After 19 days of straight rain, the sun
shined in Syracuse May 5 as 500 workers gathered together at downtown
Forman Park for a “Healthcare JusticeRally,” organized by Service
Employees International Union 1199. People from as far away as New
York City came to support the workers.
The event took place down the hill from
SUNY Upstate Medical University, which recently bought Community
General Hospital. The deal is good for Community General’s board of
directors but bad for the workers who actually run the hospital. The
900 workers at Community General have had to re-apply for their
current jobs. As it stands now, the seniority that workers have
earned will not be respected by SUNY Upstate. What will happen to the
workers’ pensions is still up in the air.
Workers from the Communication Workers
of America, United Auto Workers, New York State United Teachers,
Public Employees Federation and other unions were in attendance as
well as non-union workers, activist groups like the ANSWER Coalition
(Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) and faith-based organizations.
The workers from Community General showed in large numbers despite
being threatened by their bosses.
The rally was part of a resurgence of
the labor movement on the local and national levels.
SEIU 1199 organizer Mark Spadafore
emceed the rally, leading the crowd in union chants and songs.
Several workers at Community General took to the microphone. Dwayne
Stafford, who has worked in Community General’s kitchen for seven
years, told the crowd, “What we’re asking for is to be treated
like human beings, not like machines.”
Workers at the rally stressed that this
is only the beginning of the fight. “Next time this rally, this
community, will be over there [SUNY Upstate], right?” said Maria
Revelles.
Rev. Kevin Agee of Hopps Memorial
Church echoed Stafford’s comments. “Brothers and sisters,” he
said, “I know you are not a commodity. I know that you care for the
most vulnerable parts of society.” He went on to say that instead
of the working class, “It’s time for the fat cats to make some
concessions.”
George Gresham, President of SEIU 1199,
closed the rally out: “The rich continue to feed off the needs of
working people. We are no longer here to settle for the crumbs when
we are the ones making the bread.”
