Spreading the message: Governor Gregoire has a track record we can count on
Hundreds of members from SEIU Healthcare 1199NW, SEIU Healthcare 775NW, and SEIU 925 knocked on thousands of doors in South King County in support of Governor Chris Gregoire. Governor Gregoire spoke with members at a rally, sharing her track record on healthcare and thanking SEIU members for the work they do in our communities to make lives better.
Chris Barton, Secretary-Treasurer of SEIU Healthcare 1199NW welcomed members and Governor Gregoire to a kick-off rally, highlighting the support Governor Gregoire has given to important healthcare, child care, and long term care issues:
- Legislation to improve safe nurse staffing, a safe lifting law, and $1.5 million in training and upgrading funds to help our members advance their career skills and address the nursing shortage
- A $25 million investment to strengthen our mental health system
- The Working Families Tax Credit to provide tax fairness for families like ours
- Legislation giving family child care providers a voice through our union and funding of a contract which raised rates and started a program—one that needs to be expanded—to provide affordable health care to providers who care for low income children
- Dramatic improvements in wages and benefits for home care workers
- Support for better training for long term care workers, including support for initiative 1029 to require long-term-care workers to be tested and certified by the state
- And 100,000 people have saved nearly $4 million dollars under the Washington Drug and Prescription Program!
View photos of this event here.
"As a nurse, I see the difference Governor Gregoire has made in our practice and in our profession. For instance, the safe lifting laws Governor Gregoire implemented give us the equipment and training that we need. I just had a patient who weighed 500 pounds. It took six of us and special equipment to lift him. Without Governor Gregoire, we wouldn’t have had those safety devices to take care of the patient, and keep us safe. " Pam Keeley, RN, Swedish Medical Center