{"id":876364,"date":"2026-06-18T17:41:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T17:41:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/876364\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T17:41:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T17:41:22","slug":"thousands-of-1199seiu-health-care-workers-flood-foley-square-saying-they-cant-afford-the-city-they-care-for-amid-contract-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/876364\/","title":{"rendered":"Thousands of 1199SEIU health care workers flood Foley Square, saying they can\u2019t afford the city they care for amid contract fight"},"content":{"rendered":"

A sea of purple washed over Foley Square<\/a> on Wednesday evening as thousands of 1199SEIU<\/a> health care workers rallied for a new contract covering workers at hospitals and nursing homes across downstate New York.<\/p>\n

The workers, including nurses, emergency medical technicians, certified nursing assistants, home care workers, and other caregivers, are seeking what they described as a fair contract with raises, continued employer-paid health benefits, retirement protections, safe staffing provisions, workplace violence protections, and safeguards against job losses tied to artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n

The rally came as 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East<\/a> continues contract talks with the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes of New York, which represents employers in negotiations over a multi-employer collective bargaining agreement. <\/p>\n

The union represents more than 85,000 frontline caregivers at hospitals and nursing homes.\n<\/p>\n

\"\"Photo by Lloyd Mitchell \"\"Staten Island paramedic Jack ChapmanPhoto by Lloyd Mitchell<\/p>\n

At Wednesday\u2019s rally, Jack Chapman, a Staten Island paramedic, told the crowd that EMS workers are both health care workers and first responders, often bringing emergency care directly to patients in homes and on street corners.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for fair treatment,\u201d Chapman said, adding that wages have made it difficult to retain experienced EMTs and paramedics.<\/p>\n

Jean Roper, who said she has worked nearly 30 years at Silvercrest Center in Queens as a certified nursing assistant and unit manager, said nursing home workers care for residents physically, emotionally and psychologically \u2014 sometimes becoming the closest thing to family for patients who have no relatives left.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no dollar amount that can fully reflect the value of the work we do every day, but we\u2019re not looking to get rich,\u201d Roper said. \u201cWe just want to be able to pay our bills and put food on the table for our families.\u201d<\/p>\n

In bargaining updates posted on its website, the League said its goal is to reach an agreement that provides workers with \u201ccompetitive compensation, benefits, and a safe and supportive work environment.\u201d <\/p>\n

The League said it is optimistic a deal can be reached before the current contract expires Sept. 30, 2026.\n<\/p>\n

The League said it presented a three-year economic proposal that would maintain health care and pension benefits at no cost to employees while increasing base wages by 2.5% in October 2026, 2.5% in October 2027, 1.25% in October 2028 and another 1.25% in April 2029. <\/p>\n

The League said the proposal would increase wages by 7.7% over the life of the contract and add $2.1 billion in new spending on union compensation.\n<\/p>\n

According to the League\u2019s update<\/a>, union negotiators reiterated that 5% annual raises and maintaining benefits remained their top priorities.<\/p>\n

The League has been contacted for comment.\n<\/p>\n

Elected officials offer unions support<\/p>\n

Several elected officials joined the rally, including Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Attorney General Letitia James, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, and City Council Speaker Julie Menin.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Reynoso brought his mother, Maritza Sosa, to the stage, telling the crowd she had spent 37 years with 1199. He described himself as an \u201c1199 baby\u201d and said the union had shaped his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mother woke up every single day not to take care of herself, but to take care of others,\u201d Reynoso said. \u201cBut who\u2019s going to take care of my mother?\u201d<\/p>\n

Reynoso said workers should not have to fill the streets to demand dignity from employers.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should show up for you,\u201d he said. \u201cWe should tell you, thank you. We should praise you and your pay, your work, your health care, the dignity should be represented in how we treat you and how we take care of you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso stands with his mother, Maritza Sosa, onstage at Foley Square on WednesdayPhoto by Lloyd Mitchell \"\"Attorney General Letitia James joins 1199SEIU health care workers and supporters at Foley Square during Wednesday\u2019s contract rally.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell<\/p>\n

AG James told workers they were \u201cthe backbone of the medical system\u201d and said hospitals should return to the bargaining table and negotiate in good faith.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou deserve a contract that reflects your work,\u201d James said. \u201cYou deserve a contract that recognizes that you were there during COVID.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Mamdani said City Hall would stand with the workers, telling the crowd that a fair contract means pay that allows caregivers to live alongside the patients they care for, health benefits that let them get care themselves and job protections that keep them safe at work.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew York City is a union town, and we will always stand union strong,\u201d Mamdani said.\n<\/p>\n

\"\"Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during Wednesday\u2019s 1199SEIU health care workers\u2019 contract rally at Foley Square.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell \"\"Photo by Lloyd Mitchell<\/p>\n

Workers rallying for a new contract repeatedly framed the fight as both a labor issue and a patient care issue, with workers saying staffing, retention, and workplace safety directly affect the quality of care New Yorkers receive.<\/p>\n

Sheena Tannen, a registered nurse at Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center and a member of the union\u2019s negotiating committee, said safe staffing is \u201calways about the patient.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou put the worker in a safe condition to work,\u201d she said. \u201cYou put the patient in a safe condition to thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A sea of purple washed over Foley Square on Wednesday evening as thousands of 1199SEIU health care workers…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":876365,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[35],"tags":[282077,118265,356170,44650,210,1141,1142,5708,248857,350247,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-876364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health-care","tag-1199seiu","tag-comptroller-thomas-dinapoli","tag-congress-member-adriano-espaillat","tag-foley-square","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare","tag-mamdani","tag-mayor-mamdani","tag-union-negotiations","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116772346861953500","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/876364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=876364"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/876364\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/876365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=876364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=876364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=876364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}