November 18, 2021
Thousands of 1199SEIU nursing home workers held a march and rally Wednesday evening following months of stalled negotiations. Their contracts expired September 30th.
After assembling at 42nd and Broadway at 5PM they marched down 7th Avenue to 1199 HQ at 37th Street. There they rallied, held a candlelight vigil, and listened to speakers including Labor leaders and elected officials.
Among the latter, Governor Kathy Hochul, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, and NY Attorney General Tish James. They outdid each other in praising these front line workers who, they said, bore the brunt of the pandemic last year and have gone from ‘heroes to zeroes’ this year. Each of the speakers called on nursing home managements to end the workers’ economic uncertainty, particularly now heading into the holiday season, by signing a new contract ASAP. Good wages and health benefits are the workers’ demands.
A news release from 1199:
“The Holiday Season should be a time of celebration and giving. But 1199SEIU nursing home caregivers have been fighting since August for good wages, safe working conditions, affordable, comprehensive health benefits, and a dignified retirement. That’s over 33,000 nursing home workers from 250 facilities.
“These workers are heroes. They’ve made extraordinary sacrifices, reporting to work every day during the COVID-19 pandemic to care for their residents – at great risk to their own health. They helped residents recover – and far too often they watched them die.
“The pandemic exposed and worsened conditions in many for-profit nursing homes, many of which are short-staffed and lack adequate resources. That means residents don’t get the quality care they deserve because caregivers don’t have necessary resources to care for their residents and take care of their own families – especially during this Holiday Season.”
