We just closed a very exciting national convention of 1199 National Union of Hospital and Healthcare Employees.
The convention opened with a dynamic video of President Henry Nicholas’ 50 year history as an organizer, leader and warrior for justice. Henry took the podium calling for a joint campaign with AFSCME, SEIU, and 1199 to organize 10 million unorganized healthcare workers–a visionary call and extraordinary leadership. He said we can revive and renew the labor movement with a surge of healthcare organizing.
Then AFSCME President Lee Saunders gave an angry and determined speech about Republican assaults on public employees. Lee said we must turn this Republican anti-union moment into a revived labor movement.
SEIU President Mary Kay Henry closed the convention with a speech featuring the fight of low wage workers to raise the minimum wage and her own attack on income inequality. She said, “Time’s up on trickle down. The time is now to raise wages, raise our communities, and raise America… When we unite, we win.”
It was extraordinary to have the presidents of both SEIU and AFSCME at this one 1199 convention. Thirty years ago 1199 split with half becoming part of AFSCME and half becoming the healthcare wing of SEIU.
Now to have all of them together in the same house talking about a great national campaign focused on one entire American sector is not just a great and visionary idea, but the kind of unity and big thinking America’s labor movement needs.
Delegates from across America celebrated the great victory of the nurses and other workers at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Santa Fe. The convention began with an all day workshop and discussion of my free online book 18 Essential Things Every Organizer Must Have. There was town hall discussion about trends in healthcare and lots of delegate discussion. It was an extraordinarily successful convention focused on organizing.
Photo source: www.workers.org