Williams Elected Interim SEIU 1199 President As Regan Moves to Int'l

Members of the SEIU District 1199 Executive Board bid farewell to Dave Regan earlier this month and elected Becky Williams as interim president to fill Regan’s remaining term.

Regan, who served as president of District 1199 since 1996, was recently asked by SEIU president Andy Stern to run as an elected officer for the International Union as an Executive Vice President. “Rather than focusing exclusively on Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky, I’ll work to strengthen the labor movement in these states and beyond,” Regan said.

Prior to her election as interim president, Williams 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. “I am absolutely honored to have the opportunity to continue advocating on behalf of union and non-union workers as the interim president,” said Williams. “I am thoroughly committed to the issues that matter most to working people in Ohio.”

Williams will serve as interim president until July, when she will run for election to a full term. Click here for a copy of the official notice about July elections for SEIU 1199 officers and Executive Board members, and click here for a nominating petition.

SEIU Observes National Nursing Home Week
May 11-17 is National Nursing Home Week, and SEIU salutes nursing home residents as well as their caregivers -- both those caregivers in our Union as well as those still struggling for a voice on the job. The theme of this year's NNH Week is "Love is Ageless," which serves as a reminder to respect the dignity of residents and caregivers alike. SEIU members reiterate our call to couple such important recognition with concrete improvements to better value caregivers' contributions and to ensure consistently safe staffing on nursing home floors.

Ohio Healthcare Workers Defend Their Dream
Ohio employees of Catholic Healthcare Partners (CHP) have been campaigning for three years to win fair organizing rules free of traditional high-pressure tactics, so that they could vote on whether to form a union with SEIU District 1199. Days before 8,000 of them were about to realize their dreams and vote in NLRB elections, a hostile swarm of out-of-state organizers from the California Nurse's Association (CNA) descended on them and made their dream a distant hope. Urging "union no" votes, the CNA fabricated wild and false allegations that created confusion and fear among CHP employees.

After it became clear that a free and fair vote was no longer possible, SEIU and CHP decided to indefinitely postpone the elections that were previously scheduled for nine Ohio hospitals. The victims of this tragedy are hard-working nurses and other hospital employees who are being denied the chance to participate in decisions that affect themselves, their patients, and their livelihoods. Hear them speak for themselves about this heartbreaking turn in the following clip, then click here to continue reading this article.

SEIU District 1199 Salutes Women

March is the month officially designated to recognize the accomplishments of women. However, highlighting the myriad contributions of women should not be limited to a single month. Today, and everyday, SEIU District 1199 wants to recognize the many contributions that women make in our homes, our workplaces and our communities. Women have also made important contributions to this union and as well as the broader union movement. From former SEIU District 1199 leaders Roni Davis and Joyce Lundsford, this Union has been greatly enriched because of the contributions of women.

We've prepared a slide presentation that features the many women who work to make our Union great. Click here to view the presentation. The presentation is not exhaustive. If you or someone you know would like to include photos of the dynamic women in your life, please email your photos to jfarmer@seiu1199.org .

SEIU District 1199 is collecting used cell phones and other items to donate to advocacy and service organizations for victims of domestic violence in all three of our members' states.

As a health care and social service union, SEIU District 1199 is committed to working for economic and social justice for union members as well as for the broader community. The collection drive against domestic violence is one such opportunity.

Click here to find out how the program works or to download a flier for your state.
As part of our national 2008 American Dream campaign, SEIU District 1199 will again be bringing eligible members out on lost time to help win political races that are important to our members' futures. Click here to download the application to become a full- or part-time member political organizer. Simply fill out the application and submit it to your administrative organizer no later than June 2!

After 120 days of inaction by the Ohio General Assembly, representatives of the coalition for the Ohio Healthy Families Act, including many members of SEIU District 1199, announced on May 8 a second round of signature gathering in order to instead put the issue before voters in November. The HFA would require employers with 25 or more workers to allow full-time employees to earn 7 paid sick days per year and part-time workers to earn a pro-rated number of paid sick days. 2.2 million Ohio workers are currently unable to earn paid sick days.

HFA Campaign Spokesperson Dale Buckland said the overwhelming polling support for the HFA just shows the legislature’s overall indifference to the needs of Ohio workers. “They are too busy to hear facts, too busy to hear experts, and too busy to hear from regular people who elected them and asked to be heard,” Buckland said.

Citing public health dangers like the recent norovirus outbreak at a Chipolte Mexican Grill in Kent that led to 400 diners falling ill, HFA campaign representatives said that the proposed law would save businesses money and make Ohio one of the most family-friendly states in the country.

The HFA Campaign must collect an additional 120,680 signatures, on top of the quarter million already gathered, to place earned sick days on the November ballot.To find out how you can get involved in this cause, click here . For more information, go to Ohio Healthy Families Act or Healthy Families West Virginia .