Latest news with #SEIU1199
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Union critical of Israel targets Monsey Hasidic community with anti-Lawler ads
A new campaign is targeting Hasidic and Orthodox Jewish voters in Monsey, N.Y., with ads calling on voters to contact Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) to oppose proposals cutting Medicaid funding. But the group behind those ads has its own checkered history with Jewish community issues. The ads, which are running both in Yiddish and English in local Jewishcommunity publications, direct viewers to a website to send a form email to their lawmakers, identifying themself as a member of the Jewish community and opposing cuts to Medicaid programs as particularly harmful to local Jewish communities. Republicans have said such cuts are likely as part of the upcoming budget reconciliation bill. The campaign largely targets Lawler, who represents many of the Hasidic communities in Rockland County and has been fending off accusations from Democrats and liberal groups that he is backing cuts to Medicaid. He has pledged that he will 'never cast a vote that takes Medicaid away from eligible recipients who rely on this vital program,' but instead wants to crack down on fraud within the program. One of the groups behind those advertisements, healthcare union 1199SEIU, has a history of anti-Israel activism. In December 2023, the group called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, while also condemning the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks and calling for the unconditional release of hostages. It suggested both Israel and Hamas had committed war crimes. In October 2024, the group called for an arms embargo on Israel, saying, 'the Netanyahu government has used the October 7 atrocities to justify inexcusable destruction and killing in Gaza, creating an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe in the region.' It also condemned Israeli operations in Lebanon, while also accusing both Israel and Hezbollah of war crimes. The national SEIU umbrella organization has criticized crackdowns on antisemitic activity on college campuses. In their individual capacity, 1199SEIU staff and members have signed on to statements accusing Israel of genocide and supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel. Some leaders inside the national SEIU organization expressed support for Hamas. A Lawler spokesperson suggested that it's hypocritical for the group to attempt to appeal to the Jewish community given its history of Israel criticism. We strongly condemn SEIU1199 for targeting Hasidic and Orthodox Jewish voters in Rockland with blatantly false ads,' a Lawler spokesperson said in a statement. 'The irony of SEIU1199 attempting to appeal to Jewish voters while having a history of supporting the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, supporting pro-Hamas encampments on our universities, and pushing for an arms embargo on Israel is comical. SEIU1199 should immediately retract these advertisements and issue an apology.' 1199SEIU did not respond to a request for comment.
Boston Globe
29-04-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
‘You sacrifice your life': Home health care workers are demanding better pay. Cuts to Medicaid could stand in their way.
Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up 'You sacrifice your life so someone else can have one,' said Moshier. 'I've done that for the last three years without a full day off, no matter how I've felt, no matter how sick I was, or how much physical pain I've been in due to my own physical ailments.' Advertisement Moshier makes $21 an hour for a 40-hour week, or less than $44,000 annually — a rate that cannot contend with Advertisement It's a system that is not sustainable and deeply broken, advocates say. Now Moshier and thousands of other home health care workers who care for some of the state's frailest residents are fighting for change. In March, Moshier and nearly 2,000 fellow home health care workers in Rhode Island overwhelmingly voted to unionize, marking the largest election of state workers since the 1980s. They'll join the SEIU 1199NE union. 'This is the lowest wage health care job in the state of Rhode Island,' said Jesse Martin, SEIU 1199's executive vice president. 'They are working in apocalyptic conditions.' These Rhode Island workers are part of a broader effort by home health care workers and the unions trying to organize them nationally to demand better wages and benefits. But they may face an uphill battle, due to Proposed changes in federal funding and policy 'are likely to have wide-ranging impacts on health and human services programs and resource availability moving forward,' said Kerri White, a spokeswoman for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, the state agency that runs the home care programs. White said any federal changes 'may require us to make difficult decisions to preserve the progress we have made' while also reallocating investments elsewhere. US House Republicans have proposed Advertisement Home health care workers, who call themselves the 'invisible workforce,' help seniors and people with disabilities who live at home with daily needs including bathing, feeding, dressing, toileting, getting to doctors appointments, grocery shopping, picking up prescriptions and medication reminders. Cuts to Medicaid would have profound effects on the Across the country, a " In 2023, legislation made thousands more home care workers in Massachusetts eligible to organize and join a union. At the time, Advertisement Workers in Rhode Island are expected to request higher wages, benefits, time off, and training in their negotiations with the state. They will also seek a functional registry to connect consumers with workers, create more stability and flexibility in the system, and give workers the ability to take time off. Destiny Moshier has been caring of her best friend, Holly Allen, for the last three years. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff 'If there was a registry, I could take a full day off to go to the doctor's while someone else cares for Holly,' said Moshier, who currently must complete daily errands for herself and Allen within two hours, the amount of time Allen can be left on her own. Overwhelmingly, home health workers are typically family member caregivers or close friends of their patients. That includes Emanuel Rodriguez, 25, who cares for his brother Jorge, 26, who was born developmentally delayed. His brother, Rodriguez said, can't be left alone for long. 'He'll start cooking, and he'll forget he's cooking and move onto something else and there's a fire. That's happened on one or two occasions already,' he said. His brother was also a victim of a recent Rodriguez went to school for one year to study mechanical engineering, but left to care for his brother. Doing so has earned him just $15 an hour for the last five years. It forced him to take a second job as a paraprofessional for children with special needs in the Coventry Public School District. Advertisement Home health care workers 'care for the most vulnerable... We make sure they are not just left to their own devices,' he said. States, including Rhode Island, could raise taxes to cover federal cuts to Medicaid. Meyers said it's more likely that states will cut back on services. 'In Rhode Island, it's a really constrained environment that's only going to be pushed further to the brink,' said Meyers. Moshier, who made a promise to her friend's elderly mother years ago to care for her daughter, gets frustrated when home care workers are characterized as 'glorified babysitters.' She sees no difference between what she does and those who work in a facility, such as a group home for adults. 'We're caring for people who have nowhere else to go. And people don't realize how many caregivers are struggling just to make ends meet and don't have a safety net,' said Moshier. 'Being in the position I'm in, you have to make it work. You have no choice,' said Moshier. 'You do it out of love for another human being. But comes at a cost.' Alexa Gagosz can be reached at
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
99 Bristol nursing home residents to be displaced if proposed closure is approved
BRISTOL, Conn. (WTNH) — Residents at a Bristol nursing home had an opportunity to voice their frustrations to the state in a public hearing Thursday about the proposed closure of their home. If approved, the closure would displace 99 residents. DECEMBER: 'I have no place to go': Waterbury nursing home residents concerned over housing options 'I'm heartbroken because they don't want to leave,' said Katie Loughery, who has been a resident at the home since 2023. Another resident, Billy Rose, said he thinks it's a terrible thing. 'I'm going to be leaving but I'd hate to see this place close … they're just friendly and wonderful,' Rose said. In November, managing company Athena Health Care Systems sent a Certificate of Need and a Letter of Intent to the state's Department of Social Services to close the facility, citing a number of issues. In a statement, Athena said: 'A combination of significant environmental factors, including ongoing staffing shortages, essential facility maintenance needs, and rising operational costs, have made it impossible to continue operating the center to be consistent with our high standards for care,' Athena said in a statement. The staff at Sheriden Woods Health Care Center are dedicated professionals who over the center's history have provided exceptional care and service to our residents and their families with compassion, skill and unwavering commitment. Their contributions have been the heart and soul of this facility, and we are profoundly grateful for the efforts of both past and present employees. We are supporting our staff during this transition and are actively connecting them with resources to help them find new opportunities.' During Thursday's hearing, Sheriden Woods Regional Administrator Carol Anne Salvetti said they've explored every possible option. 'We simply could not find a way to operate the building and its program sustainably going forward,' Salvetti said. Not only would the move displace residents, but staff members would also be laid off. Lead Certified Nursing Assistant Valarie Bouchei has been working at the center for 37 years. 'They dropped a bomb on us. We didn't even know anything about it,' Bouchei said. The proposed closure is a sign of the dire situation across the state. Currently, 87% of the nursing homes in Connecticut are occupied, according to SEIU 1199. Jerry Gisondi said since learning about the proposal, he's applied to 12 nursing homes for his sister, Debbie. Gisondi said she hasn't been accepted into any of them yet. 'Where are these folks gonna go? There's no open beds. Where are these employees gonna go get a job? I feel the state is failing,' Gisondi said. The Department of Social Services has not yet responded to the application to close the facility. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
