Family of Two District 1199 Members Receive SEIU Scholarships
Earlier this summer SEIU awarded two $1,500 scholarships to family of SEIU District 1199 members from the public division.

Ashley McConnell won on behalf of member Diane MCConnell from Cincinnati State Technical & Community College. Lauren Monroe also won on behalf of member Helen Moore of Youngstown Public LIbrary. Congratulations!

 

Williams Elected President of SEIU 1199

The results are in, and Becky Williams has been elected President of SEIU District 1199, to serve along with a team of District-wide Union officers and Executive Board representatives. Williams previously served as an 1199 Executive Vice President and Director of the Long Term Care Division. She has been on staff with SEIU District 1199 since 1992, and prior to that she was a rank-and-file member.

Other elected officers include: Secretary-Treasurer: Lisa Hetrick; Executive Vice Presidents: Al Bacon and Kathy McCormick; RN Vice President: Judy Maldonado; Kentucky Vice President: Larry Daniels; West Virginia Vice President: Carolyn Lafferty; Ohio Public Sector Vice President: Debbie Hazjak; Ohio State Chapter Vice President: Lance Franke; Ohio Private Sector Vice President: Annette Wisniewski; School & Local Govt Employee Vice President: Lynn Radcliffe.

To view results of Executive Board elections, click here. Any necessary run-off elections at the chapter-level are being scheduled. 

Plan For Labor Day Events Today
The North Shore AFL-CIO Labor Parade in Cleveland is Ohio's largest, and will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, September 1 at A.J. Rickoff Elementary at Union Ave and E. 116th St. The festival will follow, from noon until 6 p.m. at Luke Easter Park at Kinsman Ave. and E. 116th. It will be held in conjunction with the Labor Day picnic of the 11th Congressional District Caucus and Congresswoman's Stephanie Tubbs Jones.

The Lorain County Organized Labor Family Fun Festival will include entertainment, games, raffles, prizes, and 25-cent hot dogs. It will take place Sunday, August 31, from noon to 8 p.m. Cincinnati Labor Day activities will occur September 1 from noon to 5 p.m. at Coney Island. For more information, contact the Cincinnati AFL-CIO Labor Council at 513.421.1846. Watch this space for upcoming details of plans for other cities across District 1199.

SEIU District 1199 Urges "Health Care for America NOW"
With momentum building for fundamental change in the nation’s health care system, SEIU recently helped launch a new, national coalition uniting millions of Americans to demand quality, affordable health care for all.

Millions of Americans without health insurance face going broke, or even death, if they get sick. Millions more have plans that each year cost more but cover less. This crisis will only grow worse unless we find the will to act.

That's why the new coalition, Health Care for America NOW (HCAN), is calling for offering each consumer the choice of retaining current private coverage, choosing a new insurance plan, or joining a government-run plan. Other reforms supported by HCAN include greater regulation of health insurance companies, costs based on a family's ability to pay, and cost controls that don't sacrifice quality of care.

The coalition will concentrate on key congressional districts in 45 states, where they plan to deploy 100 organizers as well as running TV, print, and web ads. HCAN plans do not include involvement in the presidential contest, but Barack Obama's health care plan meets HCAN's principles and John McCain's plan does not. (Continue reading)

  

SEIU Calls For Comprehensive Hospital Staffing Standards
SEIU District 1199 has been working with Ohio legislators to craft a comprehensive hospital staffing bill that mandates appropriate levels of professional, technical and support staff -- along with RN-to-patient ratios.

Such ratios would be a more comprehensive approach to protecting hospital patient safety than the one promoted by the California Nurses Association (CNA). The legislation proposed by the CNA's "NNOC" would set minimum registered nurse-to-patient ratios similar to those that took effect in California in January 2004.

Although those ratios have gone a long way toward improving patient safety and nurse recruitment and retention in California, they also led to deep cuts in hospital support staff -- requiring registered nurses to pick up many of the tasks normally performed by other members of the health care team. (Click here to continue reading this article.)

  

SEIU Hits 2 Million; Convention Passes "Justice For All"

In a speech that brought down the house on the first day of SEIU's International Convention, President Andy Stern announced that the Union’s membership had grown to two million. The next day former SEIU 1199 WV/KY/OH President Dave Regan was elected to serve the International Union as one of the two additional Executive Vice Presidents.

SEIU members passed the “Justice For All” program to restore balance in our society between people who work and people with wealth, by uniting at least a half million more not-yet-union workers in the core industries of healthcare, property services, and the public sector over the next four years. At SEIU's Healthcare Division Leadership Assembly, 1,200 healthcare member delegates (representing 1.1 million SEIU Healthcare members) passed a plan to create nationwide bargaining councils within both the hospital and nursing home industries.

Fresh off of winning enough delegates to become the Democratic nominee the night before, Sen. Barack Obama addressed the SEIU convention on Wednesday. Watch him share his remarks below:

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