Latest news with #1199
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Health care union president ousted in upset election
NEW YORK — Longtime labor leader George Gresham was toppled by his former lieutenants in a contentious race to lead the nation's largest health care union. Gresham, who became president of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East in 2007, lost his reelection bid by a resounding margin to challenger Yvonne Armstrong, who leads the union's long-term care division, according to data reviewed by POLITICO. Gresham's defeat ushers in a new chapter for the union, which represents 450,000 health care workers across five East Coast states and was once a powerhouse in New York politics. It is very rare for union heads to lose internal elections in New York, a state in which labor holds outsize power in local politics. 1199SEIU helped elevate Bill de Blasio to the mayoralty when he was lagging in the polls 12 years ago, and it recently endorsed Andrew Cuomo for mayor. Armstrong and her second-in-command, Veronica Turner-Biggs, will take the reins as the organized labor movement and the health care industry contend with the Trump administration's attacks on collective bargaining rights and Congressional Republicans' expected Medicaid cuts. Armstrong and Turner-Biggs, who ran as the Members First Unity Slate, will also preside over an internal reckoning. The union is conducting an independent review of Gresham's spending, after a nine-month POLITICO investigation revealed that he had long used members' dues money to benefit himself, his family and political allies. The House Committee on Education and the Workforce subsequently asked the U.S. Department of Labor to investigate. 'Because of your courage—your heart, your hustle, your belief—we now have the chance to lead our union into a new chapter: one rooted in transparency, unity, and real member power,' the Members First Unity slate wrote in an Instagram post announcing the outcome. In a Facebook post published early Sunday by Gresham's 1 Union 1 Future slate, he congratulated the victorious candidates and recalled his path from rank-and-file member in housekeeping at New York-Presbyterian Hospital to union president. 'No matter who you voted for, at the end of the day we are all part of our precious 1199 family, and I know that we share the same deep love for our union and the labor movement,' Gresham wrote in the statement. 'It has been the honor of my lifetime to serve as your President for the past 17 years.' 'Our solidarity as 1199 members is today more important than ever,' he added. 'We have major work cut out for us in the coming weeks and months to fight back against federal cuts to Medicaid, to negotiate the strongest contracts, and to defend the most vulnerable in our communities.' The union said early Sunday that official results from the election, which was conducted under the supervision of American Arbitration Association, will be posted shortly. Gresham's term as president ends in June.
Politico
05-05-2025
- Health
- Politico
Health care union president ousted in upset election
NEW YORK — Longtime labor leader George Gresham was toppled by his former lieutenants in a contentious race to lead the nation's largest health care union. Gresham, who became president of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East in 2007, lost his reelection bid by a resounding margin to challenger Yvonne Armstrong, who leads the union's long-term care division, according to data reviewed by POLITICO. Gresham's defeat ushers in a new chapter for the union, which represents 450,000 health care workers across five East Coast states and was once a powerhouse in New York politics. It is very rare for union heads to lose internal elections in New York, a state in which labor holds outsize power in local politics. 1199SEIU helped elevate Bill de Blasio to the mayoralty when he was lagging in the polls 12 years ago, and it recently endorsed Andrew Cuomo for mayor. Armstrong and her second-in-command, Veronica Turner-Biggs, will take the reins as the organized labor movement and the health care industry contend with the Trump administration's attacks on collective bargaining rights and Congressional Republicans' expected Medicaid cuts. Armstrong and Turner-Biggs, who ran as the Members First Unity Slate, will also preside over an internal reckoning. The union is conducting an independent review of Gresham's spending, after a nine-month POLITICO investigation revealed that he had long used members' dues money to benefit himself, his family and political allies . The House Committee on Education and the Workforce subsequently asked the U.S. Department of Labor to investigate . 'Because of your courage—your heart, your hustle, your belief—we now have the chance to lead our union into a new chapter: one rooted in transparency, unity, and real member power,' the Members First Unity slate wrote in an Instagram post announcing the outcome . In a Facebook post published early Sunday by Gresham's 1 Union 1 Future slate, he congratulated the victorious candidates and recalled his path from rank-and-file member in housekeeping at New York-Presbyterian Hospital to union president. 'No matter who you voted for, at the end of the day we are all part of our precious 1199 family, and I know that we share the same deep love for our union and the labor movement,' Gresham wrote in the statement. 'It has been the honor of my lifetime to serve as your President for the past 17 years.' 'Our solidarity as 1199 members is today more important than ever,' he added. 'We have major work cut out for us in the coming weeks and months to fight back against federal cuts to Medicaid, to negotiate the strongest contracts, and to defend the most vulnerable in our communities.' The union said early Sunday that official results from the election, which was conducted under the supervision of American Arbitration Association, will be posted shortly. Gresham's term as president ends in June.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NY's largest health care workers union topples longtime prez
Members of New York's largest health care workers union just voted to topple their longtime president amid accusations of mismanagement and lavish Armstrong, senior executive president of Service Employees International Union 1199 East, easily defeated George Gresham in a landslide vote of 26,623 to 11,722 in a sign of major discontent over the current leadership. The results were announced by the union Sunday after an official count Saturday night. Gresham, who started out as a housekeeper at Presbyterian Hospital, had been president since he was dogged by accusations of using union-fund accounts as his personal 'piggy bank' to benefit himself, family and allies, according to a recent Politico investigation. He denied also is in poor health. 'Although this election did not go as I had hoped, I want to congratulate the candidates from both slates for their victories,' Gresham said in a statement released Sunday. 'No matter who you voted for, at the end of the day we are all part of our precious 1199 family, and I know that we share the same deep love for our union and the labor movement.'It has been the honor of my lifetime to serve as your President for the past 17 years. I started my journey as a proud rank-and-file member in housekeeping at Presbyterian Hospital 50 years ago, full of the same passion and commitment that still drives me today to fight for the rights and dignity of all healthcare workers, our patients and communities.' Gresham played a key role in winning increases in New York's minimum wage and expanding home-care services and Medicaid funding, which is the financial lifeblood for many hospitals that employ his members. SEIU 1199 East is part of the largest health care workers union in the country, representing 450,000 total members throughout New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Florida, and Washington, has urged union officials to keep their eye on the ball by fighting back against proposed federal cuts in Medicaid and to negotiate stronger labor contracts. 'Once my term ends in June, I look forward to a new role in our great union – [as] an active 1199 retiree,' Gresham said. The development came as New York City United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew, who has been in power since 2009, is facing a tough re-election fight is battling a spirited challenge from Amy Arundell, the former Queens borough representative who has held key positions in the union. She previously served in Mulgrew's dominant unity faction in the union. Mulgrew scored a big victory when he persuaded the state Legislature and Gov. Kathy Hochul to approve a class-size-reduction law in New York City classrooms. But his unity caucus is facing growing discontent. Last year, challengers to his slate won seats in the retiree chapter and the unit representing paraprofessionals. Retirees were particularly incensed over proposed changes in their Medicare coverage.
