Thousands of 1199SEIU health care workers flood Foley Square, saying they can’t afford the city they care for amid contract fight

The workers, including nurses, emergency medical technicians, certified nursing assistants, home care workers, and other caregivers, are seeking what they described as a fair contract with raises, continued employer-paid health benefits, retirement protections, safe staffing provisions, workplace violence protections, and safeguards against job losses tied to artificial intelligence.

The rally came as 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East continues contract talks with the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes of New York, which represents employers in negotiations over a multi-employer collective bargaining agreement.

The union represents more than 85,000 frontline caregivers at hospitals and nursing homes.

At Wednesday’s rally, Jack Chapman, a Staten Island paramedic, told the crowd that EMS workers are both health care workers and first responders, often bringing emergency care directly to patients in homes and on street corners.

“We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for fair treatment,” Chapman said, adding that wages have made it difficult to retain experienced EMTs and paramedics.

Jean Roper, who said she has worked nearly 30 years at Silvercrest Center in Queens as a certified nursing assistant and unit manager, said nursing home workers care for residents physically, emotionally and psychologically — sometimes becoming the closest thing to family for patients who have no relatives left.

“There is no dollar amount that can fully reflect the value of the work we do every day, but we’re not looking to get rich,” Roper said. “We just want to be able to pay our bills and put food on the table for our families.”

In bargaining updates posted on its website, the League said its goal is to reach an agreement that provides workers with “competitive compensation, benefits, and a safe and supportive work environment.”

The League said it is optimistic a deal can be reached before the current contract expires Sept. 30, 2026.

The League said it presented a three-year economic proposal that would maintain health care and pension benefits at no cost to employees while increasing base wages by 2.5% in October 2026, 2.5% in October 2027, 1.25% in October 2028 and another 1.25% in April 2029.

The League said the proposal would increase wages by 7.7% over the life of the contract and add $2.1 billion in new spending on union compensation.

According to the League’s update, union negotiators reiterated that 5% annual raises and maintaining benefits remained their top priorities.

The League has been contacted for comment.

Elected officials offer unions support

Several elected officials joined the rally, including Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Attorney General Letitia James, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, and City Council Speaker Julie Menin. 

Reynoso brought his mother, Maritza Sosa, to the stage, telling the crowd she had spent 37 years with 1199. He described himself as an “1199 baby” and said the union had shaped his life.

“My mother woke up every single day not to take care of herself, but to take care of others,” Reynoso said. “But who’s going to take care of my mother?”

Reynoso said workers should not have to fill the streets to demand dignity from employers.

“We should show up for you,” he said. “We should tell you, thank you. We should praise you and your pay, your work, your health care, the dignity should be represented in how we treat you and how we take care of you.”

AG James told workers they were “the backbone of the medical system” and said hospitals should return to the bargaining table and negotiate in good faith.

“You deserve a contract that reflects your work,” James said. “You deserve a contract that recognizes that you were there during COVID.”

Mamdani said City Hall would stand with the workers, telling the crowd that a fair contract means pay that allows caregivers to live alongside the patients they care for, health benefits that let them get care themselves and job protections that keep them safe at work.

“New York City is a union town, and we will always stand union strong,” Mamdani said.

Workers rallying for a new contract repeatedly framed the fight as both a labor issue and a patient care issue, with workers saying staffing, retention, and workplace safety directly affect the quality of care New Yorkers receive.

Sheena Tannen, a registered nurse at Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center and a member of the union’s negotiating committee, said safe staffing is “always about the patient.”

“You put the worker in a safe condition to work,” she said. “You put the patient in a safe condition to thrive.”