Home care attendants in Manhattan blast their
union for supporting 24-hour work schedule
BY TODD MAISEL
Home health care attendants picketed
their union’s headquarters
in Manhattan on a rainy Monday
afternoon, demanding that the union and
elected offi cials cease 24-hour shifts for
workers that the protesters claimed are
abusive and damaging to families.
The picket was one of many protests this
group has organized since the summer.
About 50 workers gathered outside the
1199 SEIU headquarters in the Garment
District, where they called on the union
to tell health care companies who employ
their workers to stop the mandatory
24-hour shifts. They also drafted a letter
to both Governor Andrew Cuomo and
President-elect Joe Biden, and appealed to
union president George Gresham, seeking
their help in abolishing 24-hour workdays.’
The union however, maintains that the
issue is “not in their control,” but must be
corrected by the legislature.
Home attendant Norma Garcia complained
that her shifts caused strain in
her family and she was unable to give her
children proper attention.
“I was working 24-hour shifts when my
Mostly immigrant home care attendants protested against their own union,
1199 SEIU, for not defending them against companies who force them to work
24-hour shifts. The protest was in front of SEIU headquarters on Seventh
Avenue in the Garment District.
children were teenagers and needed a lot of
attention,” Garcia said. “I am working 24
hours a day, I couldn’t give them the attention
they needed. Enough already! We’re calling
on President Biden to show his leadership and
support us workers, and tell Governor Cuomo
and 1199 to stop the 24-hour day!”
PHOTO BY TODD MAISEL
JoAnn Lum, an organizer with the “Ain’t
I A Woman?!” campaign, said her group
seeks to “end the super-exploitation of
women, and hold those benefi ting from
sweatshop labor accountable–whether we
work in garment factories, home healthcare,
or offi ces.”
Zoila Puma, also a home attendant,
called the 24-hour shifts “draining.”
“I am here today to say to Governor Cuomo
and 1199: stop the 24-hour shift,” Puma
said. “I have worked 12-hour shifts taking
care of a patient, and it is hard, draining
work. I can’t imagine a 24-hour workday.
Why does 1199 allow the abuse of women
workers like this? We are human beings,
fl esh and blood, taking care of people who
are sick or old, to the best of our abilities.
And 24-hour shifts are unacceptable.”
Sarah Ahn, also an organizer for the home
care attendants, said we’ve been picketing
since the summer because “it’s inhumane
and has no place in the 21st century.”
George Gresham, President of 1199SEIU
said he supports workers efforts to be fairly
compensated.
“All workers deserve to be fairly compensated
for the hours they work,” Gresham
said. “The issue of funding for 24-hour
cases is not an issue controlled by 1199,
but instead one that must be addressed in
Albany through the allocation of roughly
one billion dollars in Medicaid funding. As
always, will continue to fi ght to ensure that
our members and all workers receive the
wages, benefi ts, and respect they deserve.”
More than 1,700 public Manhattan apartments to
be renovated as part of affordable conversion
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
New kitchens and bathrooms are
among the improvements coming
to more than 1,700 public
apartments in Manhattan that are being
converted to permanent affordable housing
for low-income New Yorkers.
The majority of improvements at apartments
under the New York City Housing
Authority (NYCHA) are being made at
buildings in East Harlem, Harlem, Kips
Bay, Manhattanville, the Upper West Side
and Washington Heights. More than 2,900
people live in the affected units.
NYCHA closed on a “Permanent Affordability
Commitment Together” with a joint
development team, lead by Monadnock
Development LLC, to provide $271 million
in capital support for the renovation of the
1,718 apartments.
These units are also be converted into
affordable housing under the Project-Based
Section 8 program, with NYCHA leasing the
land and building to the development partners,
who then serve as property managers
with maintenance and repair responsibilities.
This does not change the fi nancial terms for
Washington Heights Rehab on Fort Washington Avenue, a NYCHA development,
is one of the buildings where apartments are being converted into permanent
affordable housing for residents, and receiving much-needed improvements.
each tenant, who remain responsible for paying
30% of their income toward rent.
“Forging forward with PACT transactions
is mission-critical to improving the
quality of life for New York City’s public
housing residents,” said Deputy Mayor for
Housing and Economic Development Vicki
Been. “This partnership will inject needed
capital and community resources to funding
comprehensive repairs, while upholding
FILE PHOTO
the strong resident rights and protections
that ensure all New Yorkers may continue
to live and thrive in the neighborhoods they
call home.”
Each unit will receive new kitchen cabinets,
appliances, counters and fl ooring as
well as new doors, windows and bathroom
fi xtures and fl ooring. The building common
areas will also be improved with new
fl ooring, landscaping, playground areas,
community facilities, security infrastructure
and upgraded elevator, heating and
other mechanical systems.
NYCHA said the PACT conversions
come after numerous meetings with residents
at the affected buildings to answer
questions and provide information.
“We’re excited to begin this partnership
with the more than 2,900 residents
who call these developments home,” said
Kirk Goodrich, president of Monadnock
Development. “We believe every New
Yorker deserves a home that makes them
comfortable, that they feel safe in, and that
they are proud to live in — and that is the
mission that will drive us in this effort.”
The conversion includes benefi ts for
several community programs such as
the Community League of the Heights
(CLOTH), a Washington Heights group
that will supplement the developers’ efforts
to provide on-site community services.
All renovations are expected to be completed
by the spring of 2023. Tenants in
the affected buildings who have immediate
maintenance concerns should call 914-380-
8220 or visit the property management
portal at pactrenaissance.com.
12 December 3, 2020 Schneps Media
/pactrenaissance.com
