Jesse Martin | Executive vice president, Service Employees International Union 1199 New England
1. What are the most significant challenges facing SEIU 1199 membership and how have these concerns evolved in recent months? The largest concern of our members is staffing, staffing, staffing and more staffing. The pandemic has wreaked havoc on the health care sector and we need a coordinated, comprehensive response to rebuild and strengthen our workforce.
2. What protections or incentives are most important to support workers amid these challenges? We need our elected officials on the federal, state and local levels to step up efforts to protect workers’ legal right to quickly and rapidly join a union without the fear of intimidation and retaliation. Our General Assembly has listened to the voices of health care workers across the state and prioritized investment across the health care system. … Now we need to hold employers accountable to ensuring that 80% of funding goes where intended – to improve quality care and attract new workers to the field.
3. What are your thoughts on Care New England Health System’s recent announcement that it has rejected all merger proposals and will remain independent? Does this path seem sustainable, given concerns about the system’s financial health? An independent, locally based nonprofit organization for Care New England is exactly what works for Rhode Islanders. … We will see if sustainability is possible, but without significant public oversight about how health care dollars are spent, we must be cautious and demand transparency and accountability.
4. How does Care New England’s renewed commitment to independence impact your vision for leading SEIU 1199? The vision of leading our 1199 members is not based on any one employer – it is about reinforcing our principles as a worker-led organization that empowers our members to create not only a better health care system but a more equal and just society for everyone.
5. SEIU workers have called on the state to take action against understaffing and increased demand for services. How would you characterize the state’s response? The state’s General Assembly has clearly heard and acted on a number of the solutions union caregivers, patients and community members have demanded. For years, health care workers have been calling for safer staffing and more funding, and as a result, Rhode Island’s nursing homes have one of the highest staffing standards in the country and our recent state budget has made historic investments in all areas of the health care system. n
