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Hurricane Relief: Can you volunteer to help out?

September 21, 2017

Americares wants us! ————

Gayle Batiste - headshot - for web"Let us know if you go to Texas! We’d love to hear your reports."

Gayle Batiste, President SEIU Local 121RN

Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have devastated parts of the country.

We are working with Americares, a medical relief organization currently working in both Florida and Texas to coordinate volunteer relief opportunities for SEIU members in Texas (and possibly Florida in the near future).

Americares needs nurses to staff mobile medical units and vaccine outreach teams, preferably bi-lingual. They also need nurses with general nursing/acute care/ER experience to staff one of the shelters about an hour south of Houston in Brazoria.

If you are interested in volunteering* your time to travel to hard-hit disaster relief locations in Texas, please take the following steps:

  1. Email your interest (and the documentation listed below) to usemergency@americares.org
  2. The subject line should read: HARVEY DEPLOYMENT SEIU
  3. Attach your CV with employer listed
  4. Attach your license-in-good-standing

Please note that applicants will be vetted through a general and technical screening process and must agree to and pass a background check.

Americares will provide transport, lodging and stipend.

*Please note that this is not a "lost time" assignment. You will need to arrange your own leave time with your employer.

Congress plans to take healthcare away from millions ————

Join other SEIU members across the country on Monday, September 25, as we call our leaders in Washington, D.C., and urge them to vote NO on the Graham-Cassidy bill that would lead to approximately 32 million losing access to healthcare. Click here to learn more about why SEIU nurses and other healthcare professionals strongly oppose this bill.

National Day of Action: Monday, Sept. 25 Call 866-426-2631 and tell Congress to vote NO on the Graham-Cassidy bill.

We've lost a Fight for $15 leader ————

With heavy hearts, we announce the passing of our sister in the labor movement, Yasmin Fernandez. Originally from Mexico, Yasmin came to this country in 2006 and worked as a fast food worker for over 11 years. She was a passionate advocate for her co-workers and community and instrumental in building the Fight for 15 movement in San Jose.

Click here to help Yasmin's family deal with this unexpected tragedy and defray the cost of her untimely funeral.

Steward training ————

Stewards are our co-workers who help us address issues as a group (strong!) instead of dealing with them all by ourselves (scary!). They accompany and support us in meetings with management to ensure a fair process in which everyone is heard.

Interested in becoming a Union Steward? Click here to learn more. We have monthly trainings for new Stewards…in fact, here's the newest batch at our Union Hall this week for a training when U.S. Representative Brad Sherman stopped by:

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