Honoring Nurses

We celebrate National Nurses Week by honoring healthcare professionals who serve their community by delivering quality care.

This year, Dian Palmer, a Registered Nurse and SEIU Healthcare 1199 Wisconsin President, wrote an editorial published in the Capital Times. The article calls on the community to give thanks to the valuable services provided by nurses, but shares disheartening barriers faced by those in the profession, such as a lack of affordable health care, and exhausted nurses forced to work overtime.

Nurses are working to improve our broken healthcare system. “Thousands of nurses across Wisconsin have united with SEIU Healthcare to change the direction of our health care system,” Dian explained. “In Wisconsin, nurses are talking with legislators about a ban on mandatory overtime for health care workers and about the need for comprehensive health care reform.”

Read the full editorial

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United with Obama

Wisconsin SEIU members loaded into vans and traveled to Gary, Indiana prior to Tuesday’s primary in the state. Union members knocked on doors, and talked with voters about the importance of getting out to vote.

Senator Obama’s commanding win in North Carolina and close showing in Indiana in the May 6^th primary means he is clearly the Democratic nominee for President.

During the 2008 primary, Senator Obama sparked excitement among SEIU members in Wisconsin who are ready for a change from the current administration’s failed economic and foreign policy.

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Working Together to Solve the Healthcare Crises

SEIU Executive Vice-President Mary Kay Henry providing opening remarks.

SEIU Executive Vice-President Mary Kay Henry joined business leaders, and policy experts at Manpower’s headquarters in Milwaukee today to discuss the need for healthcare reform in America.

The event was a part of Better Health Care Together, a coalition of concerned leaders from the business, labor, and public policy sectors who share the conviction that broad-based health care reform is among the most pressing economic and moral imperatives facing our nation.

The luncheon included two panels moderated by Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton. Participants included representatives from Manpower, Advanced  Wireless, At&T Wisconsin, and the Communication Workers of America (CWA).

Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton moderating a panel of business and labor leaders.

The goal of Better Health Care Together is to ensure that a new American health care system is in place by 2012.

For more information on the event visitBetter Healthcare Together

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Health Care Professionals Seek Mandatory Overtime Ban to Protect Patient Care

The Senate Committee on Labor, Elections and Urban Affairs voted 3-1 in favor of SB 512, which seeks to ban mandatory overtime for health care professionals after hearing testimony from nurses represented by SEIU Healthcare District 1199.

While mandatory overtime had been traditionally used only during extreme emergencies, an increasing number of hospitals now use it as a regular practice to fill permanent holes in their staffing schedules. The dramatic deterioration of working conditions has driven many nurses out of the profession, and many others into non-direct care settings.

“Mandatory overtime is dangerous for patients. Fatigued nurses are much more likely to make errors, or to miss subtle changes in the condition of patients. Nobody wants a sleepy nurse,” stated Dian Palmer, a Registered Nurse and President of SEIU Healthcare District 1199 in Wisconsin.

Hospitals across the country regularly blame the shortage of nurses for staffing deficiencies, but in reality, there is more often a shortage of nurses willing to work in hospitals.

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SEIU Members Stand Up and Speak Out

SEIU members across Wisconsin are standing up, and volunteering in support of Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

Read testimony from SEIU members in their own words.

SEIU Wisconsin Blog

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Grand Opening of Obama Wisconsin Office

Obama for America Wisconsin Office located in SEIU Wisconsin State Council

Obama for America’s Wisconsin office celebrated its Grand Opening on January 16th with a packed crowd at the Milwaukee County Labor Council.

Obama's campaign was joined by State Representative Pedro Colon, Mayor Tom Barrett, and SEIU Local 1 Wisconsin Director Pete Hanrahan.

Obama's Wisconsin campaign office is renting space from the SEIU Wisconsin State Council. Everyday, volunteers are calling voters to answer questions about Senator Obama and encourage them to vote for change on Feb. 16. 

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Wisconsin Assembly Fails Working Families

Budget Delays Damage the Health of Wisconsin Residents

Out-of-state, anti-government extremists pumped money into a rally held at the state capitol yesterday to provide cover for Assembly Republicans who are preventing adoption of Wisconsin’s long overdue state budget.

SEIU, along with other unions in Wisconsin, attended the event and held a press conference of our own to remind legislators that failure to finish a budget means real cuts, for real people, and real pain.

The budget stalemate threatens access to health care for the almost 853,000 Wisconsin residents who rely on the successful and cost effective Medicaid programs that provide basic preventative health care.  Almost 550,000 Wisconsin families depend on Medicaid for health care coverage.

SEIU member Laura Berger, a Registered Nurse with the City of Madison spoke at a press conference where she called on legislative leaders to pass a responsible budget now for the health of our state.

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