The Council was joined by health care and home care worker members of 1199SEIU during this week’s Council meeting for a resolution honoring the union. 1199SEIU members provide care as nurses, certified nursing assistants, and direct care workers as a part of care teams to provide high quality care across the City of Boston’s many hospitals, community health centers, nursing homes, and other healthcare facilities.

Caregivers truly are the heart of Boston, day after day putting their all in to caring for the sick, people with disabilities, elders, and our most vulnerable residents, and yet many do not make a living wage, have little access to training and educational advancement, have no job security, cannot retire with dignity, and are unable to afford childcare.

Boston faces a growing care worker shortage, with thousands of vacancies across the healthcare and home care delivery systems, forcing incumbent workers to consistently work short-staffed.

The thousands of 1199SEIU members have shown what the future of care could look like when all caregivers are respected, protected, paid, and unionized. The Council calls on the City’s healthcare and home care employers to embark on a process of working collaboratively with caregivers collectively to strengthen the future of care.