Fellow SEIU Healthcare Health Systems members,

Thank you to everybody who joined our monthly membership meeting over Zoom in January. Our incredible Executive Board members brought us together in an interactive pop-ed about rising to this unprecedented moment of authoritarianism in our country. In the meeting, we covered three strategies to fight back: impose costs on the billionaires attempting to take over, harness civic participation and mass mobilizations, and define and defend our redlines to say enough is enough! Together, we’ll build the unity and skill to act in coordinated and powerful ways so we can grow the working people’s power and win lasting change. Keep reading for updates and links to everything we covered!

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Practice Resistance: Take Action With Us!

Illinois: Mini Lobby Day   Join us in support of our safe staffing bill and our demands for progressive revenue to protect Medicaid funding on Wednesday, February 25. Sign up by clicking here or reaching out to your organizer!	Northwestern: HFSRB Hearing   We’ll be testifying at the HFSRB meeting on Thursday, February 26 to demand that Northwestern invest in safe staffing. Sign up by clicking here!	VA: February Town Hall   In February, we’ll be joining the veterans’ organization Common Defense for a VA town hall. Stay tuned for more details!

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Door Knock for Our Legislative Champions!

Join us in fighting for our former members and legislative champions—Lakesia Collin for State Senator, John Harrell for IL House, and Anthony Driver for Congress—in the primaries in spring!

Lakesia Collins, our former member, has tirelessly fought for and championed health care workers as State Senator. She is committed to being a fierce advocate for the voiceless and is focused on fighting for a better future for all of us.

Anthony Driver, the former head of our union’s state council, has spent countless hours strategizing, building campaigns, and policy initiatives that center on racial, social, and economic justice and fighting for working-class people across Illinois. 

We’re so excited to have these strong voices representing our workers on the national level. Sign up for door-knocking by clicking here!

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MAY DAY STRONG

We’re working hard to build our resistance, discipline, and coordination to prepare our union for taking on May Day Strong! 

We’ve started off with escalating actions, including ones already shared above. We’ve also launched several strike schools—our goal is to hold 30 by March.  

At the same time, we’re rolling out our affordability campaign to make our demands clear. Working people deserve affordable healthcare, affordable child care, and protections for vital services that do not fall on the backs of those who work the most and have the least! 

We’ll continue to network with allies and amplify local structure tests to build our strategy.  And on Friday, May 1, we’ll be gathering as many workers as possible— from within our union and from our neighborhoods, friends and families—to be part of our May Day actions to stop the billionaire takeover of our healthcare and so much more! 

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If we’re able to mobilize a mass of workers and make it clear we are serious about our demands, we will win.

I hope to see all of you soon at our many Days of Action!

In solidarity,

Anne Igoe

Vice President and Director for Health Systems As always, email me with any questions: Anne.Igoe@seiuhcil.org.