(NEW YORK CITY) - Hundreds of 1199 Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare Workers East Members Held an Informational Picket Outside Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan Wednesday (June 18th), Joining Thousands of Their Union Brothers and Sisters -  Who Also Held Similar Pickets at More Than 100 New York City-Area Hospitals, Nursing Homes and Other Facilities Represented by the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes.

The Demonstrations (Pictured Below/1199 SEIU Photo Via Facebook) Launched a Campaign to Educate the General Public About 1199 SEIU Members’ Current Struggle to Settle a Fair Contract With the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes.  Employers are Demanding Extensive Cost Shifting and Changes to Members’ Health Benefit Funding.  The Results Could be Damaging Cuts for Some 55,000 Lower-Wage Workers. Future Cuts Could Affect Health Care Access for as Many as 110,000 Members.  With Patient Care Dependent on Healthy Caregivers, the Public May be Put at Risk, Union Officials said.

“We Work in Health Care.  We ‘Take Care’ of Patients ‘Every Day.’  We ‘Want’ to Keep Doing Our Jobs,” Mt. Sinai Health Care Worker Carolyn Walker-Jones said. “What ‘Better Way’ to Let Us Do That Than to Settle a Fair Contract With Benefits? We Need People Who’re Going to Take Care of Those Who’re Sick and Unwell.  People Who Do That Work ‘Deserve’ to be Cared for, Too.”

During the Mt. Sinai Picket, 1199 SEIU President George Gresham and the Union’s Secretary-Treasurer, Maria Castaneda, Held a Press Conference, Where They Were Joined by Union Members, Elected Officials and Coalition Partners - Including Amnesty International Chief Executive Officer Steven Hawkins.

Gresham said the League Contract Struggle Continues the 1199’s Tradition of Fighting for Justice and Equality - Because it’s “a Fight for Quality Health Care for ‘All’ of New York’s Working People.”

“We are the ‘First’ to Go to Albany When Funding’s Needed for Health Care,” he said. “Now it’s ‘Time’ for the Hospitals to be ‘Fair to Those Who Care.  (Our Members) are Some of the ‘Staunchest Advocates’ for Health Care.  You ‘Cannot Expect Us’ to Stop When it Comes to ‘Our Own’ Health Care.”

Hawkins, Who Made it to the Picket in Spite of Travel Delays, Expressed Pride at Standing With SEIU Members in Their Fight Against the Decimation of Health Care in New York.

“We at Amnesty International Believe That Workers’ Rights are Human Rights.  We Believe in Economic Security. We Believe Benefits That Keep Workers Healthy are Fundamental Rights,” Hawkins said. “This is What Amnesty International is Fighting for Around the World and We are Honored to be Standing With SEIU During This Period.”

Delegate Maryum O’Neil, a Business Associate on Mt. Sinai’s Psychiatric Unit for Five Years, said it Was Painful to See How She and Her Co-Workers are Being Treated After So Much Dedication to Their Hospital: “After My Son Had Cancer I Went to Work and Put a Smile on My Face Because I Know That Some of Our Patients are So Depressed.  Our Workers are Very Dedicated.  We Love Mount Sinai and Our Jobs.  To Hear Them Talk About Cutting Our Benefits is Outrageous.”

1199 SEIU Editor’s Note: You Can Directly Access This Labor News Story at: http://www.1199seiu.org/thousands_of_nyc_area_1199ers_picket_to_preserve_good_jobs_quality_healthcare#sthash.KJzZhSOl.dpbs.  In Addition, You Can View Additional Labor News Coverage Involving Actions at League Institutions Throughout the Metropolitan New York Area at www.CareForNY.org and on Twitter at #WeCareForNY.