15 Fight for $15 march and rally in

midtown Manhattan.

THE FIGHT FOR $15

14SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WITH LGBTQ 1199ERS

FLORIDA CAREGIVERS STRIKE FOR DIGNITY

5 7CLINICALLABSCIENTISTS

2May/June 2015 • Our Life And Times

3President’s Column

Wall Street, Not the Protesters, Lit the Match in Baltimore.

4In The Regions

May Day Picket in Buffalo Becomes a Celebration, Two-Day Strike at

Consulate West Palm Beach, New Jersey NH workers vote 1199,

and more.

7Our Invisible Heroes

We celebrate Clinical Laboratory Scientists, our unseen cornerstones

of healthcare.

8Fight for $15

Workers demand a living wage in an April 15 national day of action; At Johns Hopkins, winning $15 an

hour changes lives.

10We Are All Freddie Gray

Impoverished Baltimore erupts after police tactics take another

Black life.

12The Work We Do

The Institute For Family Health in East Harlem, NY

14The Blue Collar and

The Rainbow FlagMembers discuss LGBTQ

stereotypes and their pride in being working class.

15Relief for Nepal

An appeal to help the earthquake-devastated region.

1199SEIU members have a long history of fighting for justice around two of the most deeply rooted cancers in our society—poverty and police brutality. Lately, those two battles have taken shape in the Fight For $15 and the BlackLivesMatter movements—which are shining a new, bright light on endemic racism, poverty and violence in our society. And the undeniable link between the three.

Freddie Gray’s death in April at the hands of Baltimore police and the violence that followed his funeral once again set in relief what happens when our country continually turns its head away from the segregation, impoverishment, and mistreatment of an entire city—and an entire people.

“This was not our fault. This was their fault. We have nothing. We have Ravens Stadium, Camden Yards and a casino. Those are things people here can’t afford,” says Terrell Jones, a floor tech at Future Care Coldspring in Baltimore. “They blamed us for

“IT’S OUTRAGEOUS THAT IN OUR SOCIETY, WE HAVE PEOPLE LIVING THIS WAY.”

Our Life and Times May/June 2015

destroying the city. This city was already destroyed.”

Marcia Butler Hurlington, an RN at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, NY, was among the thousands of 1199ers who on April 15 marched in the streets of New York City for $15 an hour and a union for all workers. She daily sees the costs of institutional poverty and marginalization at her own hospital.

“I’d like to ask these people who say we can’t afford to raise the minimum wage to come to our hospital and see how people are living,” she says. “They come into our hospital or stay in the emergency room just so they can eat. It’s outrageous that in our society we have people living this way.”

Pres. George Gresham reminds us that these terrible events and difficult times are forging new leaders, and as always 1199ers are standing with our coalition partners working to build a better society. “Thankfully, change is coming and will come,” Gresham reminds us. “But only when we insist on it.”

Our Life And Times, May/June 2015

Vol 33, No 3 Published 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 Maria Kercado

Joyce NeilBruce 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 Bryn Lloyd-Bollard

Mindy BermanJJ Johnson

Tobias Packer

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,

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mailing offices. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Our Life And Times,

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LUBA LUKOVA

Editorial

Poverty, neglect and racism breed police violence. Change will come only when we insist on it.


THE UNION DIFFERENCE

I have been working at a Walgreens in Staten Island, NY as a service clerk for two years. I also have been working as a Home Health Aide for the Personal Touch Agency in New

York City for more than a year. I have noticed that there are a few major differences between my two jobs. I enjoy both jobs and continue to work at both to meet my financial needs; I will say that I prefer my job as a Home Health Aide over my job as a Walgreens employee. At Personal Touch we belong to 1199. Being part of this union has made me realize that I receive better pay, hours, medical benefits, paid time off and many other services that I don’t have at my second job at Walgreens, which currently has no union. A union is necessary to help us receive the benefits we deserve. My union also provides services to help us improve our work environments and personal lives. The union helps with issues like immigration, childcare benefits, job training, job security and many other benefits. Without a union, employers can take advantage by abusing workers and cutting their hours or increasing them without explanation. They can prevent workers from using the paid time off they deserve.

I have listed just a few reasons why working in a company that has a union is different from working in a company that does not. I have experienced these differences firsthand. With your support we will be able to start a path where all workers have unions that they can depend on. The working class needs someone who can represent us and help us fight for what we deserve. I’m sure that you will try your best to help those who are in need of a union.

ANYELY D. MEJIAPersonal Touch Agency, Staten Island, NY

Editor’s Note: This letter was shared with 1199SEIU by NYS Sen. Diane Savino, who represents Ms. Mejia’s district and is a long-time supporter of the Union.

PRAISE FOR LABOR WOMEN

Several weeks ago I had the honor of performing with the New York Labor Chorus at the Clara Lemlich Awards, which are given out every year

to women who have dedicated their lives to organized labor and the progressive movement. The awards are named after Clara Lemlich, who supported workers at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company and dedicated her life to organizing and women’s suffrage. One of this year’s winners was former 1199 Director of New Organizing Sylvia Grant. For those who may not know, Sylvia was a major figure in 1199’s Save Our Union campaign. Afterwards she took on new organizing and helped bring tens of thousands of healthcare workers into 1199. She helped organize thousands in New York’s Hudson Valley for the first time ever. She has a lot of guts and serves as a great example for many young women who are called to work in labor organizing. Sylvia is an inspiration not just to labor women, but to all of us. I was proud to be there to see her get the Lemlich Award. We men in the movement need to remember how important it is to stand up for women in labor. When they are stronger, we are all better for it. Women like Sylvia Grant are living proof.

JEFF VOGELRetiree, Queens, NY

Let’s hear from you. Send your letters to: 1199SEIU’s Our Life And Times, 330 W. 42nd St, 7th Fl., New York, NY 10036 Attn: Patricia Kenney, Editor or email them to [email protected] and please put Letters in the subject of your email.

Letters

The death of Freddie Gray, who was killed in police custody, sparked protests not just in Baltimore but throughout the country. Coming after the police killings of 12-year-old Tamir Rice in Cleveland, Walter Scott in North Charleston, Eric Garner in Staten Island, Michael Brown in Ferguson, and so many others, Freddie Gray’s murder has created an unprecedented crisis of public confidence in our police.

Not that police abuse of poor, minority and working-class Americans is anything new. After the Watts rebellion 50 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke about the need to hear “the language of the unheard,” about the cries of the African-American poor in a society “more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice, equality, and humanity.”

We in 1199SEIU will never advocate or encourage violence, but when a Baltimore neighborhood went up in flames on April 28, the language of the unheard sounded loudly and clearly. The news media went 24/7 with images of a CVS store burning down. Editorial writers and politicians screamed, “Thugs!” It seemed not to have occurred to them that entire Baltimore communities were abandoned and destroyed, their residents often made homeless, by the banking crisis of 2007 and the housing foreclosures that followed. And it wasn’t just Baltimore, but also Cleveland, St. Louis, Las Vegas, Detroit and a thousand other cities. Where were the cries of “thugs” then, and fingers pointed toward Wall Street?

Let’s connect the dots. When the banks destroyed the economy, it put millions of people out of work and millions out of their homes. Many families were devastated. Divorce and suicide rates increased. We have yet to recover. Workers today are more productive than ever, but income is flat, with many now having to work two jobs—if they can find them—to make what they once made with one.

Yet not one banker has been arrested, let alone tried or sentenced to jail for the harm they caused. Eric Garner was accused of selling cigarettes. Freddie Gray made eye contact with a cop. Tamir Rice was playing with a toy pistol. And they were killed. The CEOs of Goldman Sachs, Citicorp, and Bank of America brought the world economy to its knees, and then our political leaders gave them a couple trillion dollars of our taxes to bail them out.

The same week Baltimore caught fire, we learned that Wall Street bonuses—just bonuses, not salaries—last year were double the total earnings of all Americans working full time at the federal minimum wage. Think about that for a minute.

While our taxes by the trillions are further enriching the already wealthy, our political leaders have stuck the federal minimum wage at $7.25. Even liberal governors and federal officials are talking about raising it to only $9 or $11 a hour—usually effective in 2018 or 2020. In the meantime, the One Percent talks about the working poor—folks like our heroic 1199 homecare workers—as “wanting a free ride.”

African-American communities have been hit harder and longer than any other. First fired and last hired—and usually in low-wage jobs when folks can get jobs at all. The Washington Post reports that in poor Baltimore neighborhoods, the life expectancy is 19 years less than in other neighborhoods. Residents of the Downtown/Seaton Hill neighborhood have a life expectancy lower than 229 other nations, surpassed only by Yemen. Fifteen neighborhoods in Baltimore have a lower life expectancy than North Korea.

The role of the police in this is to retain the ruling order, to serve as an occupation force keeping the poor in their place and the rich in theirs. “Stop and frisk,” “broken windows,” and “zero-tolerance” policing don’t exist on New York’s Park Avenue or in Baltimore’s affluent zip codes.

Thankfully, change is coming and will come, but only when we insist on it. Marilyn Mosby, the courageous Baltimore City Attorney who charged six policemen with homicide in Freddie Gray’s death, responded to the people’s demand for justice. This is how change happens. Social Security, Medicare, collective bargaining rights, civil rights, voting rights, women’s rights, LGBT rights—all come first from the streets to the courthouses and legislative chambers, not the reverse.

Despite terrible recent events, these are actually exciting times, as dynamic new movements of people with creative young leaders are fighting to determine their own futures. The Occupy movement of 2011 changed the national political focus from austerity to income inequality. The Dreamers have put their lives on the line to bring 11 million immigrants out of the shadows. The Fight for $15 is demanding economic justice for our working poor. Black Lives Matter Because All Lives Matter is being felt in every city in these United States. We in 1199SEIU are proud to have stood and marched alongside these movements, and we will continue to do so. No Justice, No Peace.

Wall Street, Not Protesters, Lit the Match in Baltimore. Years of economic neglect, racism and oppression boiled over with Freddie Gray’s killing.

THE PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

George Gresham


In two special elections on May 5, 1199SEIU members once again proved their ability

to flex their political muscles and get results. In Brooklyn, energized delegates, political activists and member volunteers helped Diana Richardson to cross the finish line and into the seat representing Assembly District 43. Richardson fills the seat vacated by Karim Camara, who stepped down to join the Governor’s office. Members also supported with a yeoman’s effort Vinnie Gentile’s unsuccessful bid to replace disgraced former Congressman Michael Grimm in Congressional District 11, which covers all of Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn.

In the four-way Assembly race, community activist Richardson, a former healthcare worker, handily defeated her opponents. Her district is a sizable swath of central Brooklyn that includes the neighborhoods of Crown Heights, Flatbush, Lefferts Gardens and Prospect Gardens.

Richardson knows her community:

she was born and raised in Crown Heights and is raising her son Isaac there.

Marva Baker, a unit clerk at Brooklyn Hospital, campaigned for Richardson on Election Day and during the weekend leading up to it.

“People are suffering. The cost of living is going up. Transit fares are going up, and people are making minimum wage. People can’t continue to live like this. I’m not in that position thanks to my Union, but I’m out here for the people who are,” says Baker. “People can’t continue to pay these expensive rents. I’m out here for our community—to change things. We’ll do it step by step, and electing Diana is the first step. She is the beginning. She is someone who understands the problem.” In the weeks leading up to Election Day, members fanned out across Richardson’s district, going door-to-door and talking with their union brothers and sisters about the importance of voting. 1199ers made sure people got to the polls; turnout was critical to Richardson’s victory.

“I’m a new delegate. I wanted to know what our political action program was all about, but I also really want to make things better in our community,” says Liz Henry, a housekeeping worker at Kingsbrook Jewish Hospital in Brooklyn. “I know that Diana can do that. She’ll be there. When we went to the doors people were really concerned about housing. Rents are really high and the conditions they live in are terrible in some of these buildings. People need changes and Diana will be a voice for us in Albany.” Retiree Raimundo Valdes was among the members who volunteered on Staten Island for Vincent Gentile’s congressional race. Valdes, undeterred by the election result, praised Gentile and the hard work of his Union sisters and brothers.

“We knew this one was an uphill battle and still there was a lot of terrific 1199 energy on this campaign,” says Valdes. “Vinnie Gentile was a great candidate, a former NYS Senator and NYC Councilman with 18 years’ experience. We will be back to Staten Island next year for the general election.”

InTheRegions

NEW YORK

NYC 1199ers Flex Their Muscle in Two Special Elections Diana Richardson Will Be a Voice for Us in Albany.

The hard work of 1199ers made the difference in a special election on May 5 in Brooklyn, NY and helped elect Diana Richardson to the NYS Assembly.

1199ers joined hundreds of workers and community activists on May 1, International Worker’s Day, in a march across midtown Manhattan calling for immigrant and worker justice and an end to the police violence used against people of color and the poor. 1199SEIU Exec VP Steve Kramer joined a roster of speakers at a post-march rally that included labor and its allies from across the spectrum. “We have to keep fighting together,” said Kramer, who led the crowd in a spirited round of chants before he spoke. “They want to intimidate us and for us to back down. But we have to stand together and keep fighting.”

May Day: And Justice For All

ON MAY 1, WORKERS’ POWER TURNED AN informational picket at The Emeralds North and South Nursing Homes in Buffalo, NY into a celebration. A

months-long battle for better health coverage ended in victory.1199SEIU’s several dozen Emeralds members at gathered

for a May Day demonstration to protest changes to their health coverage. The Emeralds, formerly owned by the Presbyterian Homes and named Harbor Health and Hawthorne Health, were sold two years ago to Ben Landa. Some 200 1199SEIU members at the institution, including CNAs and dietary and environmental workers, are covered under an existing three-year collective bargaining agreement. In spite of that the new owners—who include Landa and a consortium of investors—made unilateral changes to the health plan that doubled co-pays and reduced coverage.

Workers fought the changes and won. And since arbitration and a contract negotiation and settlement process that began nearly five months ago, workers have been waiting for the implementation of the health plan they negotiated. (The arbitrator also ordered the employer to pay the difference between the copays of the former health plan and the one instituted by the new employer.)

On May 1, International Workers’ Day, 1199ers at The Emeralds were just about ready to tell bosses they’ve had enough when management offered a settlement pledge that will finally put the health plan in place. The union negotiating team and delegates met and signed off on the agreement, halting the picket.

“We’ve been fighting for affordable quality health insurance at The Emeralds for a while. We stood our ground, because being able to take care of ourselves is essential to being able to come to work and make sure our residents our cared for,” says environmental services worker Virginia Holt. “That’s why we were unanimous in support of the agreement.”

Ready for a May Day Picket, Buffalo Nursing Home Workers End Up Celebrating


After months of unsuccessful efforts to reach a contract settlement, the 56 caregivers

of the for-profit Consulate of North Fort Myers nursing home held a 48-hour strike that began on Monday, April 13.

While the decision to strike was unanimous, it wasn’t easy. The workers were simply frustrated by management’s refusal to propose what workers at 17 other 1199SEIU-represented Consulate facilities in Florida already have. The caregivers felt they had no choice and needed to send a clear message to Consulate.

“What we’re asking for is simple. We’re only asking for the same thing that thousands of other Consulate employees across Florida already have. No more. No less,” explains Gail Bruno, a certified nursing assistant with more than 17 years at Consulate of North Fort Myers.

As word spread, Consulate workers received an outpouring of support from other local unions and community members. Throughout the day, active and retired members from the Southwest Florida AFL-CIO, United Auto Workers, and the Southwest Florida Professional Firefighters and Paramedics (Local 1826) joined the picket line in solidarity. Family members of patients provided water and refreshments to show their appreciation and support. All four local news stations covered the strike. And after 48-hours

of vibrant chanting, singing, and calling out Consulate from the picket line, caregivers returned to work with their heads held high.

Consulate Health Care is the industry’s largest provider in Florida. The company promises that it is “at the heart of caring,” yet many Consulate facilities, including North Fort Myers, have a history of being placed on Florida’s Nursing Home Watch List. Public records show that Consulate facilities in Florida have earned a number of state and federal fines over the last few years of more than $1.5 million.

Last year, 17 Consulate Health Care facilities represented by 1199SEIU, settled contracts that guarantee fair pay and better working conditions. On July 17—just on the heels of those agreements—caregivers at Consulate’s North Fort Myers facility voted to join 1199SEIU. More than eight months later workers at the North Fort Myers institution have yet to see a proposal on wages and health care.

“We work hard every day to care for our residents,” says Bruno. “But we also need to care for our residents.”

At press time, negotiations were scheduled to resume on May 27. Consulate Health Care workers have demanded that management come to the bargaining table with fair proposals on the outstanding articles.

FLORIDA

Florida Caregivers at Strike for Dignity and Respect

Over 160 caregivers at the Baptist Home Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Scotia, NY, voted

overwhelmingly on April 24 to join 1199SEIU. The new bargaining unit includes certified nursing assistants, restorative aides, housekeeping, laundry and transporters.

Baptist Home workers organized when it became apparent that chronic staff and supply shortages and management disrespect were impacting their ability to care for residents.

“We came together because we

needed to make a change for our residents and ourselves,” says Amina Benjamin, a CNA who has been at Baptist for almost 18 years. “We feel great about this victory.”

Caregivers at Baptist were supported in their organizing efforts by Schenectady County legislators Karen Johnson, Gary Hughes, Philip Fields and Anthony Jasenski, who called on management to respect the workers’ right to a union and joined workers at a walk-in at the facility.

“Many of the Baptist employees live in the county I represent and I

felt it was important that I support them in their effort for good jobs and improvements in care for the elderly and vulnerable members of our community,” says Fields. “By achieving good union jobs these workers will help improve our local economy and will be able to spend more time with their families, enriching the next generation.”

“It’s like a burden has been lifted off of our backs,” says CNA Benjamin. “Now, we can work to achieve better staffing levels, affordable health care, fair wages and respect.”

NEW YORK

In Scotia, NY, Baptist Home Workers Choose 1199SEIU

Workers at FountainView Care Center in Lakewood, NJ, became the newest New Jersey members of 1199SEIU on March 26 after voting 54–27 to join the union. FountainView’s 107 caregivers, who work as certified nursing assistants (CNAs), dietary aides, recreation aides, housekeepers,

and maintenance workers, saw 1199SEIU membership as an opportunity to speak out for better patient care and win vital improvements on the job, said FountainView CNA Sheila Paravate.

“We formed a union so we can be voice for our residents,” explains Paravate. “Here we are, saving lives and doing hard work, but facing problems of no job security and working short-staffed. This is what motivated us to join 1199.”

Jovon Brooks works in FountainView’s dietary department and admits that he was skeptical at the start of the organizing campaign.

“I didn’t know what a union meant and what we were missing out on,” says Brooks. “But the more I learned about 1199 and the contracts that workers have at other nursing homes, the more I realized how unfair we were being treated. It’s not right that we do the exact same job, but get less in return.”

CNA Gerlisa Davis, on the other hand, was very familiar with 1199SEIU. She’d been a member at another nursing home several years ago, and immediately became active in the drive to bring the union to FountainView.

“I knew that this was our chance to win positive changes, including more affordable health benefits, which is very important to me,” she says. “I’ve been here eight years but had to drop my health insurance because I just can’t afford the premiums.”

With their union victory FountainView members are preparing to enter contract negotiations.

NEW JERSEY

NJ Caregivers Say Yes to 1199SEIU: “We formed a union so we can be a voice for our residents.”

Workers at Consulate North Ft. Meyers held a two-day strike May 13-15. It was the first time workers at the institution walked a picket line in a strike.

Workers at FountainView Nursing Home in Lakewood, NJ after their March 26 vote in favor of joining 1199.


InTheRegions

Thanks to a broad campaign, 1199SEIU was able to achieve virtually all

of its healthcare priorities in this year’s New York State budget.

Among the highlights of the $142 billion budget are $700 million in capital dollars to replace aging facilities in Brooklyn such as Brookdale, $400 million to help geographically isolated hospitals become more sustainable, $300 million for facilities in Oneida County and $285 million for the Vital Access Provider (VAP) program, which provides operating assistance to financially distressed healthcare institutions.

“I spoke to the press and called legislators on behalf of hospitals in my region,” says Kathy DeForest, a veteran RN at Auburn Community Hospital in New York’s Cayuga County. “Our work helped to prevent the loss of VAP funding for Auburn Community and other isolated institutions.”

The budget also allows for the expiration of two hospital Medicaid cuts, and eliminates a proposed cut to safety net hospitals eligible for a federal drug discount program. It includes authority for a Basic Health Program (BHP), which would create a state-sponsored health plan for New Yorkers between 138% and 200% of the poverty level.

Some $46 million is included for the Nursing Home Advanced Training Initiative. And a threatened 15% cut to funds that support many of the

NEW YORK

Member Activism Achieved NYS Budget Victory1199SEIU members

at Gowanda Rehabilitation and

Nursing Center in Western New York got a powerful boost recently when the facility’s 37 LPNs unanimously ratified their first contract. The nurses joined the Union late last year.

“This is priceless to me. I’m so proud to be a part of making positive changes for the caregivers and our residents,” says LPN Kelly Crowley. “Our contract makes Gowanda a better place to work. We can give our residents the care they deserve, and at the same time know we can care for ourselves and our families.”

The collective bargaining agreement includes a 4.5% wage increase over two years and longevity bonuses. Also important: the nurses now have health benefits, a retirement plan through the 1199SEIU Regional Pension Fund, and opportunities for upgrading and education through the Greater New York Training Fund. They join 135 CNAs and laundry, housekeeping, dietary and activities workers who are already 1199SEIU members and already have a contract. Both 1199SEIU contracts will expire in April 2017.

“Now that we have a legally binding contract, I feel like our jobs are more secure,” says LPN Chalis Barrett. “We also have much better health insurance at a much lower rate, and other benefits including a pension and an education fund. This contract means a better work environment for everyone.”

New YorkContract Win for Gowanda Rehab LPNs

By an overwhelming majority, 1199SEIU members at Vassar Brothers

Medical Center in Poughkeepsie, NY, on April 20 ratified a new collective bargaining agreement. The new contract is effective through Sept. 30, 2018 and covers about 650 workers at the hospital, including nursing assistants and service, maintenance and technical workers.

Negotiations began earlier this year. Among top concerns for 1199ers at Vassar were improving wages, and protecting health, pension, and job security benefits. The settlement includes health insurance through the National Benefit Fund, with no premiums, copays or deductibles, and annual wages increases. Members also will continue coverage under a fully funded pension plan and the several smaller Funds that make up the 1199SEIU Employment, Training and Job Security Program (ETJSP). The Labor Management Initiative at

Vassar is also secure. Representatives of professional and technical classifications met with management 30 days after ratification to review titles, wage scales and an additional two days for continuing education. At press time, the outcome of those talks was pending.

Workers say negotiating the new agreement took perseverance and unity, especially with the healthcare industry in transition. In a written statement released after the contract ratification, members of Vassar’s negotiating committee indicated they were pleased with the current settlement and were looking ahead toward the future. The statement in part read: “Now that we have a contract, there is still work to do. We must hold the employer accountable to the promises they made at the bargaining table. And importantly, we must work together to transform more healthcare work into the good union jobs of the future.”

NEW YORK

Contract Victory at Vassar Brothers Hospital

NYS budget victory provides money for many of the state’s distressed hospitals including Interfaith Medical Center in Brooklyn.

Tanaya Daniels, who works in radiology at Vassar Brothers Hospital in Poughkeepsie, NY, casts her vote at contract ratification on April 20.

““The activism of our members together with the community has been key. Having a strong Union makes a difference.

Union’s Training and Education Fund initiatives was rejected.

“I was joined by other nurses and community residents at a Department of Health hearing in Albany,” says Iona Folkes, an RN at St. John’s Episcopal Hospital on the Rockaway Peninsula. St. John’s also will receive VAP funding.

“We are essential to our community, just as we were when we were struck by [Superstorm] Sandy,” Folkes stresses. “We are a cushion and lifeline for the Rockaways. The activism of our members together with the community has been key. Having a strong Union makes a difference.”


Our Union

Did you know that when you’re being treated by a doctor or at a hospital 75 percent of the information used to diagnose your condition comes from someone you’ll probably never meet? Clinical laboratory scientists provide doctors and other professionals with the test results they depend on to make diagnoses; these lab workers are highly trained, including helping determine the presence or absence of disease and of other specializations. They provide the best data to physicians to help determine the appropriate courses of treatment. “Practically every doctor, pharmacist, nurse, x-ray technologist, nurse practitioner, physician assistant and all of the other professions at some point during the day depend on getting the results of a test I do,” says Jack Blackhall, a clinical laboratory scientist at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City for 26 years. “And we’re constantly reminded of that because we get regular phone calls asking for the results.” During the week of April 19 - 25, thousands of clinical laboratory scientists across New York State participated in Lab Week, which is held each year to celebrate the profession and educate the public and other healthcare workers about the lab professional’s role. This year’s theme was “Invisible Heroes,” which called attention to clinical lab scientists’ behind the scenes work, which helps diagnose contagious disease, and supports surgeons during complex operations in the administration of life-saving medical treatments. “I had a lab tech come in and say, ‘Wow, look at all of these machines.’ Tests that used to take a week now take an hour because the machines are so sensitive,” says Elvis Gonzalez, who has worked as a clinical laboratory scientist at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center for 25 years. “But you still need people who can fix the machines and understand what to do when they break down.” Another major concern for the profession, says Gonzalez, is retention. The low salaries and lack of respect for their abilities are driving people out of the field, he says. “We are required to have a four-year degree. People who go to school for a two-year degree can make more money than us doing other things, and that’s a problem,” he says. “People in this field love the work, but they wonder why they should stay if they can make more money doing something else.” Gloria Flamenco, who has worked at NYU Langone’s Cancer Center for three years, says it’s often simply a practical choice about being able to pay the bills. “I have a master’s degree. I’m still paying it off. It’s worthless. I have twice as many student loans. But the truth is that I really enjoy my job, and I don’t know if I would like working somewhere else,” she says. “We get raises through the union, but the field’s salaries aren’t going up. People ask, ‘Why stay in this field if we’re not making a lot?’ I’m from Mississippi, and I can tell you it’s not just here in New York City. They’re not making enough down South either.” Ingrid Morales-Michael, a medical technologist at NYU Langone for 22 years, says the satisfactions of the job outweigh the difficulties. “As far as the public is concerned we’re phlebotomists,” says Morales-Michael with a sigh. “They get their blood drawn, they get results, and that’s it.” “But there’s a satisfaction in being a part of the medical team,” she continues. “Our patients may not know us, but we’re familiar with them. It’s difficult when patients’ results are not good. Sometimes we cry when we’re doing tests. Or, if it’s happy news, we rejoice and do a high-five before we call the doctors.”

“Our patients may not know us, but we’re familiar with them.”

Our Clinical Lab Scientists Are

INVISIBLE HEROES

“

“

Practically every doctor, pharmacist, nurse, x-ray technologist, nurse practitioner, physician assistant and all of the other professions at some point depend on getting the results of a test I do.


Jack Blackhall has been a clinical lab scientist an NYU Langone Medical for 26 years.

“It’s difficult when patients’ results are not good,” says NYU Langone’s Ingrid Morales-Michael.

NYU Langone’s Gloria Flamenco has been clinical lab scientist for two years at the hospital’s Cancer Center.


Tens of thousands rally in national day of action for livable wages and union rights.

1199ers Hit The

Streets to Fight for

$15!IN SOME 200 CITIES ACROSS THE country, April 15 marked a national day of action. Working people from every labor sector—fast food, academia, hotels and hospitality, child care, home care, retail and scores of others—rallied, marched, and demonstrated for a fair, livable wage of $15 an hour and the right to join a union.

Among them were thousands of 1199SEIU members who brought the purple power to demonstrations in at least seven cities between Buffalo and Miami, including a massive rally and march on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, which drew an estimated 15,000 people.

“Unity is strength and solidarity is important so that they can see we are all on the same page. We are in an economic downturn and people need an increase in salaries to improve their living conditions. Fifteen an hour is not too much to ask compared to the prices of things these days. Everything is going up except people’s salaries,” says Marcia Butler Hurlington, an RN at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, NY.

The day began with coordinated demonstrations at McDonald’s restaurants in 40 cities. McDonald’s, along with Walmart, has become a symbol of corporate greed and

a driver of income inequality. The actions were followed up by marches and rallies.

Tomasina Jessup, a CNA at Hudson Park Nursing Home in Albany, NY, was among the more than two dozen 1199ers who attended a noon rally in front of the Empire State Plaza McDonald’s in Albany.

“By now, the public knows that a higher minimum wage is necessary to close the gap through which the rich get richer and the rest of us either tread water or drown,” said Jessup, who joined a sizable contingent of fast food workers, airport workers, janitors and adjunct professors. “Worker productivity has soared while wages have barely moved. Our economy is growing, but only people in the top one percent are benefitting from it. We must get back on the right path again, back to the days when the middle class was strong, when Union membership was high.”

Together with the Union’s several-thousand strong Massachusetts region April 14 march and rally, which kicked off the protests, some 60,000 people participated in events nationwide. Several labor experts estimated it to be the largest show of low-wage worker strength in U.S. history.

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1. Showing love at the Fight for $15 in Syracuse, NY.

2. Massachusetts led off the national day of action with a series of April 14 marches and rallies. Shown is the Boston march.

3. Washington, D.C.’s demonstration at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial.

4. NYC’ s midtown Manhattan march turned out thousands of 1199ers, with a particularly strong

showing from homecare workers.

5. Workers in Rochester, NY made heard loud and clear the demand for $15 and a union.

6. Florida workers held actions several cities; they’ve had enough of poverty wages and want free and fair union elections.

7. In Buffalo, NY hundreds turned out for Fight for $15 demonstrations throughout the day.

8. Workers demonstrate at a McDonald’s in Poughkeepsie, NY.

9. In New Brunswick, NJ, workers held an indoor Fight for $15 rally.

PHOTOS:

1. ALLISON KRAUSE2. JIM TYNAN3. JAY MALLIN4. BELINDA GALLEGOS5. MIKE BRADLEY6. TOBIAS PACKER8. JOSEPH STRATFORD9. BRYN LLOYD-BOLLARD

Hopkins workers reap benefits of last year’s contract victory.

A LIVING WAGECHANGES LIVES

During last year’s contract campaign, 1199ers at Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins Hospital declared that their fight was for better care, better jobs and a better Baltimore. The key demand of the 2,000 technical, maintenance and service workers was a $15 an hour minimum wage. All of the most senior workers achieved that goal.

“For me, it was a first step to a new life,” says Brenda Streams, a Hopkins environmental services worker for the past 22 years. With her raise, Streams and her partner, a Baltimore auto mechanic, were able to put a down payment on a home in the city’s Washington Village.

Prior to last year’s contract win, a significant raise was a rarity for Hopkins’ workers. The prestigious institution, which in recent years has opened billion-dollar buildings with state-of-the-art equipment, had vigorously resisted every attempt to pay its workers a living wage. Management’s unwillingness to negotiate a contract with reasonable pay led to the Union’s wide-ranging campaign.

Throughout the campaign, which drew support from a diverse coalition of allies, workers pointed out that more than one out of five Baltimoreans lived below the poverty level. And because one in five Baltimore jobs is in the healthcare industry, raising living standards for caregivers would boost the local economy and help revitalize the city.

As in many once-thriving industrial cities, such as Detroit, Cleveland and Baltimore, union jobs in industries like auto, rubber and steel have been replaced by low-paying service jobs. The overwhelming majority of Baltimore’s jobs are in health care, retail, hospitality and human services. The city’s future depends to a large extent on raising wages for those workers.

Streams is a case in point. With her raise, she was able to move from Cherry Hill, a once thriving neighborhood, which, in spite of its favorable location, failed to receive the social services and attract the needed retail and commercial institutions.

Streams says she was determined to live with dignity and economic security. She took a step in that direction when she and her partner moved to Washington Village, a neighborhood in the Southwest District of Baltimore. It is one of the city’s few residential communities that is racially, culturally and economically diverse.

“We have everything we need here,” Streams says proudly. “There are two bedrooms, three bathrooms, dining room, kitchen, basement and back yard. I especially like having my own bathroom.”Streams is also within walking distance of Pearl Park, where she walks her two dogs. “It’s wonderful,” she says of the park. “There’s always plenty of people and families playing ball and different games and having cookouts.

“I’ve gotten two raises since we ratified the contract,” Streams says. “The raises weren’t big, but every little bit helps.”

Our Union

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Johns Hopkins environmental worker Brenda Streams.


The March To JusticeOn April 13, a couple dozen members of the Justice League NYC—a diverse 1199SEIU-supported task force of young activists, artists and professionals dedicated to reforming the juvenile and adult justice systems—headed out of Staten Island on foot into New Jersey, from where they would eventually make their way to Washington, D.C.

It was the beginning of the 240-mile March2Justice, which brought the group together with a handful of 1199SEIU officers and staff and other coalition partners who were walking down the eastern seaboard to make a stand against police violence. And the often-deadly police tactics historically used against people of color and the poor. A contingent of 1199 members from New York and New Jersey saw the group off.

“It’s important to support people when they’re involved in activities like this. There are so many things going on the world today that are unjust and lives matter—whether it’s Black lives, young lives, Caucasian lives—all lives matter,” said Keisha Wallace an LPN at Avalon Gardens in Smithtown, NY.

This was also the day after Freddie Gray was arrested and sustained fatal injuries while in police custody.

The marchers arrived in Baltimore in time to join the protests against Gray’s violent treatment by police. And when they made it to Washington, D.C. on

Justice

FREDDIE GRAY Every Day Somebody is

Terrell Jones, 31, a floor tech at Future Care Coldspring in Baltimore: “Freddie was just trying to make his way. People like him are just trying to stay out of trouble on the streets and always they get labeled a thug or a drug dealer,” says Jones. “It’s a bad situation. It has always happened down here. They are constantly using excessive force.”

Protests force the country to look at the reality of poverty, racism and neglect.


April 21, they marched and rallied at the U.S. Capitol; 1199ers were among the group that greeted them.

“We have to keep this up. We can’t just have a march today and then just let the issue go,” says Jennifer Bangura, a delegate at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. “Right now you have people marching all around the United States. The police are supposed to protect, not kill. There’s too much racism. We can’t count on Obama to do everything. I have a daughter and I’m always telling her ‘When the police pull you over, don’t argue.’ Because they can kill you and get away with it.”

Protests, Not RiotsTerrell Jones, a floor tech at Future Care Coldspring in Baltimore, says Bangura is right. It’s why there are thousands of nameless Freddie Grays in Baltimore and everywhere in the country, says Jones. He could have been among them.

“I’ve been working at this job for six years,” he says. “Before this, if I was out, the police would take me in behind Walgreens and beat me up. They label you. They think you’re something you’re not.

“Freddie was just trying to make his way. People like him are just trying to stay out of trouble or the streets and they label you a thug or a drug dealer,” says Jones. “It’s a bad situation. It has always happened down here. They are constantly using excessive force on us.”

Jones, 31, grew up in Baltimore

and with his wife is raising three young daughters and a stepson in the city. His late sister was a cousin to Gray. Over the years, says Jones, he’s seen his city become ever more impoverished with few resources for those in need and the working class. The violence that exploded after Gray’s funeral wasn’t so much unrest as it was a long-time coming expression of anger and disappointment.

“This was not our fault. This was their fault. We have nothing. We have Ravens Stadium, Camden Yards and a casino. Those are things people here can’t afford. They blamed us for destroying the city. This city was already destroyed,” says Jones. “It was like dominoes. It travels. You pushed one and it traveled all the way down. I never imagined it happening here, but we all just want what’s better for our kids and better for ourselves.”

Hope for the Future“It’s sad that people have to resort to violence, but I think what happened was a good thing. Our city is so undervalued. We feel so much love for it. The whole community can connect though this,” says Dinesha Proctor an environmental services worker at Johns Hopkins Medical Center.

Proctor, 27, is a single mom, raising her five-year-old son Jeremiah in the city’s Edmonton Village neighborhood.

“I have to have conversations with my son that other mothers don’t have to have with their children because of our

history, and that’s not fair. But it’s our reality and right now there’s nothing I can do about it. But maybe something will change in the future,” she says, her voice wavering between resignation and frustration.

Proctor grew up in Baltimore. She’s tired of residents being blamed for the city’s struggles.

“If you just focus on the riots you don’t see the problem. The problem is what’s happening in Ferguson and New York and everywhere else. It’s not people tearing up the city—you have to ask why. Now people are going to have to step up and take responsibility,” she says. “You can’t just throw a blanket on a fire. You still see the smoke.”

The morning after the demonstrations, a crew of about 20 1199SEIU members and staff were out in the streets, brooms in hand, cleaning up neighborhoods and lending a hand to affected residents and businesses. Members like Brian Alston, a floor tech at Genesis Healthcare-Perring Parkway, believe it’s vital to keep this moment growing into a movement to make real change for the future.

“We can’t go back to business as usual. Our politicians have to be held accountable. Our union has always worked to support elected officials that will listen to us,” says Alston. “So when the people we vote for don’t support the community, we need to go back and put pressure on them.”

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If you just focus on the riots you don’t see the problem. The problem is what’s happening in Ferguson and New York and everywhere else.

FREDDIE GRAY Dinesha Proctor, an environmental services worker at Johns Hopkins Medical Center, with her five-year-old son Jeremiah. “I have to have conversations with my son that other mothers don’t have to have with their children because of our history and that’s not fair.”


T HE WOR K W E DO

The Institute For Family Health In East Harlem, NYCMembers of 1199SEIU at The Institute For Family Health (IFH) work in a dozen clinics throughout Manhattan and the Bronx. Their mission is to provide a full range of high-quality health care to underserved neighborhoods. Our Life And Times visited one of IFH’s sites in New York City’s East Harlem, where 1199ers work in almost every area—from urgent care to dental care. Though healthcare reform has increased the use of this model—the self-contained, full-service clinic—it hasn’t changed members’ dedication to their patients and community.

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1. Thomas Sandimanie has worked in maintenance for three years. “Some of the things I do are making sure that the garbage is picked up, the floors are cleaned and the lightbulbs are changed,” he says. “It’s very important for the safety of the patients and workers. We have to make sure that we have a healthy environment for everyone.”

2. “This is a very, very busy high volume clinic, but it’s also a very rewarding job,” says dental office assistant Shaniqua Wood, who’s worked at IFH for two years.

3. Dental office assistant Kunchok Dolma preparing packets of dental instruments for sterilization. “Sometimes we have a single person assigned here. If the doctors don’t need us at a moment, we can work as a team to get this done. That’s helpful because it’s so busy here sometimes,” says Dolma.

4. Michelle Lee started out as an LPN at IFH and completed her RN degree through the 1199SEIU ETJSP. “Today I’m working in urgent care. We determine whether they need to see a provider or if it’s something that we can help them with here,” she says. “I love urgent care because every day is different, and I learn something new every day.”

5. Dental office assistant Lauren Ourant, shown preparing a patient for x-rays, sees as many as 24 patients in a day. “On a busy day we can be assisting two doctors at one time,” she says. “We do everything here—pediatric, periodontal; we have an oral surgeon that comes in once a week. I’m even equipped to handle the front desk if needed.”

6. Dana White has been a dental office assistant at IFH for two years. “I started in high school,” she says. “I had a friend who referred me to this job and I love it. I’m not exhausted at the end of the day. I feel like I’ve done a good thing. I feel like I’ve done a service for the community.”

7. Medical assistant Carlyle Escourse is an 1199SEIU delegate at IFH. “We have patients with all types of different diseases and it’s important that we see them and get them their medication,” he says. “Patients with diabetes and hypertension come here on a regular basis to see their doctors. This is preventive medicine. We try to prevent people from having to go into the hospital by following up with them and getting them their meds.”

8. Shirley Prudoth is a new RN who was previously a nutritionist in IFH’s WIC Program before getting her nursing degree through 1199SEIU’s Employment, Training and Job Security Program (ETJSP). “I love it because I got to transition into this job without leaving the community. I’ve been here for five years and I love working with the people here. I can relate to them,” says Prudoth. “And being a nurse has always been my goal because I’ve always been a nurturer and a caregiver.”

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Thousands of 1199SEIU members are LGBTQ—lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer. The “q” in the acronym could also stand for questioning.

LGBTQ activists within the Union and labor as a whole are helping to explode divisive myths, break down barriers and increase equality by strengthening the ties between the LGBTQ communities and labor.

“I became a delegate about 20 years ago after I stood up to management on behalf of some of my co-workers,” recalls Kevin Gyseck-Strauss, a lead sonographer in the radiology department of Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie, NY.

Gyseck-Strauss also is a member of 1199SEIU’s LGBTQ/Lavender Caucus, which seeks to give LGBTQ members a greater voice in the Union and the broader labor movement.

“I was raised by a single mom who later married an African-American man. My stepfather remembered segregated bathrooms in the South,” Gyseck-Strauss says. “I believe the experiences of my mother and stepfather helped me to understand the common denominators among us all. It’s important that we all try to walk in other shoes. That helps us develop greater sympathy and compassion.”

Gyseck-Strauss married his childhood sweetheart in 2012, a year after marriage equality became law in New York State. But there is still work to do, he says.

The Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) is a proposed New York law, which adds gender identity and expression as a protected class in the state’s human rights and hate crimes laws.

“I’m working now to get our legislature to pass GENDA,” he affirms.Gyseck-Strauss credits 1199SEIU for helping him to remain active.

“In 1199SEIU there is an atmosphere of camaraderie and support,” he says “That makes it possible to come forward. No members should have to live in the shadows.”

“We are an important part of our communities, but too often we’re not seen for who we are,” says Sandra Matero, a resident clothing handler at NYU

Lutheran Augustana nursing home in Brooklyn and an LGBTQ/Lavender Caucus member.

“I’m proud of the work 1199SEIU does in our communities,” Matero says. “And I’m glad that the work includes the fight for the rights of everyone regardless of their sexual orientation. This is especially important for our young people.”

Matero was preparing to celebrate her first wedding anniversary in late May when she was interviewed by Our Life And Times.

Matero believes, as does Gyseck-Strauss, that we still have a long way to go. “Unfortunately in some environments our work is harder, because people still have issues,” she notes.

Gustavo De La Cruz, an RN at Miami’s Kendall Regional Center, also is working to change attitudes.

“Often those who are very religious oppose our rights,” De La Cruz says.

“They think gay marriage, for example, is against God’s will.”

De La Cruz, a member of the 1199SEIU/LGBTQ Caucus, has traveled to Tallahassee, Florida’s capital, in support of LGBTQ rights and marriage equality.

“In 1199SEIU, we fight for everyone’s rights to decent wages and benefits and for social equality,” he stresses. And he notes that this is one of the missions of the Caucus: organizing against all discrimination, especially that based on sex or gender, gender identity, sexual orientation or perceived orientation and/or marital status.

De La Cruz believes this work strengthens the individuals and the whole Union.

“It’s important for members to know that we are fighting for the wellbeing of all—for their protection and equality,” he says. “Those who are in the minority need to know that they have support.”

Among their major tasks, say Caucus members, is to continue to foster change within the Union’s culture. “For example, I don’t think there is sufficient support for, and understanding of, transgender people,” Gyseck-Strauss says. But he believes we’re up to the task. “Having the commitment and support of a Union like ours is amazing.”

Shoulder to Shoulder

Our Members

with LGBTQ 1199ersLavender is just another shade of purple.

No members should have to live in the

shadows.

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Solidarity

Two devastating earthquakes hit the country of Nepal in less than a month. The quakes to the region left people in desperate need of help. For Nepalese living here in the U.S., these are days of constant worry about their relatives and back home, says Buddha Maharjan, an x-ray technologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan who is from just outside Nepal’s capital city, Katmandu.

“When I woke up the morning of the first earthquake, I couldn’t reach my family. There were no phones, no nothing. I was able to get in touch after a few hours. They were so scared to go back into the house. Two of my relatives died,” says Maharjan, whose father, brother and in-laws live in Nepal.

“We are seeing Nepalis uniting as much as they can. It’s a good thing—nurses, the U.S. government and our Union 1199 are really trying to help in this big disaster,” says Maharjan. “We all come from different parts of the world, so we all know what happens when our communities suffer in disasters like in the Philippines and Haiti. I’d request from my brothers and sisters, if you can give a dollar or whatever you can to the Nepali community. They need our help.”

1199SEIU is asking members to help the region recover and is matching contributions dollar for dollar up to $20,000 in donations. To learn more about how you can help log on to www.1199SEIU.org/Nepal.

Our collective donations will support vital health services and frontline responders.

Please cut out this flyer and post it in your work place.

You Can Help Nepal

✂

E CARE FOR NEPAL

Join 1199 and the AAPI Caucus in supporting the people of Nepal and its frontline healthcare workers who have now dedicated their lives to bringing Nepal back to its feet.

TWO WAYS TO HELP:Visit 1199SEIU.org/Nepaland contribute via PayPal or

via check payable to1199SEIU UHWE / Nepal Fund

Mail to: 1199SEIU / Att. Gina Miller310 W. 43rd Street, 5th FloorNY, NY 10036Contributions to the 1199SEIU UHWE/Nepal Fund are not tax deductible as charitable contributions.

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On April 25, 2015 a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal. More than 5,500 died, 11,000 were severely injured and 70,000 houses were destroyed. So far, over 8 million local residents and visitors to Nepal and the surrounding regions have been affected by the quake.

Hundreds of healthcare workers from across the globe have come to Nepal to help in the aftermath. The same way 1199SEIU responded after the tragedies in the Philippines and Haiti, it is time to come together and support our sisters and brothers in Nepal as they try to save more lives and help long term rebuilding efforts.

When we 1199SEIU healthcare workers stand united, we know we can help those who most need our help. We can save lives by supporting programs that prevent the outbreak of life-threatening diseases like cholera. With our collective donations, we can support frontline health-care workers and �rst responders who are saving lives every day, even as they face their own families’ tragedies as victims of the earthquake.

@1199SEIU

/ 1199SEIU1199SEIU.org/Nepal

Buddha Maharjan, an x-ray technologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, lost relatives in the earthquakes.

Every Day Somebody Is Freddie Gray

THE BACK PAGE

Terrell Jones, a floor tech at Future Care Coldspring in Baltimore, says the violence after Freddie Gray’s funeral wasn’t a riot, but an expression of anger at long-endured racism and neglect. See story on page 10.

Photo by Jim Tynan

our life & times | may / june 2015

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