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iSpeak on Requests for New Union Leadership
Next week, George Gresham and Maria Castaneda become 1199SEIU President and Secretary-Treasurer, joined by a newly elected Executive Council. If you had one suggestion for the new leadership, or one request, what would it be?
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We need to target our younger membership more strongly. Otherwise, our Union will be greatly affected
Anibal Sostre Jr
Storeroom clerk/cook
Bronx Lebanon Hospital Center
The Bronx, NY
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I would just hope that this new administration will take bolder steps in maintaining the foundation of which this union was built.
Renee Barden
Clerk
Montefiore Medical Center
The: Bronx, NY
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My suggestion to 1199 leaders, including Mr. Gresham, would be to visit all staff of the Legal Aid Society in all boroughs and help us organize for a better contract. Our contract is up in September 2007. If you read the last 1199 magazine you will see that we never received our fair share. We are in Health Systems 4 and members in hospitals as well as Legal Aid staff have had trouble getting fair contracts in the past. We're ready to fight but we need you to help lead us in this uphill battle.
Juan Alonzo
Paralegal
Legal Aid Society
NYC
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I work for Cedar Lodge Nursing Home and was supposed to get a raise in May first. We didn't get that one. Lets see what’s gonna happen on July first when we are due for another. We also haven't heard anything about the second half of our retro pay from last May 2006. Like I told the union guy that came to the nursing home-every time we are due for a raise, something always happens. I do have to admit that if it wasn't for the health benefits, you guys really stink. I thought a union was to fight for you. You guys really do a poor job. Everything else goes up except for our wages.
Doreen Gunderson
Activities
Cedar Lodge Nursing Home
Center Moriches, NY
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George Gresham has been our Secretary-Treasurer for many years. He has ssen and knows the fight and struggle of his people. Now, as he moves up to President, he has a bigger and more challenging job of his hands. My speech to you, Mr. President, is tojust stand tall, put your foot down and stand up for what you believe in. We members will be standing beside you and giving you the support that you need when you are out tere fighting for all of us brothers and sisters of this great union. Congratulations. We all love you.
Beverly Gordon Wells
Homecare worker
All Metro Health Care
Brooklyn, NY
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Stop treating your skilled tradesmen, i.e electricians, as housekeepers. We are sorely underpaid for our experience. Do you really think that a mechanic Electrician "A" is worth less than a city electrician helper? You have no idea how demeaning this is.
Conrad Fisher
Electrician A
Staten Island University Hospital
Staten Island, NY
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I would like to suggest that the new President and Secretary Treasurer hold management accountable for violations of the contract Presently at Montefiore Hospital, the nutrition dept has several issues and concerns that seem to not be taken seriously, and myself and other delegates need more union back-up.. We are tired of reaching out for help and not getting any. Now, HR has begun the process of writing up members of the department. Since when were they given the authority to give people "written warnings" and without any proof, and in the presence of the organizer and the organizer signs his name on the "written warning" and the HR rep signs her name? To my knowledge, write-ups come from the Dept. not HR. Why was this permitted? Some of these issues have been going on for years. If possible, sometime in the future and at Mr. Gresham's convenience, I would like him to meet with me and my co-delegates and three or four members of the dept. I wish that he could meet with the entire dept, but I know that's asking a bit much. Please respond. Thank you.
Yvette Ramsey
Cashier
Montefiore Hospital
The Bronx, NY
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Now that professionals are joining the union more and more these days, there is much talk about how the elections were conducted. Many delegates are now beginning to question how this process was initially implemented. Many of us are of the opinion that by mailing us a ballot with one name for President does not reflect the democratic process of a free election with competition at the ballot stage. This business of having petitions signed beforehand is really somewhat skewed. Many of our members will sign anything the Organizers put in front of them without question. Rank and filers are beginning to question the process by which you and other officers and Organizers were elected and/or re-elected. It is a new day and time to re-evaluate this process in exchange for a more informed choice and the opportunity to vote at the final stage of the election.
Michele Rubin
Social worker
RUMC
Staten Island, NY
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My Dearest 1199: We are at a crucial crossroads in history. Two critical areas that need the fullest attention in terms of improving upon quality of life enrichment opportunities are Health Care and Public School Education. As an 1199 member employed as an addictions therapist at a LTC facility in NYC and a father of 2 children aged 6 and 12, I have multiple priorities.
One, is to continue the fight to ensure a high standard of affordable quality heathcare services for all health care consumers and fair wages and maximum health care benefits for the 1199 workforce-which I believe constitutes the best of the best in frontline healthcare service provision locally and nationally.
I fully support our frontline work in the fight for health care reform(s). We are succeeding in uprooting the tree of social inequality in this area. To that end, we will press on to victory. Secondly, yet equal in priority as I see it, is K-12 public school education. I'm also a parent member of the Brooklyn Education Collaborative (BEC) and the Coalition for Education Justice (CEJ). BEC and CEJ are two progressive parent-led organizations fighting the good fight-to ensure that our greatest natural resource, our children, receive the quality public school education they deserve. Our children deserve a public school education rich in standards of teaching, learning, academic and social/emotional suports, full stakeholder accountability.
Our tax dollars demand that the Mayor and DOE guarantee the necessary levels of fiscal resources across all grade levels and communities. And so should 1199. It is in this area that I believe we (1199) need to up our commitment in terms of challenging and ultimately eliminating social inequalities. The Public School Education Reform Movement in NYC needs an organization like 1199 to get fully on the court and participate in the fight. As a father of two public school students, a grandfather, and an uncle to several others who are or will be attending public school, I challenge 1199 to join the fight to ensure that all public school education students receive an equitable and high quality education. Our children are our future, what better investment is there, than the one that can potentially achieve the most important return on investment - a better future for our most vulnerable, yet most valuable resource - our children.
In solidarity.
Tyrone "T. Thaddaeus Brown
Psychology / SAC
Terrence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center
New York City
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Our members would like reports as to what is discussed in Executive Council meetings. Decisions seem to be made without our input and without thought as to the effect on members in other parts of NY state besides NYC and the surrounding area. We have issues Upstate with communications, internally and externally that need to be addressed.
Kathy Ville
Administrative organizer
1199SEIU
Buffalo, NY
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You always talk about hospital and nursing home workers. What about homecare workers? Are we not important to the union also? What is happening with our health benefits? Are our famlies not important too? I would really like to know what’s really going on for us.
Angela McDonald
Home health aide
Care At Home
Brooklyn, NY
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Members need to know how to use the services that the union has available. There is no instructioin book with information for the members to contact the local. I am often asked questions about legal services, etc. that I cannot answer. For this reason, a lot of rank-and-file members do not support union programs.
William A. Pigford
Clerical specialist
Prince Georges Hospital
Cherverly, MD
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